Dear Campus Staff,
We want to take a moment to introduce ourselves, connect with you, and begin conversations for the year ahead as your newly elected co-chairs of Boulder Campus Staff Council. Our desire to serve as your council leadership is rooted in our passion to ensure that CU staff are heard and engaged in the spaces where change is a constant.
Particularly, we want to ensure that Staff Council stands with efforts to eradicate acts of racism against our Black communities at CU Boulder. We support efforts to enhance an inclusive culture and we firmly believe that #BlackLivesMatter. Recent events, both nationally and more locally, impact this campus, our community, and Colorado in unprecedented ways. Our commitment to building a stronger and more inclusive Buff community at this place we love to work is unwavering; we pledge to serve all and commit to exploring ways to achieve these goals that will bring about real and lasting change.
As your chairs, it is important for you to know we stand ready to connect and build upon the relationships and spaces of our previous chairs, and to maintain an open dialogue with campus leadership, fellow councils, and you on the work we are doing to serve staff. To understand where we will be placing considerable effort and time, we have broken down our commitments to three areas that will address priorities for the upcoming year.
1. Inclusive Excellence – this past year, Staff Council voted to bring on its seventh standing committee, the Inclusive Excellence Committee, to serve all communities on this campus more effectively. We have seen considerable effort from our executive committee to acknowledge and address the various ways this campus, our staff, and our work can better address issues of diversity and inclusion.
- Next steps: This committee will be a key resource to staff by creating a variety of efforts and spaces to learn, engage, and connect on topics such as: showing up as an ally, keeping our community accountable to spaces that further our efforts in equity and inclusion, and ensuring this is a safe space to work and grow.
2. Strengthen Staff Community - Many staff have been impacted by furloughs or layoffs. We recognize the fear, frustration and financial hardship this may cause in your personal and professional lives. We have seen this impact on the council as well. It is our priority to ensure transparency exists between leadership and staff, and fight for these cuts to be temporary and as short as possible.
- Next steps: We hear you, we know there is work to do to ensure staff are heard in this space, and we are working to ensure discussion and open forums are available for staff to engage with senior leadership on this matter and the state of campus. You deserve to be in those spaces and thank you to those who have already reached out. We are here to serve you.
3. Your Voice Matters - The opportunity to serve as your elected chairs includes a weighty responsibility. We feel great pride at being given the opportunity to share your thoughts, opinions and ideas with campus leadership. We believe you are an active voice in that space and want you to know we are here to listen. We have a variety of ways for you to connect with us and to share with us your experiences in this time. While our council represents a variety of functional areas across campus, it does not mean it reflects everyone’s role and experience. This next year, please know that our council is here to listen and engage with you.
- Next steps: Our next newsletter will include details about a program we’ll be introducing this summer called Coffee Conversations. Through this program, we will invite and connect campus resources and leadership to spaces that address your concerns. These sessions will allow you to ask your questions and contribute directly to the conversation.
This year will present a variety of challenges. It will require us to lean in and connect now more than ever in this digital age. We are in this together and every effort we undertake is rooted in the belief that more can be done to serve the staff of CU Boulder. Together, we will build an even stronger place to work and serve. Please feel free to reach out to us throughout the year as needed.
In Solidarity,
Shelby Javernick, Chris Muldrow, and Dylan West
Co-Chairs, Boulder Campus Staff Council 2020-2021
