Greetings, staff colleagues. As we look outside to a chilly June day, we may be wondering if summer will ever come to Seattle. We hold fast to the belief that we will, once again, be graced by the sun and warm days to come.
Before we fully shift our focus to the summer months with an eye toward fall, Staff Council would like to highlight spring activities and topics important to staff here at Seattle University, including transitions within the council itself. As we thank those who have served on Staff Council over this past term, we are excited to welcome 10 new members that will represent you in shared governance for the next term.
Staff Council Election Results & Transitions
We are thrilled to share the results of the 2022 Staff Council Election with you. Thank you to everyone who took part in voting in the election. The individuals who will represent the following areas for the term, July 2022 – June 2024, include:
- Academic Focus Area
- Kim Thompson (Exempt)
- Rachel Olson (Non-Exempt)
- Valerie Fisher (Non-Exempt)
- Student Focus Area
- Zana Crites (Non-Exempt)
- Ashlee Day (Exempt)
- Structural Area
- Becky Rowe (Exempt)
- Mike Mullen (Union)
- Lindsey Jeske (Non-Exempt)
- At-Large Members
- Eli Christopher Voigt (Exempt)
- Niall Quinn (Non-Exempt)
- Laura Reeve (Exempt)
- The 2022-2023 Staff Council Leadership:
- Kit Morse – President (voted into 2nd 1-year term)
- Stephanie Lewis – Vice President (voted into a 2-year term)
- Carly Darcher – Secretary Treasurer (voted into a 2-year term)
With gratitude we recognize retiring members: Matt Burton, Jenna Isakson , Christina Juarez , Kari Langsea , Chelsea Lien , Dawn Madore , Eunice MacGill , Craig Nisgor , and Julie Schwabe.
A special thank you to Tim Leary, who volunteered to serve as Cabinet Liaison for Staff Council this year. We also want to thank Chris Van Liew for volunteering to be our new Cabinet Liaison moving forward. Lastly, thank you to Ellen Huelmann, for attending all Staff Council meetings as Human Resources representative and bringing your knowledge and openness to some difficult topics.
Staff Council Annual Report
If you attended June’s Staff Council Monthly meeting and heard the year-end committee reports, you are aware that this has been a busy year for the Staff Council committees. Please see the Staff Council Annual Report for details of the work done this past session.
Celebration of Staff
We received positive feedback regarding this year’s Celebration of Staff. Visit the Celebration of Staff website for a complete list of anniversary milestones, staff retirees, and award recipients.
If you missed out on the stickers or would like some more, you can visit Kit Morse in Conference and Event Services in the Columbia Building.
Please don’t forget to provide feedback in the survey for the celebration. Your feedback will help this team with future celebration planning!
Spring Meeting Highlights
A special thanks to all the staff members that took the time to attend the Staff Council meetings throughout the year. We greatly appreciate your attention, input, and support.
Staff Council meetings occur monthly every second Wednesday between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Keep an eye out for email reminders from Staff Council and announcements in SU Today. All staff are welcome to attend.
- For additional SU Staff Council meeting information, please visit our website where you will find links to the current agenda, if available, and minutes of past meetings.
- Staff Council monthly meetings will be held remotely via Zoom.
- Spring meeting attendance included up to 72 staff members attending via Zoom.
Topics discussed over the past months include:
- As Cabinet Liaisons, Tim Leary and Chris van Liew discussed Mission Day, Celebration of Staff, Strategic Directions, staff formation, flexwork, open leadership positions, and changes to the retirement plan.
- Jeff Pixler of Human Resources discussed exit interviews, sick leave donation, and open positions.
- Edgar Gonzalez, VP for University Advancement, introduced himself and discussed upcoming challenges for Advancement.
- Brooke Coleman and David Lance discussed the Campus Climate Incident Reporting and Response Protocol.
- The Staff Council bylaws were amended to extend the terms of officers.
- The Council discussed and approved DEI training for Council members.
More details are provided within the monthly meeting minutes.
Affinity Groups
To help staff build connection and community, we have identified many affinity groups within our SU community. These groups are now posted on the Staff Connections page of the SUSC website. If you are interested in joining any of these groups, please reach out to the contacts provided.
Kudos for Colleagues
Do you know someone who deserves a bit of public recognition? Do you want to thank someone for their act of kindness or support recently? If so, please consider submitting some Kudos for Colleagues and the Council will happily send along your appreciation! Kudos can be submitted anonymously or with your name attached – either way, your colleagues will know they are valued and respected through your acknowledgement!
Staff Council offers our congratulations to all of the staff who have received kudos and our thanks to all of the staff who have submitted kudos to support their colleagues.
Input to Staff Council
We welcome your input. If you wish to communicate with Staff Council, you can email the entire Staff Council, submit anonymous feedback, or email individual members using the members list.
Sincerely,
Seattle University Staff Council
Kit Morse, President | Conference and Event Services
Kari Langsea, Vice President | Campus Ministry
Chelsea Lien, Secretary | Information Technology Services
Jessica Allen | Office of Gift Planning
Corey Belser | Athletics
Matt Burton | Facilities
Carly Darcher | Student Academic Services
Chuy Garcia | Student Health Center
Laura Hauck-Vixie | College of Arts and Sciences
Jenna Isakson | Office of Sponsored Projects
Angie Jenkins | Learning Assistance Programs
Christina Juarez | College of Arts and Sciences
Stephanie Lewis | University Core
Eunice MacGill | College of Education
Dawn Madore | Facilities Services
Craig Nisgor | Athletics
Dario Ogaz | Education Abroad
Andrea Ross | Conference and Event Services
Julie Schwabe | College of Science and Engineering