Hi Everyone,

Good news! The revised by-laws received their second approval at the March 4th full Council meeting. They were then sent to President Fogel and his leadership team for review before being adopted by the Staff Council--this process should take thirty days or less. This was a major accomplishment on the parts of the Rules & Election Committee, and the rest of the Council at large. Many thanks to all our colleagues for their hard work and dedication!

Next, we've been asked to seek nominations or volunteers from staff members wishing to be considered to serve as Staff Representative on the Athletic Advisory Committee. This appointment begins in May '08 for a four year term.
Beth Wright from the Council Office described the duties:
"There is work involved, meetings are often held on the members' own time (late afternoon and into the
evening), it's a 4-year commitment and the primary reason for serving is to be a resource to the athletics director and athletics department on how UVM can continue to keep the standards high for its student athletes. UVM consistently is one of the strongest Division 1 schools for academic achievement among its athletes."
So if you or someone you know of is interested in serving, please contact Eileen Hanerfeld directly with a copy to Beth in the Council Office: eileen.hanerfeld@uvm.edu and beth.wright@uvm.edu.

Finally, an open forum on Pandemic Flu Response Planning is scheduled for Tuesday, March 18th from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm in North Lounge, Billings. The descriptive flyer is posted here.
I devoted most of a previous post to this topic on Friday, December 7, 2007 (titled "Off and Running "). It contains links to the presentation powerpoint and other important references; so instead of repeating it all here, I recommend that you scroll down through the blog posts to that date or click this link to jump straight to it. This is a serious plan with far-reaching consequences if implemented, particularly for unrepresented staff. We should make every effort to learn the details: please try to attend, listen, and ask questions.

I hope everyone had a chance to participate in at least some of the Mastering the Maze events. The workshop selection this year was especially rich and varied- literally something for everyone! Whether it's an exhibit or a new outreach program, there always seems to be something new our colleagues are working on, and something to get excited about.

Stay safe and warm this weekend--no more ice, please!

Joanne