University council

A university council may be the executive body of a university's governance system, an advisory body to the university president, or something in between in authority.

In the United Kingdom and many other countries, the council is responsible for all financial matters, the buildings and the appointment of the vice-chancellor. Academic affairs are the business of the university senate. In some cases the senate and council have equal status under the legislation that established the university. In other cases, such as Australia, the senate is technically responsible to the council, although the council is normally reluctant to enter into a discussion on academic issues. The membership of university councils consists of people from outside the university, often appointed by governments, along with some staff and, in some cases, students. The council is chaired by the university chancellor or a pro-chancellor or deputy chancellor.

University of Pennsylvania

A different model is provided by the University of Pennsylvania. Its Bylaws of University Council, revised February 28, 2007, say "The University Council of the University of Pennsylvania is a deliberative and representative forum which exists to consider the activities of the University in all its phases, with particular attention to those matters that affect the common interests of faculty, staff, and students. It shall recommend general policies and otherwise advise the President, the provost, and officers of the University. It is authorized to initiate policy proposals as well as to express its judgment on those submitted to it by the administrative officers of the University and its various academic divisions. It is also empowered to request information through appropriate channels from any member of the University administration.

University

A university (Latin: universitas, "a whole") is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which grants academic degrees in various subjects and typically provides undergraduate education and postgraduate education. The word "university" is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars."

History

Definition

The original Latin word "universitas" refers in general to "a number of persons associated into one body, a society, company, community, guild, corporation, etc." At the time of the emergence of urban town life and medieval guilds, specialised "associations of students and teachers with collective legal rights usually guaranteed by charters issued by princes, prelates, or the towns in which they were located" came to be denominated by this general term. Like other guilds, they were self-regulating and determined the qualifications of their members.

In modern usage the word has come to mean "An institution of higher education offering tuition in mainly non-vocational subjects and typically having the power to confer degrees," with the earlier emphasis on its corporate organization considered as applying historically to Medieval universities.

Council

A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county level, but most legislative bodies at the state or national level are not considered councils. At such levels, there may be no separate executive branch, and the council may effectively represent the entire government. A board of directors might also be denoted as a council. A committee might also be denoted as a council, though a committee is generally a subordinate body composed of members of a larger body, while a council may not be. Because many schools have a student council, the council is the form of governance with which many people are likely to have their first experience as electors or participants.

A member of a council may be referred to as a councillor, or by the gender-specific titles of councilman and councilwoman.

In politics

Notable examples of types of councils encountered in politics include:

University of North Dakota

The University of North Dakota (UND) is a public research university located in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state. UND was founded as a university with a strong liberal arts foundation and is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as high research activity institution. UND is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the country by U.S. News & World Report. UND offers a variety of professional and specialized programs, including the only schools of law and medicine in the state, but is perhaps best known for its John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, which trains pilots and air traffic controllers from around the world. It is the first university to offer a degree in unmanned aircraft systems operations.

UND specializes in aerospace, health sciences, nutrition, energy and environmental protection, and engineering research. Several research institutions are located on the UND campus including the Energy and Environmental Research Center, the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center.

North Dakota

North Dakota (pronunciation: ⁱ/ˌnɔːrθ dəˈkoʊtə/; locally [ˌno̞ɹθ dəˈko̞ɾə]) is the 39th state of the United States, having been admitted to the union on November 2, 1889.

It is located in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north, the states of Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south, and Montana to the west. The state capital is Bismarck, and the largest city is Fargo. North Dakota is the 19th most extensive but the 4th least populous and the 4th least densely populated of the 50 United States.

North Dakota has weathered the Great Recession of the early 21st century with a boom in natural resources, particularly a boom in oil extraction from the Bakken formation, which lies beneath the northwestern part of the state. The development has driven strong job and population growth, and low unemployment.

Geography

North Dakota is located in the U.S. region known as the Great Plains. The state shares the Red River of the North with Minnesota on the east; South Dakota is to the south, Montana is to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are north. North Dakota is situated near the middle of North America with a stone marker in Rugby, North Dakota marking the "Geographic Center of the North American Continent". With an area of 70,762 square miles (183,273 km²), North Dakota is the 19th largest state.