Illinois State University is controlled by a Board of Trustees consisting of seven members appointed by the governor of Illinois and one member elected from among the student body. The university president and their cabinet make up ISU’s administrative team. Like all public universities in Illinois, ISU also participates in shared governance through its Academic Senate, Staff Council, and Student Government Association.
Illinois State University Governance
Explore Governance Documents
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Academic Senate Minutes
Established in 1935 as University Senate, this body was renamed University Council in 1951, then became Academic Senate in 1969. Today it serves as the central venue for faculty participation in shared governance at Illinois State University. This digital archive contains the minutes of Senate meetings dating from 1944 to today.
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Board Reports
IS(N)U has been governed by six state oversight boards since its founding in 1857. Before 1995 these boards were charged with supervision of several public Illinois universities, however the current Board of Trustees’ purview is limited to only ISU.
- 1857-1917: Board of Education of the State of Illinois
- 1917-1936: Normal School Board
- 1936-1965: Teachers College Board of the State of Illinois
- 1965-1967: Board of Governors of the State Colleges and Universities of the State of Illinois
- 1967-1995: Board of Regents of the State of Illinois
- 1996-2012: Illinois State University Board of Trustees
- 2013-present: Illinois State University Board of Trustees
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Strategic Plans
The university first began publishing iterations of its mission, vision, values, and near-term strategy at the beginning of the 21st century. Since then, ISU has employed three strategic plans to guide its administration:
- 2000-2018: Educating Illinois
- 2018-2023: Educate – Connect – Elevate
- 2024-2029: Excellence by Design
Related Collections
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Charles E. Hovey Presidential Papers
ISNU’s first present, Charles Hovey, led the university from 1857 until the advent of the Civil War, when he left to command the 33rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, an army unit comprised primarily of ISNU students and faculty.
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Presidential Profiles
Read biographies of IS(N)U’s twenty past presidents and explore the changes they wrought upon the campus during their tenures.
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State of the University Addresses
First given in 1967, this annual address from the president of ISU celebrates the institution’s accomplishments over the past year and lays out a roadmap for its future.