UA Steering
What is UA Steering?
Description
Facilitated by the Vice President, UA Steering is a broadly deliberative assembly of the leaders of all the major undergraduate coalitions and policy groups at Penn. To be on UA Steering is to be recognized as one of the most influential undergraduate groups on campus, one with a discrete constituency in need of representation.
UA Steering helps steer the UA on issues that may affect any or all involved constituencies; it is like the UA’s “Upper House”. Often Steering Groups bring issues to Steering meetings for input from the whole community or action by the UA itself. Steering groups often work with the UA on particular projects.
Steering Meetings
The first UA Steering will occur Tuesday October 4th @ 7pm in JMHH 345. At Steering meetings, we typically discuss matters brought up by Steering groups that they feel all groups have a stake in. As well, most meetings have a Celebrity Guest (i.e. the Provost) who is closely examined by Steering groups and presents on a matter of university policy. All UA members are invited to, and should attend UA Steering.
Steering Listserv
UA Steering has a listserv of all Steering Group chairs and vice-chairs, which has come in recent years to be the most important venue of communication. All Directors and Exec can post to the group, but let Exec know if there’s an event you want to publicize or a project you want to ask Steering about!
Bylaws of UA Steering
Bylaws of UA Steering can be found here.
List of UA Steering Groups (Last Updated: 2018)
Founded in the fall of 1995, the Asian Pacific Student Coalition (APSC) is an alliance of Asian Pacific American student groups at the University of Pennsylvania. The primary purpose of APSC is to represent the interests and causes of the Asian Pacific American community to the University administration, as well as minority concerns outside of Penn. APSC also functions to promote and celebrate the richness of Asian Pacific American culture, facilitate communication between student groups, and provide a forum of discussion on issues of student concern. APSC is affiliated with the Pan-Asian American Community House (PAACH) and is a member of the “5B”, a consortium of the five major undergraduate minority peak organizations.
The Assembly of International Students is the policy and advocacy group dedicated to promoting the interests of international undergraduate students at Penn. The AIS creates tangible improvements to international student life, magnifies the voices of international students at Penn and beyond and promotes collaboration and harmony between students of different nations and cultures through frequent social events. The AIS frequently partners with its graduate counterpart, the GAPSA International Council, and the Office of International Programs.
The mission of Kite and Key Undergraduate Volunteers is:
To present Penn as an institution devoted to academic excellence.
To increase students’ awareness of the opportunities at Penn so that they will consider applying.
To encourage students who have applied to matriculate to Penn by providing them with the information they need to help make their decision.
To help students get a feel for Penn and why it may be the right university for them.
One of the six branches of student government, the four Class Boards provide social programming which will instill a sense of class and school spirit, unity and pride and break through social barriers. Each class popularly elects a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, vice president of corporate sponsorship and members from each school. Each board may select several members at large through an interview process. Class Boards are responsible for organizing Penn’s greatest and most historic traditions, including Sophomore Skimmer and Hey Day, events that are attended by hundreds of students. In the recent past, the boards have also successfully planned a 5000 person waterfront jazz and reggae concert, a bus trip to watch the Penn-Princeton football game at Princeton, parties at Philly clubs, ski trips, formal dances, study breaks, community service events, and performing arts nights. Additionally, the President is called on to speak at graduation ceremonies and alumni functions, participate in convocation, and attend university events such as cocktail and wine tasting parties.
The College Dean’s Advisory Board (DAB) seeks to improve the academic, social and community-related experiences of undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences. The board is composed of 20 students who represent the diverse interests, academic and otherwise, of the College student body. They interact directly with College Dean TBA to facilitate student-administration contact and to enhance the quality of life for undergraduates. The board functions as a liaison between the student body, the Dean and the College Office. DAB also evaluates potential programs and proposes and implements new initiatives that impact all six thousand students in the College. Past projects include spearheading the successful creation of the B-FLAT minor, annually organizing College Palooza, participating in the development of the new College curriculum, assisting in the replacement of the outdated webmail system, and helping in the creation of Mark’s Cafe in Van Pelt Library.
