University Times

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Volume 41

Number=20 20
3D""

June 11,=20 2009

Search=20 back issues >>=20 =

Campus staff leaders: Morale a concern

Staff = leaders from=20 Pitt=92s five campuses met last week to discuss = workplace issues=20 common to staff.

Those issues included: = communication=20 channels between staff members and the administration = of the=20 respective campuses; communication channels between = the=20 regional campus groups and the Pittsburgh campus Staff = Association Council (SAC); flex-time policies for = staff, and=20 morale concerns.

Several of the leaders at the = meeting=20 remarked that staff morale is as low as it has ever = been. They=20 agreed that low morale among their respective = constituencies=20 is due in large part to the floundering national = economy and=20 the lack of raises for fiscal year = 2010.

(Chancellor=20 Mark Nordenberg announced in January that there would = be no=20 increase in the FY10 salary pool because of static = state=20 funding and a bleak overall economy.)

In a = report on=20 behalf of the Pittsburgh staff group, SAC President = Rich=20 Colwell summarized some of the concerns he has heard = during=20 the year, as well as those he heard during a dinner = meeting on=20 June 3 with some regional campus=20 representatives.

=93There is concern about = morale related=20 to no raises for faculty and staff,=94 Colwell told = the group at=20 the June 4 meeting in the Cathedral of Learning=92s = Babcock=20 Room. =93The economy=92s bad; we see it, we feel it. = Still, we=92re=20 all happy to have jobs.=94

In light of the = economic=20 downturn, regional campus staffers wondered about the=20 feasibility of continuing construction projects on the = Pittsburgh campus and, to a lesser extent, on their = respective=20 campuses, Colwell said.

=93But I told them some = of these=20 projects are already started and you don=92t want to = abandon=20 them, and a lot of the money that pays for them comes = from the=20 state,=94 Colwell said.

He said the raise = issue also=20 ties supervisors=92 hands, including his own. If two = employees=20 in similar positions are performing a different = quality of=20 work, salary increases are the most tangible way to = reward the=20 better performer, Colwell said. =93Not being able to = do that can=20 have a big effect on morale.=94

The salary pool = freeze=20 also calls into question the usefulness of the annual = job=20 performance evaluation process, where staff members = meet=20 individually with their supervisors to discuss their = job=20 effectiveness as a precursor to raise decisions, = Colwell=20 said.

=93It may seem like a waste of time = because of the=20 salary freeze, but it really isn=92t, because staff = should still=20 want to find out how they can improve their job = performance,=94=20 he maintained.

Monika Losagio noted that = SAC=92s salary=20 and job classification committee, which she chairs, = has=20 proposed non-monetary alternatives to salary increases = on a=20 one-year-only basis. (See May 28 University = Times.)

The=20 committee also has proposed that Pitt=92s = administration=20 consider offering early retirement packages for staff = as a=20 potential long-term cost-saving measure, Losagio=20 reported.

Regarding flex-time for staff, a = longstanding=20 issue, Colwell said that Pitt=92s policies provide for = flex-time=20 only at the discretion of the = supervisor.

SAC=92s efforts=20 to modify Pitt=92s policies to encourage supervisors = to offer=20 flex-time have been rejected, he said. But he said SAC = will=20 continue to advocate for flex-time. =93We will because = it=92s good=20 for morale. ... We believe staff would actually get = more work=20 done because they can adjust their personal [life] = schedules=20 better,=94 Colwell said.

Regarding = communication=20 channels, Colwell recommended that staff leaders at = every=20 campus meet regularly =97 at least quarterly, he said = =97 with=20 their respective campus presidents.

=93Our = officers meet=20 with the chancellor and the executive vice chancellor=20 regularly,=94 as well as with Ron Frisch, associate = vice=20 chancellor of Human Resources, Colwell said. =93I also = can call=20 them up and get a meeting if there is an issue I want = to=20 raise. I strongly recommend that you have meetings = with your=20 campus president. How else are you going to know = what=92s really=20 going on?=94 he said.

The combined groups = agreed to=20 pursue the possibility of video-conferencing the = monthly=20 Pittsburgh SAC meetings to the regional campuses to = increase=20 their participation.

=93We welcome reports from = the=20 regional campuses at our meetings, but it=92s not the = same as=20 being interactive in a meeting,=94 Colwell said. He = noted that=20 more than a decade ago SAC meetings were broadcast to = the=20 regionals in a pilot program of the Center for = Instructional=20 Development and Distance Education, but that the cost = became=20 too prohibitive to continue the = practice.

At=20 the June 4 meeting, regional campus staff leaders = summarized=20 the activities that their groups sponsored during the = past=20 year.

Bradford

Linda Delaney, president = of the=20 Bradford Staff Association, reported that the 120 or = so UPB=20 staff members all are members of the group. =93Most of = them come=20 to our monthly meetings, and our two general = assemblies are=20 well-attended,=94 she said.

This fall, the = association is=20 launching a new Pitt Spirit campaign as the result of = staff=20 members=92 requests to become more involved with = student events=20 such as move-in day. The Bradford group sponsors an = event=20 virtually every month, Delaney noted. Events have=20 included:

=95 Annual faculty and staff golf and = bowling=20 outings.

=95 An annual family day at an = amusement=20 park.

=95 A luncheon for new staff.

=95 = A luncheon=20 for Women of Promise winners, chosen from among 44 = local high=20 school girls. The women=92s history month committee = co-sponsored=20 this event.

