The last in a series of elections for Faculty Senate is under way.

The election will determine who will head three of the senate’s five councils. Leadership for the faculty relations and administration relations council, the university resource policies and allocations council and the judiciary and appeals council is at stake.

All councils have two-year terms for the chairpersons, except the university resource policies and allocations council, which has a three-year term because of its advisory role to the provost, said Sanjeev Agarwal, faculty senate president-elect and professor of marketing.

“It helps to have an institutional memory,” Agarwal said, describing the need for the university policies and allocations council chairperson to serve longer.

He said the extended term is needed because it’s easier for someone in the position to advise the provost’s office on policy decisions when there is one person, instead of many people switching out every two years.

The series of elections began in January when the senate chose Agarwal to succeed Jack Girton, associate professor of zoology and genetics, as the Faculty Senate president, Agarwal said.

From January until Friday, colleges across ISU chose departmental and at-large senators, ending with the College of Agriculture and College of Education. Overall, 28 senators were up for election.

Robin Stone, assistant professor of music, was elected senator from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Stone, a second-year ISU professor, said he was looking forward to serving on Faculty Senate.

Stone said he wanted to learn how the senate operates in context of the university, as well as represent the views of the College of Liberal Art and Sciences.

“A lot of people just aren’t interested in [Faculty Senate]. I’d like to know why,” Stone said.

Agarwal said the newly elected candidates will take office at the May 4 meeting — the last of the semester.

Prem Premkumar, professor of logistics operations and management information systems and chairman of the faculty development and administrative relations council, is stepping down from his position, Girton said. Clark Ford and William Woodman have reached their term limits, he said.

There have been many nominations for the positions, although there have not been multiple candidates for any one seat, Agarwal said.

In many cases, there is only one candidate, so the election process will be finished quickly, Girton said.

To be eligible for a position as a chair of a council, a nominee must be a member of good standing within the senate, he said.

“We have to see them as a service role,” Agarwal said.

There is no formal nomination committee, but it is important that the positions have some strong considerations before being nominated, he said.

“It’s important that these positions be taken seriously,” Girton said. All senators are required to serve on a council, so many candidates have served on the council they are being nominated for, he said.

Premkumar said he was stepping down to let other people from his department serve in the senate.

“Everyone gets their chance to represent the department,” he said.