The Daily Pennsylvanian (DP) is Penn’s independent student newspaper. The DP covers news and sports from around the Philadelphia metro area and from Penn’s campus. In addition to its daily publication, the Daily Pennsylvanian, the DP also publishes 34th Street Magazine, the DP’s arts and entertainment weekly magazine. The Weekly Pennsylvanian is a weekly compendium of articles published in the Daily Pennsylvanian. Its primary audience is parents and alumni who would like a concise review of what’s happening at Penn. More than 250 students work for the DP in the business and editorial departments.
The Engineering Dean’s Advisory Board (EDAB) acts a liaison between SEAS administration, namely Dean Vijay Kumar, and the students, facilitating the exchange of ideas, information and experiences among students and faculty. EDAB assists the School of Engineering and Applied Science in defining and attaining its goals and strategic plans and provides consultation to the Dean, administration and faculty, serving as advocates for student needs and opinions. In these capacities, EDAB has successfully lobbied administration on academic, curriculum, and facilities related issues, and has completed projects like the annual Engineering Freshman Survival Guide and the Engineering Research Portal.
The Engineering Student Activity Council (ESAC) is the umbrella organization for all the student groups within SEAS at Penn (not to be confused with the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee, which is completely different). ESAC coordinates the activities of the various undergraduate organizations and acts as a liaison between undergraduate engineering students, SEAS faculty and administration. ESAC also helps to create a community of Engineers at Penn by sponsoring events, such as Engineering Career Awareness Day, Mr. and Ms. SEAS, and Engineers Week.
Penn Hillel, the largest student-run religious organization on campus, strives to create a vibrant Jewish presence by providing opportunities for students to explore and celebrate their Jewish identity. With approximately 25 student-led groups ranging from community service and Jewish education to Jewish life and culture, social activities and Israeli political and cultural activities, students can find different ways to enhance their religious, spiritual and cultural identities.
The Intercultural Greek Council (IGC) is the umbrella organization that governs the Historically African-American, Latinx, and Asian Greek-letter organizations at the University of Pennsylvania. The IGC serves as the governing body of those organizations whose sole purpose is to promote community service, social activities, co-sponsor educational and cultural forums, and promote awareness through its involvement in the Penn and Philadelphia communities.
The InterFraternity Council (IFC) is an umbrella group representing the thirty fraternities at the University of Pennsylvania. The IFC strives to promote excellence in all aspects of fraternity life and academic pursuits. The Council also works together to help the entire Greek Community better achieve its common goal of membership development and service to the Penn community. The Council works to achieve these goals through focusing on an array of areas including recruitment, scholarship, community service and philanthropy, member education, alumni relations, and public relations. Finally, IFC represents Greeks to administrators, students, and the wider world. The Council is comprised of the presidents of all recognized fraternities at Penn as well as the 8 members of the Executive Board, and works closely with its fellow Greek Councils and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs.
The Lambda Alliance is dedicated to representing and serving gender and sexual minorities at Penn. In achieving these aims Lambda supports its nine constituent groups, by providing a forum for collaboration, assisting them where necessary with funding, planning, and dispute resolution; develops community wide events, including but not limited to QPenn, leadership retreats for LGBTQA student leaders, and the LGBT Center’s fundraising and development events; advocate for LGBTQIA+ issues on campus by working with administrators and student leaders, and serving as the representative voice for LGBTQIA+ undergraduates to the press and the wider community. Lambda is composed of an executive board, its member groups, and undergraduate students who have attended a minimum of two Lambda Alliance meetings in the past six months. The full time staff of the LGBT Center has a reciprocal advisory relationship with Lambda.
