Vol. 38, No. 18

3-1-2006
By: Susan Wittstock Dalzell

University Staff Advisory Committee celebrates 20 years of service

When the University Staff Advisory Committee was formed in January 1986, President Edward Jennings envisioned a committee that would help the university in its quest for excellence.

"It will allow staff members to develop and exercise an institutional perspective as they advise me on various matters. Both the university as a whole and the staff members as individuals should benefit from the committee's work," Jennings said in a statement quoted in an onCampus article about the new committee.

USAC - now celebrating its 20th anniversary - continues its efforts to help the university achieve excellence. Its activities include researching and compiling an annual Staff Compensation and Benefits Committee Report presented to senior administration, appointing members to sit on more than 20 universitywide committees, hosting town meetings with the president - that now are also Webcast - as well as sponsoring annual hidden benefits fairs and staff pep rallies.

USAC is inviting the university community to attend a 20th anniversary celebration from 4-6 p.m. March 15 in the second floor lobby of Bricker Hall. Special guests for a 4:30 p.m. program include President Karen Holbrook, Provost Barbara Snyder and Associate Vice President for Human Resources Larry Lewellen.

"We are looking forward to the chance to reflect on the many accomplishments the committee has achieved over the last 20 years," said Joanne Weston, current chair of USAC. "The anniversary is a really exciting milestone in USAC's history and we're happy to commemorate that achievement with the entire university community."

An exhibition also is planned for Bricker Hall's second floor lobby during March. Visitors will learn more about USAC's former members and chairs, view timelines of USAC's history and accomplishments and see samples of committee memorabilia, including shirts, mugs and posters. "We hope to send this display on the road to the regional campuses," Weston said.

USAC began with Jennings' appointment of 17 staff members. The original charge stated that the "committee's general purpose is to facilitate good communication on behalf of and among our university staff members." The committee was structured so that members were appointed to staggered three-year terms, with no more than one-third of the committee rotating off each year.

"It was gratifying to see the university president was interested in the work of the committee," said Stephen Sterrett, who was one of the original appointees. Now community relations director for Campus Partners, he was director of news services when he served his term. "We had strong support from the Office of Personnel Services, now the Office of Human Resources, and we knew our work would be taken very seriously across the university."

In 1990-91, a presidential task force convened by President Gordon Gee explored creating an elected staff council that would have replaced USAC. As part of a 1992 settlement reached with the Communications Workers of America Local 4501, the idea of an elected council was abandoned, but USAC was allowed to expand its membership to its current size of 30 appointed classified civil service and administrative and professional staff.

Today, the group meets publicly on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, and still serves as a critical advisory group to the university's administration.

"I am pleased to offer my congratulations to the University Staff Advisory Committee as it celebrates its 20th anniversary," Holbrook said. "The longevity of this committee speaks to the valuable role its members fill at the university. I greatly appreciate the advice and counsel they have offered to me during my presidency and look forward to continuing our relationship in the years to come."

Many activities are planned before the end of the anniversary year, said Weston, who will end her term as chair June 30.
SCBC co-chairs Jay Young and Jackie Hartzel are planning to visit regional campuses in March to discuss the 2006 report; Weston, with Hartzel and USAC Vice Chair Tina Love, will make a presentation at the April Board of Trustees meeting; USAC will sponsor a May 11 town meeting with Holbrook; and USAC will host staff from other state universities for the annual conference of the Ohio Staff Council of Higher Education June 29-30.

"As I've watched the work of USAC over the years, I've seen them tackle some very meaty, complex issues - salaries, health care, benefits," Sterrett said. "These are the kinds of evolving issues that don't get resolved neatly in one year. You need a body that has a level of expertise and that can understand all the parameters and angles of a problem, and offer constructive criticism with real depth. I think USAC really has established itself as part of the fabric of university governance."

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