The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore graduate student senates in higher education institutions to have a better understanding of their history, role, functions, power, influence, and effectiveness in addressing the needs of graduate students. The theoretical framework for this study draws on concepts from political science and public administration for the analysis of the data. Multiple sources of data were collected from three research institutions within a division I athletic conference. The major findings of the study were that graduate student senates (1) remain dependent on the overarching student government for funding and influence; (2) play important advocacy roles for their constituents, but seemingly have relatively little power at their institution; (3) require a shift in the culture of the institution to be empowered; (4) need to consider that a one-year term is not enough for their presidents and vice-presidents, as they have a steep learning curve; and (5) are immersed in a vicious cycle, where lack of representation leads to ineffective communication, which in turn leads to a lack of representation. Based on these findings, I suggest that graduate student senates be advised by the Graduate College; incoming officers be trained by outgoing officers in the graduate student senate; a three-year model for the presidency be implemented; institutional leadership create spaces for graduate students to participate in shared governance of the institution; and that each higher education institution establishes a university governance office to support faculty, staff, and student governments. Future research could focus on how higher education institutions view graduate students and their role in shared governance; the relation between the robustness/power of the Graduate College and the need for graduate student senates; the impact of student fee management on the levels of power and influence for graduate student senates; a comparison of graduate student senates and other forms of graduate governance; among others. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]