Welcome to your first step in becoming a senator. Thank you for having an interest in representing your fellow students and building a better UWM experience. There is a lot of information here, but this is with the intention of making the process as clear as possible. If you have any questions at ANY time in the process, please reach out to student-association@uwm.edu. We are here to help.

There are several ways to become a Senator.

1.) Get Elected. Elections happen during both the Fall and Spring. Spring Elections are the main elections in which students vote in their Student Body President and Vice Presidents as well as most of the Senators. Voting occurs in April, but nominations begin in late January. Fall Elections are specifically for First-Year and Transfer Students because these populations generally do not get to campus until the fall semester and they are elected in early October.

2.) Fill a Vacant Seat. To apply for one of these seats you must fill out the Vacant Senate Seat Application Form for ’23 -’24 You will also need to electronically collect the amount and appropriate population may change based on the seat you choose, so pay close attention to the above form. Signatures can be collected electronically with a link sent out after filling the above form. Signatures may also be collected with a paper copy. The current senate vacancies can be found here. Below is an outline of how many signatures you will need depending on the seat you choose.

• Group 1: 40 signatures required
  • At Large Seats (can be from any enrolled students)
  • The following academic seats (signatures MUST be from students in the corresponding school)…
    • College of Letters & Science
    • College of Engineering & Applied Science
    • Lubar School of Business
    • Graduate School
• Group 2: 30 signatures required
  • Advocacy Seats (can be from any enrolled students)
  • First-Year & Transfer Senator Seats (can be from any enrolled students)
  • The following academic seats (signatures MUST be from students in the corresponding school)…
    • College of Health Professions and Sciences
    • College of Architecture and the Arts
    • College of Applied Social Sciences
• Group 3: 20 signatures required
  • The following academic seats (signatures MUST be from students in the corresponding school)…
    • Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health
    • School of Freshwater Sciences

To collect electronic signatures, a survey link will be provided to you upon completion of the Presence form. You can distribute the link to students to endorse you for the vacant position you intend to fill.

– Student Association Professional Staff office Union WG10

(Contact: Student Association Association Professional Staff, sa-professional-staff@uwm.edu)

The SAPS office will verify your eligibility and the signatures you provided. You will then be emailed information about the upcoming Senate meeting (every other Sunday from 5 – 7 pm) where you will give a short talk about yourself and why you would like to sit in your chosen seat and the Senate will vote to approve or deny your candidacy.

Current Vacant Seats can be found here. For any additional questions contact the following:

• Academic Senator Vacancies: Contact the VP of Academic Affairs, Jeremi Lukos,  jrlukos@uwm.edu 
• Advocacy Senator Vacancies: Contact the VP of Student Affairs, Teresa Davis davistn@uwm.edu
• At-Large, First-Year and Transfer Senator Vacancies: Contact the President, Sierra Lee,  lee698@uwm.edu 
• General Studies Ex-Officio Seats (4): Contact President Sierra Lee, lee698@uwm.edu
  • All 4 seats are open. 2 seats are for students of Waukesha and 2 for Washington County campuses.