Several Things All At Once

Hi Everyone,

This is a long post because every time it was nearly ready, more things came out that had to be added! Hopefully I'm ahead of the wave today, and all this is now current.

Several items were sent to all the council representatives with the request to get them out to our units--those are quoted verbatim below first. After that are separate items that also needed to be sent to all staff.

So without further ado:

Items Forwarded from the Staff Council Office

"1. December 1, 2009 Staff Council Meeting Summary

Please find a summary of our recent Staff Council Meeting at http://www.uvm.edu/~stffcncl/pdf/sc120109sum.pdf


2. Clean Energy Fund Committee - Call for Applications - Deadline Friday, January 15, 2010

Staff Council is now accepting applications for one staff member to serve on the Clean Energy Fund Committee.
This is a half-year term with the option for reappointment in July 2010. The Committee meets once a month for approximately 2 hours.

The Clean Energy Fund (CEF) was created in response to students’ vision of the University of Vermont (UVM) running efficiently on a fraction of its current energy needs, powered by clean, locally produced renewable energy that fulfills both the University’s needs and supports the local economy.

The purpose of the CEF Committee is to invite and evaluate clean energy projects submitted by individuals and groups of the UVM community, and to recommend projects to the Vice President of Finance & Administration, who will make the final decision about the use of the fund.

* For for information about the CEF please visit the following website: http://www.uvm.edu/~sustain/?Page=cef/cleanenergy.html&SM=cef/CEFmenu.html

* For an application, please visit the Staff Council website here: http://www.uvm.edu/~stffcncl/pdf/cefapplication.pdf

Deadline to apply is Friday, January 15, 2010


3. Campus Budget Update: Staff Council Request for Ideas

On December 15, 2009, President Fogel distributed a Budget Update to the University Community which provided further insight on UVM's current FY10 budget and the process intended to develop the FY11 budget. You can read the complete communication on the President's webpage here: http://www.uvm.edu/president/?Page=letters/budgetupdate_Dec09.html

Jane Knodell, Provost and Richard Cate, Vice President for Finance and Administration will meet with each campus governance group to solicit ideas on how to address the issues impacting the FY11 budget. To assist in this effort, President Fogel has called on all individuals "who wish to contribute to the budget deliberations" to do so through their particular governance body.

Staff Council is asking all staff members to submit their questions, concerns, ideas, and suggestions to Staff.Council@uvm.edu

You may also submit anonymous hard copies through campus mail or the United States Postal Service to:
Staff Council Office
University of Vermont
313 Waterman
85 S. Prospect St.
Burlington, VT 05405

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this request, please contact the Staff Council Office at 802-656-4493."



Individual Items for Staff

U.S.-Sino Pathway Program-
You may have seen the recent email from Provost Jane Knodell about this new program at UVM. It was also the presentation topic of the guest speakers at our 12/1/09 Staff Council meeting, Kim Howard, Director of International Education, and Joe Russell, Graduate Assistant in the Office of the VP of Enrollment Management. (SEE: 12/1/09 meeting summary on the SC homepage)

There's a lot of interesting information in the website referenced in Jane's letter, particularly the page asking for volunteers to assist with these visiting students' needs. Please take a moment to check it out!


Transdisciplinary Research Initiative-
This is comprised of eight Working Groups, chosen to represent broad areas of UVM research, and charged with developing proposals that support UVM's "Spires of Excellence".

We are finding transparency of development processes and information gathering to be variable between the groups, although when asked about this, some of the groups hadn't realized that their messages weren't going out to everyone. Their main website does have some information on progress posted, so it could be worth checking there periodically for updates.


More On Campus Budget Updates-
At the next full Staff Council meeting on January 5, 2010, our guest speaker will be Richard Cate, Vice President for Finance and Administration. He'll be presenting on the topic of budget developments, so some of the ideas requested above could also be brought forward as questions after his talk (time permitting).


Staff Council Officer's Meeting with President Fogel-
The date has been moved to Jan 5th, just before the next Staff Council meeting. They hope to discuss some of what was mentioned here: the need for preparations for the U.S.-Sino Pathway Program, transparency issues in the TRI processes, and budget topics.


Other-
Results from the Holiday Bazaar are looking very good! (fuller report on the website soon) We collected 231 lbs of non-perishable items for the Food Bank--definitely a program we'll repeat next year!


Well, thanks very much for persisting all the way through. Here's wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season, and do stay warm,

Joanne