The Professional Staff Council was created in the early 1980s (by 1983). Shortly after the suspension of the existing governance structure following the faculty vote in Oct. 1980 to bargain collectively, the chancellor established this council to provide a medium of communication between his office and the non-academic professional staff. At that time, eligible members included all those in the Professional Administrative, Professional Academic, and Civil Service Schedule A and Management Salary Plan.

The Professional Staff Council first appeared in the 1983-84 campus directory. It remained in the directories until 2013-14, at which point the Campus Shared Governance system shifted a bit. The Professional Staff Council appears to have been replaced with Staff Council, which existed by fall 2013.