Student governance at the University of Kansas began in 1909, when Chancellor Strong organized student councils to resolve disputes between the freshman and sophomore classes. The first student government was separated into a Men’s Council and Women’s Council, with the Women’s Council being extremely active in allocating money to student efforts throughout the 1920s and 1930s. In 1943, students demanded more influence and voted to combine the Men’s and Women’s councils into an All Student Council.

When the 1960s saw increased student activism at KU, students began to agitate for more democratic control of the university, and a committee of students and faculty voted to change the All Student Council to the KU Student Senate and almost triple the number of Senators, from 35 to 95. The Student Senate would also be able to send members to sit on the University Senate alongside faculty and staff. In 1980, the Classified Senate was established to advocate for faculty concerns especially as they pertained to salaries, and a similar organization was established for Unclassified staff in 1988. Both organizations began independently of KU but would work more and more closely with University governance over time, eventually becoming the Staff Senate.

Additional historical information about all the governance bodies can be found elsewhere in this finding aid.