Student Bar Association Committees

SBA COMMITTEES

American Bar Association (ABA)

The SBA President and the ABA Representative serve as the School’s liaisons to the American Bar Association (ABA). Each semester, the liaisons attend the ABA Law School Division meeting to discuss concerns facing schools in our region.

Ad Hoc Committees

The SBA President shall appoint ad hoc committees for specific issues at his or her discretion. The ad hoc committees shall expire at the end of the SBA President's term, unless extended by the SBA Executive Council or new SBA President.

Academic Concerns Committee – This committee addresses concerns raised by students regarding existing offerings. The committee acts as a liaison between the SBA and the faculty council and puts forth concerns regarding current classes/credits, suggestions for new offerings, the academic calendar, and timing of academic events.
Career Development Committee – This committee coordinates with the Career Development Office to address the needs of students seeking internships, clerkships and job placement.
Student Organization Oversight Committee – This committee serves as the liaison to the student organizations. The committee makes the student organizations aware of SBA policies and procedures (including those set by the Budget Committee) and monitors the organizations’ compliance. At the end of each semester, the committee submits a report to the Budget Committee for its review during the budget allocation process.

Budget Committee

The SBA Treasurer chairs the eight-member budget committee, which consists of the class presidents or their designees, and the second year day class vice president or in their absence, the third year day class vice president and further in their absence another day division class board member. Each fall the committee proposes an annual budget for the SBA and campus groups, in addition to a supplemental budget each spring. The Budget Committee's functions are further detailed in the budget article of the Constitution.

Community Service Committee

The committee explores, plans, and implements outreach programs for law students to serve the community. This committee will also work with other student organizations to assist them in designing effective community service programs.

Constitution and Rules Committee

The committee is chaired by the SBA Parliamentarian. The committee shall maintain a computerized copy of the SBA Constitution and By-Laws, and a computerized copy of the Standing Rules. The committee shall propose timely changes to these documents on its own initiative, or upon request of the SBA Executive Council. The committee shall particularly take note of all interpretations of the Constitution by the SBA President.

Election

The committee is chaired by the SBA Parliamentarian. The committee shall propose Campaign and Election Rules and the dates for election events as provided for in the Constitution.

Honor Board

The eight-member Board is composed of the Honor Board Chairperson and seven (7) representatives; one from each class. The Honor Board is governed by the Honor Code, which the SBA can amend by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote, with the concurrence of the Faculty Council. The Honor Board Chairperson shall file regular reports to the SBA Vice President pursuant to that officer's duties in the Constitution.

Thurgood Marshall Lecture Committee

The committee works in conjunction with the SBA vice-president to organize and administer the annual Thurgood Marshall Lecture.

USGA Committee

The committee is composed of all elected University Student Government Association (USGA) Senators. The committee shall meet when necessary to discuss items of interest to the law school before the USGA, and shall assist law schools groups.

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)

This committee coordinates with the law school’s clinical program to organize, manage and operate a VITA site on-campus. VITA offers free tax assistance to individuals who meet certain qualifications. Volunteers help prepare basic income tax returns for low-income taxpayers or those with special needs such as the elderly, non-English speaking persons, and persons with disabilities.

JOINT FACULTY-STUDENT COMMITTEES

Every year students are selected by the Student Bar Association to sit on numerous law school committees. These committees are an integral part of the law school governance system and issues concerning the entire law school population are decided in these forums. It is not only an opportunity to share in the governance of your school; it is a privilege that carries certain responsibilities and duties as outlined below: A student member of a law school committee has full voting rights. The Student Bar Association will recruit students who are willing to participate in governance of the law school by being on a law school committee no later than the last day of September of each academic year.

To contact a Joint Faculty/Student Committee member, please email

Administrative Committee

The committee considers campus and university policies in recommending and revising law school policies with respect to Faculty and Student Handbooks. The student representative cannot be a member or alternate on the Honor Board.

Admissions Committee

Student members participate in discussions of policy issues which may affect the admissions process and work with the Director of Admissions in the design and implementation of recruiting activities.

Appointments Committee

The committee is responsible for interviewing candidates for faculty positions and making recommendations to the Faculty Council concerning candidates who should be offered faculty positions. The student members of the committee assist in reviewing resumes, helping decide who to interview, who to invite to campus for full-day interviews, and who to recommend to the Faculty Council for offers of faculty positions. The student members should be available to attend the American Association of Law Schools' Faculty Recruitment Conference in Washington, D.C. during their appointment (each member is asked to attend one of the two days). The student members of the committee are responsible for organizing groups of students to meet with faculty candidates during the on-campus interviews and for summarizing the students' reactions to the candidates. The student members of the committee also are extremely valuable in providing faculty candidates with students' perspectives on the quality of our school.

Curriculum Committee

This committee makes recommendations to the Faculty Council as to the establishment and abolition of individual courses and as to any other matters pertaining to the curriculum.

International and Comparative Law Committee

The committee reviews and critically assesses on a continuing basis the existing international and comparative law offerings of the International and Comparative Law Program and to investigate opportunities for improvement and expansion. The work of the committee is principally responsible for the program's substantial expansion of the foreign study and externship opportunities in recent years, including the new exchange programs in Germany, Chile, and China, as well as the new externship programs with the WHO in Geneva, the IACHR in Costa Rica and the Law Reform Commissions.

Library and Technology Committee

The committee meets on an ad hoc basis to develop policies and make recommendations to the Faculty Council on classroom technology, the use of technology on exams, technology resources for academic purpose and library resources, use and planning. Past committee accomplishments include: workshops on teaching with technology; selection of computer lock-down software for exams and policies for taking exams using computers.

Professionalism and Diversity Committee

This committee exists to encourage the Law School community to learn from its diversity in race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic origin, language, class, and other perspectives. The committee's goal is to encourage professionalism and engagement, and to create a supportive community for all. To help in achieving this goal, the committee currently is divided into four sub-committees: The Curriculum Sub-committee organizes meetings of faculty to share ideas, materials, and experiences in dealing with challenging issues in the classroom; the Orientation Sub-committee focuses on how best to introduce new students to the Law School environment; the Rapid Response Sub-Committee is designed to respond to incidents or perceptions of bias or unprofessional conduct in the Law School community; and the Professionalism Sub-committee addresses issues that students may face in employment interviews, summer, or part time employment.