Ivy Council

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The Ivy Council is a student-led, student-directed, non-profit organization comprised of representatives of the Ivy League student governments.^[1]

1 Member Schools
2 Conferences
3 Ivy Leadership Summit
4 Ivy Community Outreach Projects
5 Leadership
6 Affirmative action
7 Sex on Campus
8 References

[edit] Member Schools

Founded in 1993 as a way to collaborate and exchange ideas on common student life issues at their respective school, student government leaders set the stage for the Ivy Council that exists today. In 1997, in response to the complexities of running a loose federation of organizations over seven states, a defining structure was created. Though The Ivy Council draws its membership from the Brown University Undergraduate Council of Students, Columbia University (comprised of the Columbia College Student Council, the Columbia Engineering Student Council, and the Columbia General Studies Student Council), the Cornell University Student Assembly, the Dartmouth College Student Assembly, the Harvard-Radcliffe Undergraduate Council, the University of Pennsylvania Undergraduate Assembly, the Princeton University Undergraduate Student Government, and the Yale College Council.^[2]

The Ivy Council is not a party to, nor is it in any way adjunct to, the Ivy Group Agreement of 1954. The Ivy Council is in no way adjunct to the council of college and university Presidents known as the Council of Ivy Group Presidents. The positions taken and statements made by the Ivy Council are only representative of the undergraduate students of the eight Ivy League schools. They are not in any way taken nor made on behalf of the Ivy League itself, nor its member institutions themselves as distinct corporate entities.^[3]

[edit] Conferences

The Ivy Council organizes three different activities throughout an academic year. First, the Ivy Council hosts semi-annual conferences where student leaders gather to research and seek solutions to issues of the day at their schools, across the Ivy League, or to student populations as a whole. Recent issue topics have included affirmative action in admissions, post-season football, and the drug free provisions in higher education legislation. The site for a conference is determined based on a rotating schedule between schools interested in hosting.

[edit] Ivy Leadership Summit

Second, the Ivy Council hosts the Ivy Leadership Summit, an annual forum bringing together leaders from government, business, academia, and the non-profit sector to interact with students and relay their philosophies on leadership in their chosen field. Previous participants have included Steve Forbes, Chairman and CEO of Forbes magazine; Nasreen Berwari, Iraqi Minister of Municpalities and General Works; Jeffrey Sachs, special adviser to the UN’s Millennium Development; and Dov Zakheim, US Undersecretary of Defense.^[4] The Summit typically takes place in February.

[edit] Ivy Community Outreach Projects

Third, the Ivy Community Outreach Projects (IvyCORPS) serves as the community service arm of the Ivy Council. Whether it is by sponsoring teams for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, connecting student groups together to support clean-up after Hurricane Katrina, or on an Ivy League wide day of community service, IvyCORPS brings together students, faculty, alumni, and staff to increase volunteerism, strengthen school and community ties, and foster life-long connections with service groups.^[5]

[edit] Leadership

In addition to the student delegates from each of the member schools, the Ivy Council also maintains an Executive Board for day-to-day operations and a Board of Governors for fiscal management and long-term sustenance of the organization. The President of the Ivy Council is Jennifer Mickel^[6] of Princeton University. The Chairman of the Board of Governors is Michael Hanson of Cornell University.

[edit] Affirmative action

In April 2003, the Ivy Council voted in support of affirmative action by backing race as a factor in admissions. ^[7] But a Dartmouth College student was unimpressed by the debate.^[8]

[edit] Sex on Campus

In April 2005, the Ivy Council discussed the sexual climate on campus and University medical and student activity support in relationship to the issue of sex on campus. A portion of the discussion was captured from one participant's perspective by the New York Times^[9] as part of story on higher education.