UW-Madison’s Faculty Senate heard a recommendation that would give voting rights to the student member on the university’s committee that oversees academic issues and changes.
The student representative on the University Academic Planning Council does not currently have voting rights.
Brad Barham, chair of the Faculty Senate’s University Committee, said his committee is introducing the request to see if it would be supported by the senate.
“We are just merely bringing it to your attention. We’ve discussed it, we’re not bringing a proposal forward,” Barham said. “We are interested in knowing if such a change would be supported by the senate.”
Faculty Senator Noah Feinstein said the request is important for the senate to discuss and consider.
“Considering how difficult it is to get faculty committee members active, this speaks to the good of our students that they want additional responsibility,” Feinstein said.
Barham also introduced the University Committee’s recommended changes to the make up of the Recreational Sports Board, decreasing the board’s total size.
While under the recommendation there would be one less student seat on the board, students would actually make up a larger proportion of the board than they currently do.
The senate will continue discussing both of these committee memberships in future meetings.