Delaney reported that staff leaders = meet=20 once a month with UPB President Livingston Alexander. = =93He=20 keeps us informed about full-time equivalents and = enrollment=20 progress, budget concerns and other campus issues. He = also=20 attends our general assemblies,=94 Delaney said. = =93That makes us=20 feel connected and we feel like we can raise staff = concerns=20 with him and he=92ll listen to=20 us.=94

Greensburg

Brandi Darr, in her = second year=20 as president of the Pitt-Greensburg Staff Association, = reported that Michele Shuey (vice president) and Jane=20 Strittmatter, (treasurer) are recently elected = officers of the=20 group.

Darr noted that Shuey and Strittmatter = ran=20 unopposed, indicating a certain amount of apathy among = the=20 staff.

The Staff Association leaders represent = about=20 100 staff at the Greensburg campus. The officers meet=20 sporadically with campus President Sharon Smith at = Smith=92s=20 request, Darr said.

The association is on pace = to raise=20 $10,000 within five years to endow a student = scholarship, Darr=20 said. The Student Resources Endowed Scholarship drive = was=20 launched in 2008 with a $5,000 commitment from an = anonymous=20 donor.

The UPG staff group=92s fundraising = initiatives=20 for the scholarship includes printer cartridge and = paper=20 recycling programs, which have netted about $150 per = month.=20

Other projects included:

=95 Partnering = with the=20 PeopleSoft user group to offer Excel training=20 classes.

=95 Sponsoring monthly events such as = bingo,=20 bowling, a picnic and =93pi=F1ata Thursday,=94 with = lottery tickets=20 included in the pi=F1ata=92s contents.

=95 = Holding lunches=20 at various campus buildings to better connect staff.=20

Darr said, =93We have fun doing all these = events, but=20 sometimes we don=92t have a lot of turnout. Morale is = very low=20 and apathy is up. What we are struggling with as a = staff=20 association is: What is our mission? Is it = fundraising? Are we=20 a social organization? Just what are we? We offer a = lot. I=20 just wish we could get more staff to=20 participate.=94

Johnstown

Sharon Wilson, = a 30-year=20 veteran of the UPJ staff and secretary of the = campus=92s Staff=20 Activities and Concerns (SAC) Association, said UPJ = has about=20 180 staff members. UPJ=92s SAC sponsors events and = volunteer=20 opportunities practically every month, she = said.

=93We=20 had volunteers who helped with the Richland Community = Days=20 weekend event in August and also who volunteered for = =91welcome=20 weekend=92 for our new and returning students,=94 = Wilson=20 said.

Other UPJ association-sponsored projects=20 included:

=95 Distributing gift bags to new = staff members=20 and Halloween candy to students.

=95 Donating = raffle=20 gifts with proceeds benefiting the Susan G. Komen = Breast=20 Cancer Foundation.

=95 Handing out gifts to = residents at=20 Laurel Wood nursing home.

=95 Presenting this = year=92s=20 Rose Reesey Memorial Scholarship Book Award winner = with $200.=20

=95 Sending memorial candles to families of = two recently=20 deceased UPJ students.

=95 Holding =93Breakfast = with=20 Santa,=94 an event that drew more than 150 = people.

=95=20 Sponsoring an annual Washington, D.C., day-long bus = trip, as=20 well as an annual staff picnic.

In a new = effort, UPJ=92s=20 SAC staff relations committee has established the = Office Vibes=20 electronic email service, where faculty and staff can=20 acknowledge individual staff members who have done=20 extraordinary service that may have gone=20 unnoticed.

=93This serves as a congratulations = form,=94=20 Wilson said. =93People across campus can write in to = say thanks=20 or congratulations on a job well done, et cetera. This = has=20 been used many times since it started. Something so = little=20 means a lot.=94

Titusville

UPT Staff = Association=20 President Kathleen Plyler said her group, which = comprises 60=20 or so staff, is more informal than others. =93I am the = only=20 officer. We meet once a week, really to keep each = other=20 informed, if, say, Admissions is holding an open = house, or=20 other offices have projects going on, we=92d like to = know that,=94=20 Plyler said.

She said campus President William = Shields=20 is very supportive of the staff=92s charitable efforts = and meets=20 regularly with staff.

=93Continuing a = longstanding=20 tradition of service, UPT =91adopted=92 three families = through the=20 Salvation Army Christmas project, buying gifts for = nine=20 children as well as their parents, and buying food to = stock=20 the families=92 pantries,=94 Plyler said.

New = this year is=20 a project initiated by UPT staffer Chris Hunt, whose=20 son-in-law is a morale officer for troops stationed in = Afghanistan and runs a program called =93United = Through=20 Reading.=94

=93The deployed troops who are = parents read=20 donated children=92s books aloud via DVD for their = child to=20 watch at home,=94 Plyler explained. =93As an offshoot = of this=20 project, paperback books =97 mysteries, novels, et = cetera =97 have=20 been donated and are being sent to troops in Iraq. We = think=20 that donating books is an ideal project for a=20 university.=94

She is soliciting contact = information for=20 military members who might benefit from the project. = (Plyler=20 can be contacted at 814/827-4424;=20 plyler@pitt.edu.)

Among other projects = undertaken by=20 UPT staff were:

=95 Support for the annual = March of Dimes=20 March for Babies as well as for the Big Brothers/Big = Sisters=20 of Crawford County.

=95 New this year is staff = support=20 for a local backpack program. Volunteers filled = backpacks with=20 prepared, individually packaged food to feed 38 = children=20 living in homes without adequate food.

=97Peter = Hart=20