About the College Council

Who can be a part of the College Council?

Any student residing in Brooks Residential College may be a part of the Council. All that is required is a willingness to serve and lead others. There are a variety of different roles that students can have, from being on the Executive Team as an officer or committee chair to participating in one of the committees.

Who is on the College Council and Executive Team, and what are their responsibilities?

• The President of the College Council, in addition to serving on the Board of Trustees, leads the meetings for the College Council, works with the other officers to create a yearly vision for the College, and acts as a liaison between Brooks College and the rest of the Baylor community
• The Vice President coordinates and handles all internal Brooks College affairs and acts as the direct report for the committee co-chairs
• The Treasurer is in charge of all accounting and finance for the annual Brooks College Council operating budget. The Faculty Steward gives final approval for the operating budget.
• The Secretary records minutes of College Council meetings and handles all correspondence.

Each Brooks College Council Committee has a Committee Chair that serves on the College Council alongside the Executive Team.

Every fall semester, the College Council creates a vision and sets goals for the academic year. College Council meetings occur every week, and any member of Brooks College is welcome to attend.

How are members of the College Council elected?

Every spring semester, elections are held for the following academic year’s President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, and Committee Chairs. It is intended that the Executive Team officers be upper-division members of the College who have already served on a committee, ideally as a committee chair. Students wishing to serve as a committee chair should have served at least one semester in their respective committee. The process for electing these officers takes place over the course of several weeks, giving candidates the opportunity to declare their intention to run and explain their vision to the rest of the College in a town-hall setting. This process culminates in an online election.

At the beginning of the fall semester, committees form under the direction of the elected Committee Chair, giving first-year students their first opportunity to be involved with College Council activities.

What committees are available for me to join?

The Recreation and Leisure Committee (RecLes) promotes participation in competitive or casual sports and recreation. The committee organizes Brooks College intramural teams, coordinates practice for Tri-College Tournament field day teams, and assists other committees in refereeing and running activities for large events.

The Service and Ministry Committee (SerMin) works with the Resident Chaplain to promote student exploration of faith while providing opportunities for members of the college to serve in the community. Among other things, this committee organizes special chapel programs, identifies pastoral needs within the college community, and helps provide leadership for the ministry and service efforts of the college.

The Community and Traditions Committee (ComTrad) promotes the social interaction and engagement of the members of Brooks College, with the aim in view of cultivating and sustaining the traditions of the College. The committee helps plan the involvement of the college in the weekly Community Dinner, hosts important occasions in the life of the college (e.g., Christmas at Brooks College, Brookstravaganza, Spring Formal, Senior Recognition, etc.), and preserves records of life in the college for posterity.

The Arts and Academics Committee (Acatak) seeks to promote a context within which college members' learning is supported and enhanced. Committee members work with the college steward to host distinguished visitors in the college, arrange peer mentoring, organize periodic programs of Common Reading for the college, develop the resources of the college library, and undertake other intellectually significant efforts for the sake of the college's membership.

Insofar as the College Council identifies new and more responsive ways of organizing the work of the college, the responsibilities of standing committees may be altered. Committees meet as often as needed at the discretion of the chairs. During meetings of the College Council, committee chairs report on the progress and ideas of their committees, receive counsel from other Council members, and identify avenues for mutual support and collaboration, especially when major events in the life of the college are at hand.

The Faculty Steward and Graduate Hall Director co-advise the College Council. As interest and availability allow, resident Graduate Students (Resident Chaplain, Graduate Hall Director, and Graduate Tutor) serve in an advisory capacity for the four committees of the college.