About the Councils

A Brief History

At the founding of the University of Chicago, the fostering of close relationships between the University and its alumni, between its faculty and Trustees, and between the University and the city of Chicago, was entrusted to the University Congregation. The Congregation, however, proved inadequate for this task, and in October 1920, it was dissolved in favor of 14 “Commissions,” representing each of the existing departments and groups on campus.

Alumni, faculty, citizens, and Trustees were equally represented on the Commissions, which met quarterly (including an annual meeting with the entire faculty of each relevant department) and were charged with advising the Board of Trustees on ways to improve each department or group. In 1938, this system was found to be too elaborate, and the article in the Bylaws that had created the Commissions was repealed.

In 1948, the University’s Board of Trustees revisited the idea of creating groups that would serve as advocates for the academic units, through the implementation of “Visiting Committees,” which would serve the following units: the College; the Biological Sciences Division; the Physical Sciences Division; the Social Sciences Division, the Graduate School of Business, the Law School and the School of Social Service Administration; and the Library School and Libraries. 

Though initial consideration of this issue led to the creation of only two Visiting Committees (serving the Biological Sciences Division and the Law School), these were soon followed by Visiting Committees to the College, the Social Sciences Division, the Humanities Division, the School of Social Service Administration, the Graduate School of Business, and the Oriental Institute. The article currently in place in the Bylaws that provides for Visiting Committees as Standing Committees of the Board of Trustees at the University was adopted in 1966; minor amendments have been enacted since that time. In May 2017, the University Bylaws were amended by the Board of Trustees, renaming the Visiting Committees to Advisory Councils.

The number of active Advisory Councils currently stands at 14. Some councils have formed and dissolved over time depending on institutional and Board needs.

The current Advisory Councils at the University are:

  • The Division of the Biological Sciences and the Pritzker School of Medicine Council (established in 1962)
  • The University of Chicago Booth School of Business Council (established in 1963)
  • The College Advisory Council (established in 1963)
  • The Divinity School Council (established in 1964)
  • The University of Chicago Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies Council(established in 2010)
  • The Division of the Humanities Council (established in 1963)
  • The Law School Council (established in 1962)
  • The Library Council (established in 1973)
  • The Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering Council (established in 2015)
  • The Institute for the Study on Ancient Cultures Council (established in 1963)
  • The Division of the Physical Sciences Council (established in 1964)
  • The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Council (established in 1976)
  • The Division of the Social Sciences Council (established in 1963)
  • The Crown Family School School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice Council (established in 1963)