collegium

col·le·gi·um  (k-lj-m)

n. pl. col·le·gi·a (-j-) or col·le·gi·ums

1. An executive council or committee of equally empowered members, especially one supervising an industry, commissariat, or other organization in the Soviet Union.

2. A group whose members pursue shared goals while working within a framework of mutual trust and respect: "This standing firm ... enables the college to be a community, a collegium of students and faculty working at common problems and possibilities" Robert A. Spivey.

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[Russian kollegiya, from Latin collgium, association, from collga, colleague; see colleague.]