The Latinx Coalition (LC) promotes and advances the agenda of Latino students at the University of Pennsylvania through collaboration with the University’s policy making bodies. Among the top priorities of the LC are making the percentage of Latino students and faculty at Penn comparable to the percentage of Latinos in the United States and improving the quality of financial aid packages offered to Latino students. In 1995, to develop a unified voice and a comprehensive strategy to deal with under-representation, five Latino student organizations combined to form the LC. The Latinx Coalition now consists of 24 groups; these organizations have missions that range from cultural, professional, honor, arts, and social.
Penn Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) is a student-run, service organization providing emergency medical services to the University community. The primary purpose of the organization is to complement the emergency medical care provided by the University of Pennsylvania Police Department (UPPD) and the Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD) by providing professional, timely, and high-quality pre-hospital treatment. The secondary purpose of the organization is to provide training and education to the both students and the community
The Nominations & Elections Committee (NEC) is one of the six branches of undergraduate student government. The membership of the NEC is comprised of approximately 30 Penn undergraduates, with seven to nine students representing each class year. The NEC is charged with running the school wide student government elections, overseeing the nominations to various school committees, and with educating the student body about current student government activity.
The Panhellenic Council aims to provide an organization through which the member sororities work collaboratively in the efforts to unite and promote the entire Greek System, to contribute positively to campus life, and to effect change constructively within the community. To achieve these aims, the Panhellenic Council strives to implement programs such as Greek Week, the Rena Rowan Ribbon Run, and Operation Warm that cultivate exceptional qualities of leadership, promote high standards of moral integrity and scholarship and explore issues that affect women. Additionally, PHC’s members engage in multiple levels of community service to assist the University and surrounding community.
In November 2003, Penn’s undergraduate women’s groups collaborated in forming the Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women (PCUW), but recently changed their name to Penn Association for Gender Equity (PAGE). Currently, PAGE boasts more than twenty constituent groups and is a thriving activist force on campus. Since its inception, PAGE and its constituent groups have organized three Women’s Weeks. The women’s groups have also held very successful events of their own, ranging from a student production of the Vagina Monologues to movie screenings, self-defense workshops, and speaker panels. PAGE has also designed, developed, and printed a first-of-its-kind resource guide that caters to the needs and interests of undergraduate women.
Penn Catholic Community (Newman Center)
The Penn Catholic Community's mission is to support, challenge, inspire and empower students, faculty and staff to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ on campus. We prepare Catholic leaders for service to the Church and world.
The University of Pennsylvania Democrats is an organization that is dedicated to local, regional, and national politics. They have been involved in countless campaigns, issues, and debates in the Philadelphia area and abroad.
The Penn Publications Cooperative is a consortium of 16 student-run publications, representing over 800 students and 100,000 issues in annual circulation. PennPubCo’s mission is to increase readership and participation in student publications. Among a host of tangible initiatives, PubCo operates a series of joint-publication distribution racks around campus, funded by SAC. PubCo also collaborates with the Kelly Writers House, which has funded their professional voice recorder. Ultimately, PennPubCo want to help students express their thoughts, so let them know if you are interested in joining a publication, or even starting a new one!
The Penn Political Coalition is the University of Pennsylvania’s umbrella organization for political student groups. We promote collaboration between our member groups, host the annual Political Action Week and Policy Week, and provide funding for political events hosted by our member groups.
The Penn Undergraduate Health Coalition (PUHC) is an umbrella group that represents the health organizations at the University of Pennsylvania. It was established in 2013 in response to the growing information gap amongst the health communities at the University of Pennsylvania and is comprised of thirty constituent groups. The Health Coalition aims to impact health in a tangible way both on and off campus by promoting collaborative endeavors, facilitating information, encouraging health discourse and advocating for the Penn health community
The Performing Arts Council (PAC) exists to support undergraduate performing arts at the University of Pennsylvania. PAC is organized into four subcommittees: Dance, Theatre, A Cappella, and Singers Musicians and Comedians (which also includes spoken word). PAC and its advisory office, Student Performing Arts (SPA), offer training workshops and master classes throughout the year, alumni programs, career training, a summer theatre internship scholarship, as well as resources on the performing arts in Philadelphia.
