P&A News
November 2016 Issue
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Greetings from the P&A Senate Chair - Etty DeVeauxAs we enter this wonderful season of thanksgiving and gratitude and look forward to gathering with family and friends, we have an opportunity to reflect on our blessings, and on how much we can be thankful. Among the many blessings in our University lives is the rich diversity of staff, students and faculty who play important roles in and are essential to our success. A few years ago, I received a Thanksgiving note from a friend, Lars Leafblad, who took time to acknowledge the many "little" things for which he was grateful. Taking from his wonderful Thanksgiving tradition, I offer a few notes of gratitude on behalf of myself, and the P&A Senate: Some Notes of Gratitude - Thanksgiving 2016 Amber Bathke, Vickie Courtney, Becky Hippert and the University Senate Office - for your excellent support which keeps me focused and knowledgeable of our governance process, and makes certain that the important work of our senate gets done. P&A Senators and Alternates - for your advocacy and work on behalf of our 4,500+ colleagues. And, all of the supervisors of our senators and alternates (including my own, Scott Lanyon) who recognize the value of this work, and allow the time to do it. Catherine St. Hill - for standing up and agreeing to be our next chair, and for working together in excellent partnership to advance the issues that are important to our colleagues across the University system. P&A Senate Subcommittee Chairs (Peter Angelos, Austin Calhoun, Shannon Farrell, Ann Hagen, Ian Ringgenberg, and Elizabeth Schwartz) - for your advocacy and leadership; and for helping to communicate the contributions P&As make every day. P&A Women's Council - for your invitation for me to share with you my passion for this work, and for partnering to advance networking and professional development opportunities for P&A women. P&A Past Chairs (Sarah Waldemar, Steve Pearthree, Ann Hagen, Cynthia Murdock, Katherine Dowd, Susanne Vandergon) - for sharing your insights, counsel, and support; and for helping to chart the course for this year. Presenters to the PACC and P&A Senate - for sharing information and your time to talk with the Senate about important University initiatives, and to help provide us resources to advance our work. Our governance colleagues in the civil service, student, and faculty senates - for your partnership and collaboration. Seeing Colin Campbell (chair, FCC) in his superhero shirt reminds me that yes, there is something super in what you all do - and that have the fortunate charge to help protect and serve our U of M. Our faculty, students, staff and our administrators - for your work to make our community a beautiful and welcoming place, and to empower the diverse communities it serves to achieve their educational and career goals; and for working to make this a better world for all of us. Thank you! I wish you all a joyful and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday.
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Subcommittee UpdatesBENEFITS AND COMPENSATION SUBCOMMITTEE The Benefits and Compensation Subcommittee considers issues and advocates to improve policies related to the benefits and compensation of P&A employees. The Benefits and Compensation Subcommittee is continuing its work to better understand two issues that have been identified as important to P&As: 1) parental leave, with a particular focus on paternity leave, and 2) exploring tuition remission benefits. The committee is in information gathering mode, researching how comparable we are in these benefits to our peer institutions. The implementation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has also raised some concerns. At our recent P&A Senate Consultative Committee (PACC) meeting, we received an update from our central human resources partners. We are also continuing to receive updates on the new FLSA guidelines from our colleagues impacted by the changes. Please look for updates in our P&A Senate meeting minutes for further information, which we will report as we get it. Let us know what issues are important to you! The Benefits and Compensation Subcommittee wants to hear from you on the issues you want addressed. Please contact Ian Ringgenberg ([email protected]) and/or Shannon Farrell ([email protected]). COMMUNICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE The Communications Subcommittee enhances the image of P&A by publicizing the work of the P&A Senate and the achievements of P&A to all stakeholders. We are open during construction! An improved P&A website is coming soon! Improvements will include more updated information on our work. We are looking for P&As who are doing great work to be featured in our Spotlight. We know that there are some great stories of colleagues across the University who are dedicated to making this a great place to research, teach, work, and study. Everyone wants to be appreciated! If you appreciate someone, don’t keep it a secret— you can nominate a P&A to be featured in our newsletter or social media via this form. OUTREACH SUBCOMMITTEE The Outreach Subcommittee promotes representation of P&A personnel within University governance and assists P&A Senate members and alternate members with governance activities within the P&A Senate. The Outreach Subcommittee is dedicated to filling unrepresented senator seats in 2016-2017. A few seats remain open. Find out who represents you and your unit, and see if there is an open seat in your area and consider joining the Senate. Contact Ann Hagen if you are interested in running for a seat, especially if you don’t see your unit represented. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND RECOGNITION SUBCOMMITTEE The Professional Development and Recognition Subcommittee encourages P&A to participate in professional development opportunities and recognizes the contributions of P&A and units that demonstrate exemplary practices with regard to P&A. We are very pleased to present our next Brown Bag Lunch & Learn series event: Thursday, December 15, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. President’s Room, Coffman Union The focus of this lunch and learn is “Sleep Wellness” and features Stephanie Standal, MD, and special guests Logan McCool, DO, and Connie Bongiorno, MSLS. All are welcome to attend. Seats fill quickly. Please RSVP early! Also, we are already preparing to select the recipient of our P&A Outstanding Unit Award. P&A Outstanding Unit Award Nominations can be made starting in mid-December and will be due towards the end of March 2017. Look for more details in the December newsletter. |
P&A Employee Spotlight - Meaghan Thul, Parent and Family Program
Each month we feature a University of Minnesota employee in the P&A classification, highlighting the unique breadth and depth of this employee group. You can nominate a colleague or team of colleagues to be featured in the P&A Newsletter via this form.
This month we feature Meaghan Thul, who manages the University's Parent and Family Program.
Q. What is your role at the University of Minnesota? What do you do in a typical day/week?
I work with the Parent & Family Program on campus. I connect with the family members of our students to help them support their student as they make the transition to college and throughout their experience here. We send email updates to families every other week or so, I communicate with families daily as they have questions or concerns about their student's experience, and I coordinate events to welcome families to campus. Visit the Parent & Family Program website for more information. Q. How does your work impact the University community? Family members can play a critical role in supporting students in their college experience. They can help coach their student on how to solve a problem, remind their student that even though college is hard, they CAN do it, and they can let us know when a student is struggling so we can rally the right resources to assist. Family engagement, used appropriately, can help us retain students and maximize their opportunity to be successful. Q. What do you enjoy most about your role?
I thoroughly enjoy great conversations with family members. Sometimes there is a real problem to be solved and I can help families help their students solve them. Other times they just want an empathetic ear, or someone to listen and either laugh or cry with them about their student's challenges, successes, stubbornness or choices. Q. What would people never guess you do in your job? I occasionally feel as though I'm the satellite athletics ticket office. Families have A LOT of questions about game tickets. Q. What do you like best about working at UMN? Easily, the people. All across the board: brilliant and dedicated students, thoughtful and and talented staff. And I learn something new every single day. Q. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Definitely still at UMN, but it's hard to say what sort of role. I tend to make shifts in direction every 3-4 years and it is easy to do that at a campus this size. There is always something new and exciting to get involved with. Q. What is one thing you couldn't live without?
Heels. You'll almost always see me walking around on campus in heels. Q. What do you like to do in your spare time? I love to spend time with my family and friends. Ideally entertaining, cooking and laughing! Q. What was your best vacation? I tend to spend my vacation days visiting friends across the country. Sometimes we go to the beach, sometimes we see a concert together. I pretty rarely take large, long vacations, because it's the time with friends that recharges me! |
Next P&A Senate Meetings
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