Donna Maes and Larry Hill

During these trying times for the state and the university, it is even more important for Boulder Campus Staff Council (BCSC) to actively take up the roles of advisers and advocates for staff. By participating in discussions, committees, advisory boards and more, we can have an impact on the future of the university staff and ultimately the university as a whole. When it comes right down to it, no one can deny the critical role staff plays to ensure the success and continued operation of the university.

As President Bruce Benson has stated, we all face challenges in maintaining our levels of service while being as efficient as we possibly can. To that end BCSC is continuously looking for ways to serve our constituency, while being frugal with resources. By combining events, seeking other venues for events, and creating more efficient methods of communication, we hope to remain a viable organization for years to come.

At the same time we realize and embrace the model that we all are stewards of our environment. Sometimes it is possible to save money, improve efficiency and be “green” at the same time. You may have noticed that starting in the spring of 2009, we launched the first round of electronically taking nominations for new members. By 2010, we hope to hold the entire election process electronically.

This year will also be the first year that we are combining the supervisors’ appreciation event with the Years of Service awards. We plan to continue the Employee Fair/Ice Cream Social, staff luncheon and staff breakfast events as long as we can keep the costs within reason. You may not realize that the staff luncheon, for which we charge $5, costs $12 per plate for preparation and service. We also hope to continue to support other community efforts such as Bonfils blood drives, local charities, food drives and homeless shelters.

We feel that CU-Boulder staff represent the “cream of the crop” when it comes to their dedication and professionalism. We are honored to serve as the council that speaks for this group of people. We encourage campus staff to attend BCSC meetings and/or participate on BCSC committees. It’s easy to complain about policies and decisions being made around campus, but it takes some effort to affect change or to participate in the process of making those decisions. We need all of the help we can get.

We hope you will visit our website and become more familiar with us. The website is updated often, and we plan to begin a new column featuring a different area representative every few weeks. This will help us get to know each other better.

We have some new ideas this year and hope to keep things exciting on campus. Stay connected and be in the know. Join us for a meeting, we might surprise you!

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Faculty Focus

Staff impact university decision-making