PRISM is a student interfaith group under the auspices of the Office of the Chaplain dedicated to advancing knowledge about religious life and promoting interaction among the various religious groups on campus. PRISM promotes interactions among the various religious groups on campus through discussion, prayer exchange, and innovative programming. Additionally, PRISM serves to represent the diverse set of religious communities to the Chaplain, the West Philadelphia community, the students and the administration.
The purpose of the Red and Blue Crew is to unify individuals and disparate groups in the University community behind the shared goal of school spirit and pride by supporting athletic teams at the University of Pennsylvania. From planning student appreciation events to standing loud and proud at athletic events, RBC works with Penn Athletics to stimulate student interest in all things Red and Blue.
The Residential Advisory Board (RAB) is a student-run organization promoting the interests of the residents of the College Houses. RAB aims to enhance the College House experience, promote inter-House activities and events and involve College House residents in their Houses and with the campus community. Members are represented from every College House. RAB meets weekly in a different College House. RAB’s goal is to continue to act as a voice for students in the College Houses and as an organization for change and improvement.
The Social Planning and Events Committee (SPEC), one of the six branches of undergraduate student government at Penn, was founded in 1990 to develop, organize, and program campus-wide social and cultural activities for the University community. SPEC is comprised of nine committees, each with directors and from ten to one hundred members. Membership in SPEC is open to any undergraduate interested in social planning, and involvement proves to be an exciting and educational experience. SPEC organizes and sponsors events year-round, including Spring Fling (as seen in the photo to the right), speakers, movies and concerts.
The Student Activities Council (SAC) is one of Penn’s six branches of undergraduate student government. SAC exists to fund, supervise, and promote cooperation between student run organizations. SAC also represents the interests of student activities to the Undergraduate Assembly and to the University administration. In addition to funding its member groups, SAC also provides the following resources for all student groups on campus: Campus Events in the Daily Pennsylvanian, banner poles and tables available for rent in the Office of Student Life, Campus Express activities mailing, and tables at the NSO activities fair.
Penn’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is made up of student-athlete representatives, and is a vehicle to promote communication between the athletic administration and student-athletes. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee serves in an advisory capacity to the Director of Athletics, providing a student-athlete voice within the department, discussing issues and concerns, and providing feedback as necessary. In addition, SAAC participates in the NCAA legislation process at the national level. SAAC membership is representative of the diversity of the student-athlete population (i.e. gender, ethnic, undergraduate class) and involves representatives from each sport. Each member serves as a liaison between the committee and his or her team.
The Student Committee on Undergraduate Education (SCUE) is one of the six branches of undergraduate student government. SCUE takes as its purview any issue which affects undergraduate education or the intellectual atmosphere at Penn. SCUE works to enhance and expand curricular opportunities, advising, and the overall quality of the undergraduate academic experience. SCUE serves its duty in various roles: both as advocates for the student voice and as advisors to the faculty and administration. SCUE’s efforts are predicated on the tenet that undergraduates must have a say in the academic programs of which they are most integrally a part.
Student Nurses at Penn (SNAP) is a student-run organization that represents the students in the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. It actively contributes to nursing education in order to provide for the highest quality of care and to represent the role of nurses in the health care arena. Its members strive to have direct input into standards of nursing education as well as to influence health care. SNAP promotes participation in community service activities in the area of health care and encourages collaborative relationships with nursing and health related organizations. All undergraduates currently enrolled in Nursing are members of SNAP.
