Latest News 

The December Seminar Series Event - presented by the P&A Professional Development and Recognition Subcommittee (PD&R) in partnership with the Civil Service Communications and Outreach Subcommittee - will feature Tamar Gronvall, director, Office for Conflict Resolution (OCR). Her presentation, An Introduction to the Office of Conflict Resolution, centers around formal and informal conflict resolution services provided by OCR for University of Minnesota faculty, staff, and student employees who are not represented by a union.  

• When: Wednesday, December 1, 2021 from Noon to 1 PM CT
• Where: Via Zoom
• Register here

P&A Driving MPACT 2025 

- By Annie Bigley, Academic Advisor for the Economics Department
I am an Academic Advisor in the Department of Economics in the College of Liberal Arts on the Twin Cities Campus. Together with my colleague, Tiffany Murphy, we advise roughly 900 undergraduate students majoring and minoring in Economics. Using the U of M Advising Framework, we coach, advise, support, and guide students through academic planning and the navigation of University policies and resources to promote their persistence, retention, and graduation. 
 
Working in an academic department means that our work goes well beyond supporting students through advising appointments and emails. We work directly with our faculty to support student learning within the classroom and serve as a resource for the faculty, staff, and students on academic policies, mental health, and diversity, equity, & inclusion efforts. We are key members of the undergraduate curriculum committee, engage in enrollment management, and oversee the supplemental instruction for our key courses within the majors and minors. 
 
As advisors, we facilitate student reflection, learning, and engagement in career readiness. I teach our internship reflection course where students reflect on the professional skill sets they are building, explore career paths, and make connections between their Economics coursework and their professional experiences. Tiffany runs our undergraduate research cohort which brings together all of the undergraduate research assistants to reflect on their individual and collective experiences while exploring career paths related to Economics research.  
 
Our work is collaborative and compliments the efforts of other units and offices across campus. A great example is our Women in Economics program. While the proposal came from Econ Advising and I designed the curriculum, it is made possible through the collective efforts of Eva Widder with the Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute, Colleen Donahue from Institutional Advancement, and the Economics Advising team. The program gives our students access to learn from and be mentored by outstanding alumni across a variety of fields. It also creates meaningful and high-impact engagement opportunities for our alumni. 
 
My work directly supports the student success goals of MPACT 2025. Whether meeting individually with my advisees and prospective students, serving on our department’s curriculum committee, or developing student programming, I am specifically working to enhance the experience, wellness, and success of the students in our department. This is easily seen in our efforts to provide supplemental instruction in key courses, serve as Mental Health Advocates, and facilitate career readiness opportunities. 
 
Programs, such as Women in Economics and the Undergraduate Research Assistants cohort, are designed to support the diverse needs of our student body in Economics. These are directly aligned with the University's goal to attract, educate, and graduate students who represent the diversity, talent, workforce, and citizenship needs of the future. We support our faculty in delivering a high-quality Economics education and engage our students in connecting their education to their professional and personal futures. 

Senate Work

P&A Consultative Committee (PACC) - Chair Scott Creer and Chair-elect Adolfo Carrillo Cabello  

PACC welcomed President Gabel to its November 18, 2021, meeting. PACC members introduced themselves and individually shared how their work aligns with and supports the commitments in the MPACT 2025 Systemwide Strategic Plan. President Gabel said, "I am really glad to be here, and I just love and appreciate how you're thinking about what you do in the context of the strategic plan."

The discussion centered around three topics: leadership and accountability, staff morale and engagement, and compensation and budgeting. The President acknowledged that staff are feeling overworked and undervalued. She added that among the goals of the PEAK Initiative are realigning job responsibilities to reduce work burdens and capturing savings from attrition that has already occurred at the University. President Gabel seemed hopeful and eager for the time when the University community could return to a proactive rather than reactive system of operating. 

Ongoing Advocacy Work - P&A Senate leadership has been busy advocating for the needs of P&A staff. In the past few weeks, leadership has:

• Advocated for the creation of a working group of P&A Senate members and OHR staff to look at the creation of advancement and promotional opportunities for P&A Staff.
• Led consultation with Student Senate leadership and PACC regarding endorsement of the Student Senate Resolution Concerning Caste-based Discrimination which will be presented at the December 2, 2021, University Senate Meeting. 
• Authored an email to President Gabel suggesting the inclusion of Native American staff in the Native American Promise Tuition Program and calling attention to the barriers BIPOC staff face when trying to access the Regent’s Scholarship Program. 

P&A Benefits and Compensation Subcommittee (B&C) - Nancy Sims and Marti Fasteland, co-chairs

The Market Refinement Project (in the works since 2016) has completed its review of 14 of the 19 job families in the study. Because of advocacy work that began in the fall of 2019 by the P&A Consultative Committee, representatives from the P&A Benefits and Compensation Subcommittee, who are classified within the job family being reviewed, are included (when possible) on the advisory committees. The remaining units in the study are Libraries & Museums, Student Services, Education, Research, and Administration.

P&A Outreach Subcommittee - Maureen Long and Anna Milone, co-chairs

The Outreach Subcommittee continues to welcome new P&A employees and connect them to their unit senate representatives. The subcommittee has also turned its focus to filling open P&A Senate seats in various units. Positions are still available as shown on the P&A Senator list. To learn more about the P&A Senate and the roles of senators and alternates, visit the P&A Senate Member Orientation website. If you are a P&A employee who has worked at the University for at least six months and are interested in serving on the P&A Senate, contact Maureen Long or Anna Milone

P&A Professional Development and Recognition Subcommittee (PD&R) - Leigh Allen and Monica Kocon, co-chairs

October Resources Now Available - If you missed the October 28 Seminar Series event, “How Money Flows at the U” with Julie Tonneson, vice president and budget director, Office of Finance and Operations, you can review the recording of the event. 

Lively Q&A at November Policy Pop-up - The November 16 Policy Pop-up with JD Burton from Government and Community Relations was an informative session on legislative advocacy and how to reach out to our elected officials. A digest of questions and answers can be found at here. 

Awards - The University Awards & Honors website lists awards for which P&A employees are eligible to submit nominations.

January Policy Pop-up Event - Come learn about the Campus Public Art policy. This event will feature a panel of experts discussing public art projects and the process for commissioning, siting, and installing them across campuses systemwide. The panel will be prepared to answer questions regarding this fun and important initiative.

• When: Thursday, January 27, 2022 from Noon to 1 PM CT
• Where: Via Zoom
• Register here.