Section IV.3(c) of the Council bylaws provides that a University Council meeting “shall incorporate an open forum to which all members of the University community are invited and during which any member of the University community can direct questions to the Council.”

All members of the University community are invited to bring issues for discussion to the: 

University Council Open Forum 

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at 4:40 p.m. 

Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall

Individuals who want to be assured of speaking at Open Forum must inform the Office of the University Secretary (ucouncil@pobox.upenn.edu) by 10 a.m. on Monday, November 18, 2019. Please indicate the topic you would like to discuss. 

Those who have not so informed the Office of the University Secretary will be permitted to speak only at the discretion of the moderator of University Council and in the event that time remains after the scheduled speakers.

Please see the format given below. Questions may be directed to the Office of the University Secretary at (215) 898-7005 or ucouncil@pobox.upenn.edu 

—Office of the University Secretary

Format for University Council’s Open Forum

December 4, 2019

The University Council will devote a substantial portion of its December 4, 2019, meeting to a public forum. The purpose of the Open Forum is to inform Council of issues important to the University’s general welfare and of the range of views held by members of the University. The forum is open to all members of the University community under the conditions set by the bylaws, following guidelines established by the Steering Committee of University Council: 

1. Any member of the University community who wishes to do so may attend the Council meeting.  Individuals who want to be assured of speaking at Council, however, must inform the Office of the University Secretary (ucouncil@pobox.upenn.edu) by 10 a.m. on Monday, November 18, 2019, indicating briefly the subject of their remarks. Those who have not so informed the Office of the University Secretary will be permitted to speak only at the discretion of the moderator of University Council and in the event that time remains after the scheduled speakers.
2. Speakers should expect to be limited to three minutes with the possibility of additional time in cases where members of Council engage the speakers with follow-up questions or remarks. The moderator may restrict repetition of views.
3. Following the deadline for speakers to sign up with the Office of the University Secretary, the chair of the Steering Committee and the moderator of University Council will structure the subject matter themes, speakers and times for the Open Forum session. In the event that there is not enough time available at the meeting to provide for all those who have requested to speak, the two officers may make selections which accommodate the broadest array of issues having important implications for Council’s work and represent the breadth of Council’s constituencies. The resulting order of Open Forum topics will be made available no later than the Tuesday before the meeting, to be published on the Office of the University Secretary website (https://secretary.upenn.edu/univ-council/open-forum) and, if deadline constraints allow, in Almanac.
4. Speakers’ statements should be framed to present policy issues and be directed to University Council as a body through the moderator. The moderator will have discretion to interrupt statements that are directed against persons and otherwise to maintain the decorum of the meeting, as provided for in the bylaws. In cases where questions or positions can be appropriately addressed by members of Council, or where a colloquy would seem to be productive given the time constraints of the meeting, the moderator may recognize members of Council to respond to speakers’ statements, with opportunities for follow-up by the speakers. 
5. Should the number of submitted topics of community-wide interest exceed what can be accommodated during a single Open Forum session, discussion will be allowed to continue at the following University Council meeting.