Advisory Groups
1. UIC Senate Heading link
The University of Illinois Statutes, Article II, Section 1, provide for a senate to be constituted at each campus of the University, to exercise legislative functions in matters of educational policy, such as requirements for admission to colleges and schools, requirements for degrees and certificates, and the academic calendar. Each senate shall also recommend candidates for honorary degrees, and may propose amendments to the Statutes through the University Senates Conference to the president and the Board of Trustees.
At UIC, the faculty is represented by two hundred senators elected from campus units. Senate positions are proportional to the total number of full-time equivalent faculty members funded in each unit except that no voting unit may have more than twenty-five percent of the faculty senate positions at any time. The faculty electorate are members of the academic staff who hold appointments funded at greater than 50 percent time by the university. Members of the faculty electorate are qualified to vote for faculty senators and to serve as senators. Administrators who hold faculty rank as defined above are members of the faculty electorate in the voting unit in which they hold faculty rank. Faculty senators are elected for three-year terms with approximately one-third elected each year. In addition to the 200 faculty members of the senate, provision is made for 50 student senators and three academic professional members elected as specified in the Senate Bylaws.
The presiding officer of the senate is a faculty member elected by the senate. The senate elects a secretary of the senate to facilitate and oversee the work of the entire senate. The secretary of the senate is a member and chairperson of the executive committee. Each campus senate may exercise legislative functions in matters of educational policy affecting the university as a whole or its own campus only. No such senate action takes effect until it has been submitted to the University Senates Conference, and either approved by the Board of Trustees itself or approved in a manner agreed to by the Board.
Faculty are encouraged to call upon the UIC Senate to seek their assistance and participate in faculty representation. Consult their website for greater detail on their purpose, activities and subcommittees.
2. Faculty Advisory Committee Heading link
At each campus, the faculty who are tenured or are receiving probationary credit elect a Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) of nine members of such academic staff, three of whom are elected each year for three-year terms. Any member of the FAC electorate, who holds at least a 75 percent time appointment, is eligible for membership on the committee except those who hold an administrative appointment. No more than two members of the committee may be from the same college or other administrative unit. The committee elects its own chair at its first meeting of each academic year. The committee provides for the orderly voicing of suggestions for the good of the university, affords added recourse for the consideration of grievances, and furnishes a channel for direct and concerted communication between the academic staff and the administrative officers of the university, its colleges, schools, institutes, divisions, and other administrative units on matters of interest or concern to the academic staff or any member of it.
In addition to hearing and making recommendations on faculty grievances and adding a voice in communicating the concerns of faculty to the administration, the committee has been specified by the UIC Senate to provide hearings for and make recommendation on cases involving severe sanctions short of dismissal (The University of Illinois Statutes, Article IX, Section 6 were amended to permit procedures that could result in imposition of serious sanctions other than dismissal for a faculty member. Refer to Section XI.D. for further information.).
3. Chancellor’s Status Committees Heading link
UIC is among the nation’s most diverse universities. We have been honored for fostering diversity on campus and we consider diversity a strength that contributes to the success of our students and the value of our research. Neither diminishing state support nor a more challenging legal environment should deter us from our commitment to diversity. UIC established the Chancellor’s Status Committees to assist the campus community in supporting diversity. Faculty members are encouraged to call upon these groups to seek their assistance. Further information regarding the composition and missions of each of the committees as well as detail on their activities and subcommittees can be found on the Chancellor’s website.