The Student Sustainability Association at Penn (SSAP) is a student-run group aiming to increase campus awareness of global environmental issues across the Penn community and throughout the world. SSAP works through a multitude of teams, each devoted to specific sectors of environmentalism and sustainability, at Penn and abroad: TRUTH/Awareness (heightening student awareness of environmentalism), RecycleMania, Student Outreach, Marketing, and Communications (SOMC), Education, Social, Local Action, Greening Penn Course Review, Green Acorn (pushing sustainable local food carts/restaurants), and Energy.
Tangible Change aims to foster community-building within the University’s undergraduate population by funding collaborative inter-group events that bring together disparate, Penn-affiliated audiences. For the 2006-2007 academic year, Tangible Change awarded nearly $40,000 to over 20 independent events. Tangible Change receives its funding from the Vice Provost for University Life (VPUL) and not from Penn’s student government, unlike other student groups. Because of their direct affiliation with VPUL, T-Change has both more discretion in their funding decisions and freedom to fund more experimental events than conventional student government funding sources.
Founded by transfers in 2011, the Transfer Student Organization (TSO) is a community of transfer students dedicated to providing academic and social support for its members. Transferring to a new school presents challenges outside the realm of traditional advising and support structures and thus TSO was created. TSO now plays a central role in coordinating and staffing the New Student Orientation for transfers in order to foster relationships and integration into the Penn community.
UMOJA’s purpose is to unite students and student groups of the African Diaspora through effective collaboration, increased political representation and the dissemination of information. UMOJA is affiliated with Makuu, the black cultural center at Penn. These specific goals are achieved through the maintenance of the UMOJA Calendar and regularly scheduled and attended General Body Meetings. The constituent organizations of UMOJA (Unity) fall under the six remaining principles of Kwanzaa.
The United Minorities Council (UMC) is a 40-year-old undergraduate student coalition of Penn’s Caribbean/African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latino, and Native American student organizations, affiliated with the Greenfield Intercultural Center. College undergraduate Sheryl George-McAlpine founded the UMC in 1978 to form a stronger, unified voice for ethnic minority students on campus. The UMC strives to provide a forum of advocacy, reflection and action on issues of concern to students of color at Penn. The UMC also host two major university activities during the academic year: Unity Week in the Fall and Celebration of Cultures in the Spring.
The University Honor Council (UHC) serves as the judicial board for undergraduate academic integrity and conduct-related affairs. Designated under the Charter of the Disciplinary System to serve on Disciplinary Hearing Panels for violations, the UHC is also charged to advise the Provost, The Office of Student Conduct, and other administrative bodies on matters concerning the Code of Academic Integrity and the Code of Student Conduct. Members of the UHC are also designated under the Student Judicial Charter to educate the Penn community on, and to promote the ideals of, academic integrity and decent conduct.
The Wharton Council is composed of a group of 15 undergraduates dedicated to improving student life in the Wharton undergraduate program. The Council achieves this goal by organizing community-building social traditions and initiatives for students as well as through funding and supporting forty-nine different clubs in Wharton. As a dynamic organization committed to serving the changing needs of the undergraduate population, the Wharton Council works directly with the Director of Student Life in the Wharton Undergraduate Division.
The Wharton Dean’s Undergraduate Advisory Board (WAB) is one of the oldest undergraduate student body groups in the Wharton School. During a typical month, WAB will research, debate, and develop a variety of projects in small initiative teams. WAB’s work culminates in its monthly Dean’s meetings, where the entire Board meets with Dean Robertson, Vice Dean Phillips, Deputy Dean Gibbons, and other senior Wharton administrators. The Board also collaborates with other members of the Wharton community including faculty. Board Members remain plugged into administrative developments through weekly meetings with the undergraduate division. Currently, the only undergraduates sitting on a committee are WAB members on the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.
Penn First was founded in 2015 by a group of thirteen students with the hopes of building a unique support system for all FGLI students on Penn's campus. With the help of the students, faculty, and Penn's VPUL, Penn First has been able to open discussions relating to socioeconomic status and educational opportunities to increase the awareness of FGLI students and to develop the adequate resources needed to support the institution's growing FGLI community.
