On Sept. 16, Beloit College’s faculty, administrative members, and student representatives gathered in Richardson Auditorium in Morse-Ingersoll Hall for the inaugural Academic Senate meeting of the 2026-27 academic year. Per the Beloit College website, the duty of Beloit College’s Academic Senate is to carry and direct responsibility for the academic program of Beloit College.
Before the meeting, a letter from the Office of the Provost and Dean of the College and addressed to “Round Table Representative” was left in the hall leading to Richardson Auditorium next to the meeting’s sign-in sheet. The letter thanked The Round Table for its “interest in the proceedings of Academic Senate” and offered a “heads up” regarding “a few guidelines” that the letter claims have been included in the college’s Administrative Policy Manual since 2015.
The section which the letter highlighted with a red border was from Chapter VIII section H, titled “Reports of Academic Senate Proceedings.” It detailed that a representative from The Round Table is conditionally allowed to report on Senate proceedings and have one reporter present at the monthly senate meetings. The manual says that, “considering the responsibility and possible legal liability which such a privilege entails,” quotations or paraphrased quotations from Academic Senate members may only be used if the from individual senators may only be used “if the text has been approved for accuracy by the person being quoted.” Another stipulation offered by section H says that, “any published report shall be signed by the reporter.” Section G, titled “Confidential Nature of Action,” was also cited in the letter. It states that faculty deliberations — though not the decision-making process of the Academic Senate — are confidential, and not to be discussed except between members. The actions of faculty and Academic Senate should only be announced by “the proper officer,” typically the provost. Section G ends by providing an exception for the confidentiality clause, noted in the aforementioned section H.
The meeting itself lauded advancements from the School of Health Sciences, and included remarks from President Eric Boynton emphasizing the need for a unified direction for the college over the next five to ten years. The senate also voted on course cuts and course changes, notably the elimination of the French and Francophone Studies major and minor. President Boynton’s speech included the introduction of the college’s new Human Resources director, Michael Meteyard’97. When speaking about Meteyard, President Boynton remarked that among his qualifications were “navigating complex union negotiations.” President Boynton then promoted the at-the-time-upcoming Beloiter Days and compared the expected attendance with previous years, calling the increase compared to previous years “mind-blowing.” [The increased Beloiter Days turnout] is not unrelated to the kind of momentum we’re seeing on the fundraising side,” Boynton said.
All Beloit College faculty are required to attend the monthly Academic Senate meetings, although not all do, and the voting body typically consists of eight student senators (two from each graduating class) and the Beloit Student Government — or BSG — president. At this meeting, owing to ballots for the election of new student senators still being open, the only student representatives present were BSG President Journey Beier’28 and a reporter from The Round Table.
Student voting for new academic senators closed on Sept. 21, and winners, along with the voter turnout from each class year, were announced via a message in a student digest email on Sept. 25 from Associate Dean of Students Jessica Fox-Wilson on behalf of the Dean of Students’ Office. Fox-Wilson stated that the eight new voting members of Beloit College’s Academic Senate are Haily Atkinson’27, Jake Fein’27, Annika Carrasco’28, Valeria Samaniego’28, Najeebah Junaid’29, Ava Tedesco’29, Zoe Cheng’30, and Anjali Gupta’30. The results Fox-Wilson shared indicate that no class year exceeded a 40% rate of voter turnout, with the highest participation rate coming from the class of 2027 at 38%. The classes of 2028 and 2030 recorded a 24% turnout, while the class of 2029 saw 30%. Fox-Wilson explained her reasoning for sharing the turnout rates, saying in the message that she did so to demonstrate the importance of student participation, adding that, “Academic Senators represent [student] voices to faculty, staff, and administration, and every vote helps make that representation stronger.”
The Round Table spoke with BSG President Journey Beier’28, who reflected on the importance of student representation at the Academic Senate. “It is important to have students there,” they said. Beier also “That kind of holds them accountable in one way. People will know who those people are that they are voting with or without.” Beier stressed the crucial nature of communication during a fraught time for Beloit College’s campus, especially between faculty, administration, and BSG.
Despite the value of student representation, Beier acknowledges the limited power of student representatives within Academic Senate. With nine student voting members including themself, Beier said that they have not experienced a Senate meeting in the past academic year where students have influenced concrete policy changes. “I’ve never really seen a point in time where it hasn’t just been ‘we’re voting on this thing that’s going to happen anyway, push it along,’” Beier said. This experience is mirrored in the five Senate committees on which student representatives are allowed membership, where student concerns can be overruled or outvoted by faculty members or committee chairs. There is also a limit of two student members per senate committee. Matters for action voted on by the Academic Senate are predeliberated on by these committees, or at the All-Faculty meetings that occur monthly and which students are prohibited from attending. Additionally, Chapter VIII of Beloit College’s Administrative Policy Manual states that any “major” legislation voted on by the Academic Senate is “subject to the final jurisdiction of the board of trustees.” This means that the work of faculty and student voting members and committee members can be overridden if deemed necessary by the board.
“Having students just at academic senate meetings, where it’s pretty much voting yes on everything, isn’t really going to make any feasible change,” said Beier.
One of the main student concerns regarding the housing cost increase announced last spring was a lack of clear communication between administration, faculty, and student representatives. Student concerns surrounding the housing policy were not fielded in Senate last spring until student senator Margarite Richardson’27 posed a question regarding accessibility in relation to cost increases.
A possible solution which BSG and others have discussed would be designating a regular platform for an update on student affairs from a student senator or BSG member along the lines of the updates given about admissions, athletics, and other topics by faculty or administration in every Academic Senate meeting. Beier also expressed the importance of BSG being more visible and the campus community knowing what actions are being taken. There is also the issue of many students who are elected to be senators failing to fully understand the importance of the duties with which they have been entrusted. “I know a lot of students I’ve talked to literally don’t know what they do,” Beier said.
Beier believes Academic Senate could provide a conduit for increased transparency and accountability between all levels of the college. “I genuinely think that having the communication and having people that can tell their friends, and their clubs, and other people about what is going on is incredibly important,” they said.
The Round Table strives to provide accurate, timely and respectful coverage of campus news and events.
Featured image: Cian McKeown
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