UIS communication professor elected chair of the University Senates Conference

Kathy Novak, associate professor of communication at the University of Illinois Springfield, has been elected to a one-year term as chair of the University Senates Conference of the University of Illinois System.

As chair, Novak serves as the official spokesperson of the USC and represents the faculty of all three University of Illinois campuses and the three individual campus senates. Through U of I President Timothy Killeen, she and the USC advise the Board of Trustees and administrative officers on matters of university-wide concerns.

The Conference also coordinates actions and facilitates communication among the campus senates, reviewing matters acted upon by each individual campus senate and further deciding whether actions taken by one senate have broader all-university relevance.

“The USC addresses many issues as they arise throughout the year, but the budget remains a primary concern regarding university salaries, health insurance and pensions,” said Novak. “Among our goals in the coming year is to continue to support the value and impact of higher education in Illinois. Along these lines, the USC will be both working on and supporting the implementation of the University of Illinois System Strategic Framework to advance the future good work of the universities within the system.”

Novak has been a member of the UIS Campus Senate since 2010, serving as an executive committee officer since 2012 and having served as senate chair in 2015-16.

She holds a Ph.D. in communications from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her teaching and research focuses on print journalism and photojournalism, global media and culture, advertising and consumer culture, and research methods.