About Illinois Student Senate
We hope that the university provides students with a stellar education and transformative experiences. But we also hope that campus is not the same as it once was after students embark on their next chapter.
It’s our job to make sure that happens.
Mission
The Illinois Student Senate serves as the official voice of the student body at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and strives to represent students’ views and needs to the campus administration, government officials and the public.
Vision
Our initiatives will impact students throughout every corner of campus and serve as a model for student governments nationwide.
The nuts and bolts of the Illinois Student Senate is where students from across campus come together and step into roles that enable them to create change on campus. We have senators, executive officers and committees that make everything we do possible.
Elected Representatives
Each Spring, the Campus Student Election Commission facilitates a campus-wide election where students vote for various elected representatives, including senators in ISS. Each college is appropriated senator seats based on its enrollment.
Leadership Team
Student senators are entrusted to elect the four ISS executive officers, including the President, Vice President External, Vice President Internal and Treasurer. The officers guide the entire organization – senators, committees, task forces, staff – in achieving its mission. Each officer specialize in a core function of ISS and collaborate to ensure the organization is able to continue accomplishing its goals.
- President (Ron Lewis) - Is the Student Body President. He heads the student government. He chairs the general assembly meetings and meetings of the Executive Board. He represents the government and the student body to administration, Springfield, and Washington.
- Vice President External (Alex Villanueva) - Is the Student Body Vice President. He manages all external relations of the Student Senate to the media, administration, and student body - this includes social media, marketing, and this website.
- Vice President Internal (Spencer Haydary) - He manages all internal operations of the ISS. He chairs Internal Affairs, and is responsible for new member programs, filling certain vacancies, and organizing documents and archives.
- Treasurer (Sam Braganca) - Is the Student Body Treasurer. He manages all financial transactions of the ISS and their budget. He chairs meetings of Financial Affairs.
Committees
Much of the hard work of the ISS is fostered in groups that focus on different issue areas. From academic affairs to environmental sustainability to special task forces, our committees cover areas that impact every aspect of students’ lives on campus. The following are standing committees and subcommittees:
- Committee on Public Relations
- Committee on Campus Affairs
- Committee on Financial Affairs
- Committee on Internal Affairs
- Committee on Academic Affairs
- Committee on Community and Governmental Affairs
- Subcommittee on Environmental Sustainability
- Subcommittee on Campus Safety and Student Rights
- Subcommittee on Freshman Student Affairs
- Subcommittee on Graduate and Professional Student Affairs
- Subcommittee on Mental Health
- Subcommittee on Cultural, International, and Minority Student Affairs (C.I.M.S.A.)
- Subcommittee on IT Governance
- Subcommittee on Statistical Analysis of the Student Body
Get Involved
Our wheels don’t turn without passionate students motivated to improve our campus and what it offers to the student body. Fine tune your leadership skills, voice the opinions of your peers, learn about how the university works and help catalyze change on campus.