November Breezing By

Hi Everyone,

It's been a very interesting week for the Staff Council--our Full Council meeting was held on Tuesday November 6th. Our elected President formally resigned from the Council for family and medical reasons, so we are facing another election to fill that position. This generated considerable interest in the actual election process--we are required to use the procedures prescribed by the current bylaws, but after much discussion at the latest Council meeting, the consensus was that this section of the bylaws needs updating.

Our own Dean of Libraries and Learning Resources, Mara Saule, attended the meeting and gave a very interesting presentation about the UVM self-study and re-accreditation project. She asked us questions similar to those used in the open forums being held around campus to gather input about the university experience from the community:

What did we consider to be UVM's most valuable strengths?
What did we personally like best about UVM?
Where did we project UVM going in the next 5 years?
What needs to happen to make that projection come true?

Then we were asked for a soundbite that would advertise UVM and still fit on a bumpersticker!


She encouraged us to encourage our units to also contribute their thoughts and impressions of UVM, which can be done online at an easy-to-reach accreditation blog. There is also a website for more information on the entire process with links to the regional accrediting body New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

The committee chairpersons gave their progress reports on their individual projects, aspects of unit communication were discussed, and Rose Laba reported on Task Force II. Task Force II deserves attention because its charge is to " determine the level of need, if any, for an activities center with a focus on the areas of event planning, health and well-being, college athletics, and student activities such as intramurals and exercise space... Based on their findings, the task force will offer recommendations on three of any project’s most critical components: cost, size and location." (This information is quoted from the View of August 28, 2007) Task Force I resulted in the Davis Center project, so Task Force II could potentially have at least as great an impact on campus and on campus life as did its predecessor.

The Communications Committee is making some headway on what we consider our primary project: compiling scattered information about the Staff Council and its functions into one coherent set of documents in one accessible web location (with an added printable pdf format). That way any staff member who needs information about any Council functions--for example, what the process would be to submit an issue for council consideration, or how to join a committee--will have what they need to make informed decisions. Second, we would create a brochure and bookmark outlining this information, that would be available in print and electronic form. Based on demographic information from HR, copies of these would also be available in several of the non-English languages spoken among our staff community.

Our chairperson Jon Reidel is gathering the content for the documents from the website and the places in the Council Office where they're stored, and several members will help sort and edit the compilation. I am looking into what translation services are available at UVM. Up to this point the search has been near-Byzantine, but people are beginning to get back to me at last. Hopefully I'll have some sensible recommendations soon!

Believe it or not, the Thanksgiving Holidays are in less than two weeks--it's time to get ready in earnest!

Have a good weekend,

Joanne