Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Senates to weigh in on revision of university statutes

Nicholas Burbules

Nicholas Burbules

Senators on the Urbana campus will be asked in the coming months to consider several proposed changes to the university’s governing documents.

The statutes, being reviewed by a faculty-led committee at the request of the U. of I. Board of Trustees, are the basic organizing documents of the university and define its governing structure. They haven’t been wholly revised in 30 years or more.

“We wanted to make them clearer, easier to understand and much more straightforward in their interpretation,” said Nicholas Burbules, a professor of education policy, organization and leadership, and a member of the committee charged by the board to review the statutes.

“Numerically, there are a lot of changes, because parts of these documents were kind of a mess,” he said. “I think the documents will be much more relevant and in much better shape after the process is completed. It will help head off misunderstandings in the future.”

Pam Strobel

Pam Strobel

Revision work to this point has suggested three kinds of changes: correcting inaccurate or out-of-date text; refining practices that may have changed because of legislative action; and addressing sections that are ambiguous, vague or open to interpretation.

The suggested changes sent to the three campus senates are accompanied by an explanation of the rationale behind each change.

“We want to make sure the statutes do what they were designed to do,” Burbules said. “We want to speak with a more consistent voice. It’s been a lot of work, and a lot of people have contributed.”

The board has set a spring deadline for the revisions, now under review by the senate’s University Statutes and Senate Procedures committee. In an effort to meet the deadline, the committee plans to submit what they’ve reviewed to the senate in portions. Any disagreement among the senates will go to the University Senates Conference for resolution. USC members already have reviewed the proposed changes.

“So much has changed as far as practices and technology, all of the parties believed it was time for a thorough, fresh review,” said Pam Strobel, a trustee and the head of the board’s Governance, Personnel and Ethics committee.

She said the board has final approval, but expressed a desire to have the endeavor led by the people most affected by the statutes – campus faculty members and administrators.

“There has been tremendous consultation,” she said. “It’s been a perfect example of shared governance.”

She said no specific occurrence led to the call for a review, though there are plenty of examples in the past few years where better wording would have made interpretation clearer and helped avoid conflict.

“It’s been more of a matter of needing to tighten some of those procedures,” she said.

There also are plans to soon address articles dealing with the revocation of tenure, the timing of appointments and the role of the president. Strobel said she’d like to see the statutes reviewed every 10 years to ensure their relevance.

“Processes eventually become antiquated,” she said. “It’s a matter of asking, ‘What have we learned from some of these recent cases, and where can we be clearer?'”

TOP

Read Next

Arts Photo of seven dancers onstage wearing blue tops and orange or yellow flowing skirts. The backdrop is a Persian design.

February Dance includes works experimenting with live music, technology and a ‘sneaker ballet’

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The dance department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will present February Dance 2025: Fast Forward this week at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. February Dance will be one of the first performances in the newly renovated Colwell Playhouse Theatre since its reopening. The performances are Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Dance professor […]

Honors portraits of four Illinois researchers

Four Illinois researchers receive Presidential Early Career Award

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Four researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign were named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. The winners this year are health and kinesiology professor Marni Boppart, physics professor Barry Bradlyn, chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Ying […]

Arts Black and white photo of a grand piano sitting in a room with a brick wall lit by the sun in the background.

Krannert Art Museum exhibition shows midcentury modern homes as places for artistic production

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Several Champaign-Urbana homes designed by local architects between the 1940s and 1990s were also made as settings for artistic performances and cultural conversations. An exhibition at Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines how four midcentury modern homes served as incubators for avant-garde culture in the community. “Making Place […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010