P&A Service Opportunity
The Senate Committee on Committees (ConC) appoints members to serve on 20 of the 28 standing committees that make up the University Senate. The P&A Consultative Committee (PACC) has the opportunity to directly appoint P&A members to service on the ConC to participate in its critical and significant work. Ensuring representation of P&A employees on this committee is vitally important.
If you are interested in being considered for appointment to the ConC, please complete the nomination form. Candidates will be reviewed and selected by PACC. Please submit your nomination no later than April 10, 2022.
Latest News
Reminder - Consider Serving on the P&A Senate!
Several units across the University have openings for senator and alternate positions. Watch for an email from your unit’s election contact if there are open seats in your unit. Nominate yourself or someone else by the April 15th deadline.
To hear first-hand information about serving on the P&A Senate, join senate members for office hours on Thursday, March 24 or Thursday, March 31. Drop into Zoom and stay as little or as long as you like. You can also explore the P&A Senate Member Orientation website for insights into what the roles and responsibilities are for a representative.
Office Hours for the P&A Senate
Thursday, March 24 from 3:30-4:30 pm - passcode: n2NuY8
Thursday, March 31 from 1-2 pm - passcode: 35H8ZH
April Seminar Series Event
Register today for the next Seminar Series event: "How Values Light the Way: Connecting to values to get through hard times”. Michelle M. Lamere, assistant director, Education Programs of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, will help you learn to navigate tough situations and decisions by identifying your top values and translating them into practice. This virtual event will be held Monday, April 25 from noon to 1 PM CT.
Michelle holds a Masters of Public Affairs from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, with an emphasis on policy and leadership, and a graduate minor in Integrative Therapies and Alternative Healing Practices with a focus on resilience. She has also studied at the Dalai Lama's Medical Research Institute in Dharamsala, India. She is a certified professional coach and is a certified facilitator of Research Professor Brené Brown’s Daring Way™ and Dare to Lead™ curricula. Michelle has been developing the careers of researchers and leaders for over fifteen years.
In her spare time, Michelle loves cooking up adventures with partner and four children, reading to her dogs, and fishing in Northern Minnesota where she grew up.
P&A Driving MPACT 2025
Lori Fligge, communications manager, and Elizabeth Kästner, senior graphic/ multimedia designer, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS), have created the Future of Advanced Agricultural Research in Minnesota (FAARM) Fact Sheet.
FAARM is a CFANS initiative to make Minnesota the global leader in advancing food and agriculture research, education, and outreach. “The FAARM project wholly demonstrates the purpose-driven nature of our CFANS work from farm to table,” Fligge said. “FAARM will serve as a state-of-the-art innovation complex that fosters critical discoveries for generations to come, and it was rewarding and fun to have the opportunity to contribute to a piece that explains FAARM’s value to an array of key stakeholders.” Fligge’s and Kästner’s work supports the University's Discovery, Innovation, and Impact Commitment by cultivating creativity, collaboration, and entrepreneurial spirit.
Troy Goodnough, sustainability director at the University of Minnesota Morris, has laid the foundation for a program that works to model Morris as an example of sustainability principles, practices, and excellence. The Morris campus has a broad array of initiatives devoted to sustainability. Among our areas of focus are renewable energy, zero waste, public engagement, and student leadership -- campus sustainability efforts extend to almost every area of campus life. The work of Goodnough and the Office of Sustainability support MPACT 2025 by advancing sustainability goals.
Lucinda Johnson, PhD, Director of Research at the Natural Resources Research Institute, has been appointed to the U.S. co-chair position for the International Joint Commission, a bi-national organization established by the United States and Canada to jointly manage waters bordering the two countries. Johnson's research focuses on the effects humans have on aquatic ecosystems, especially in the areas of land use and climate change. Johnson’s work supports the MPACT 2025 goals of sustainability related to climate action, clean water, and land ecosystems.
Please consider sharing your own work with us to be considered for upcoming newsletters. If you come upon an article involving a P&A Employee, let us know.
Senate Work
P&A Consultative Committee (PACC)
Chair Scott Creer and Chair-elect Adolfo Carrillo Cabello
PEAK Initiative: The pace of the project has slowed to allow for more in-depth understanding of the complexities involved in the efficiency initiatives. P&A leadership expressed that the process should more heavily weight staff voices who are subject matter experts on initiatives explored, as these staff work with these subjects day to day.
Masking Policy: P&A leadership was consulted on recent updates to the University's masking guidelines and continues its advocacy to support those who wish to continue wearing masks and for the University to supply KN95 to those who request them.
The P&A, Civil Service, and Faculty Senates continue their joint advocacy for changes to the current employee Wellbeing Program.
A project team of the P&A Senate is looking at quantifiable data to determine P&A staff impact at the University. Some of the interesting finds of the data are:
- Historically, P&A staff deliver around 30% of credits system wide
- For some Greater Minnesota campuses, P&A staff deliver up to 64% of credits
- Systemwide, P&A staff taught over 100,000 students in Fall 2021
- University of Minnesota Libraries research publication data - from 2017 through 2021, an average of 22% of all scholarly publications at the University had at least one P&A author.
P&A Professional Development and Recognition Subcommittee (PD&R)
Co-chairs Leigh Allen and Monica Kocon
Bookmark the University Awards & Honors website where you can find a list of awards for which P&A employees are eligible to submit nominations.
Nominations are currently being accepted for:
- Award for Global Engagement - due May 18, 2022
Additional Updates
RecWell (on the Twin Cities campuses) continues to offer Free Staff Days the 3rd Thursday of every month. Staff can get a free day pass to RecWell, free climbing (Minneapolis location only), free group fitness classes, and a free daily locker on those days.
Stay Connected to the P&A Senate!
Previous Senate meeting minutes can be viewed at any time.
The next P&A Senate Meeting meeting will be on Friday, April 1, 2022. P&A Senate meetings are open to the public, and you can find meeting information and Zoom link's on the P&A Senate website calendar.