The College Advisory Council creates a formal connection between the Life West community, institutional leadership, and the Board of Regents.
Moving Life West forward means strengthening how we listen, communicate, and bring community perspectives into institutional conversations.
Life West has established a new College Advisory Council (CAC) to strengthen shared governance and create a structured forum for representatives from across the College to provide informed perspectives on matters affecting Life West.
The Council brings together voices from our students, faculty, staff, alumni, Health Center, Nebraska campus, and institutional leadership to contribute perspectives on the academic mission, educational quality, student and employee experience, institutional operations and strategy, institutional resilience, and shared governance.
Creating a Stronger Connection to the Board
The CAC creates a regular pathway for stakeholder perspectives to reach institutional leadership and inform Board-level deliberations.
The Council meets quarterly, with meetings scheduled in advance of regular Board of Regents meetings whenever possible. This gives representatives an opportunity to discuss significant institutional matters and bring perspectives from the communities they represent into those conversations.
The CAC may also provide formal recommendations, advisory statements, assessments, or summaries of stakeholder perspectives when appropriate.
Just as importantly, communication is intended to move in both directions. When the Council or another representative body is formally consulted or provides a recommendation, decisions and, where appropriate, the rationale behind them are communicated back to the participating group or constituency.
That creates a clearer cycle of listening, input, consideration, and communication.
Representation Across the Life West Community
The College Advisory Council includes representatives from key constituencies across Life West, including Student Council, Faculty Senate, the Alumni Board, union leadership, faculty and student success leadership, staff, the Nebraska campus, and the Health Center.
As part of establishing the Council, Life West also held elections for its Staff and Health Center representatives.
Susie Childs was elected as Staff Representative, and Dr. Douglas Bell was elected as Health Center Representative. The election process was overseen by Life West’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness.
Together, CAC members provide institutional knowledge and perspectives from the communities they represent while maintaining the established responsibilities of Life West’s administration, existing governance bodies, and Board of Regents.
Moving Life West Forward
The College Advisory Council does not replace existing governance structures or the authority of the Board of Regents. It strengthens the connections between them.
By establishing a regular forum for stakeholder engagement, formalizing opportunities for consultation and recommendations, and creating clearer communication between constituencies, leadership, and the Board, Life West is building a more connected and transparent approach to shared governance.
Listening. Connecting. Moving Life West Forward.
