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The UVM Staff Council serves as an advocate for staff by seeking out and responding to their ideas and concerns, representing them to the University administration, and keeping staff informed of University initiatives.
Staff Council monthly meetings take place on the first Tuesday of every month from 12:05-1:30. All members of the UVM community are welcome.
The next meeting will take place online on Tuesday, April 7th. You will find the information for the meeting on our website, or you can contact the Staff Council Office at: staff.council@uvm.edu
To review past meeting minutes, please visit our website.
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Greetings UVM Staff!
As you may have noticed, the Staff Council Office has begun sending out a weekly bulletin with new (and new to us) resources both on campus and in the community to help you through this uncertain time. The newsletter goes out each week, and the recent bulletins are posted on our
Staffline page, along with a link to an index (PDF) of all resources we've gathered and posted thus far, which is updated every Friday.
If you have suggestions for campus or community resources you'd like us to feature, or if there is another way you think we could be helpful, just reach out to us at staff.council@uvm.edu or leave a voicemail at (802) 656-4493.
And, just a reminder that UVM's Office of Emergency Management maintains a valuable resource online with resources, communications, and information about COVID-19 and current University measures and policies.
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Nominations are open now for Officer positions on the Staff Council! If you are a regular full- or part-time staff and have served on Staff Council for at least 6 months in the last 6 years, you're probably eligible to serve as Staff Council President or Vice President. Nomination Forms (PDF) are due by Friday April 10th, 2020. Officer elections will take place May 6-13, 2020.
What characteristics make a good officer?
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You see the big picture.
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You’re willing to have tough conversations, when they’re called for.
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You are a good listener.
- You're a collaborative team member.
- You have a passion for fairness.
If this sounds like you, please consider running for an Officer position. The Council has accomplished a great deal over the past two years under Stephen Lunna and Caleb Gilbert’s excellent leadership, including the pilot of the Staff Professional Development Fund, expansion and improvement of lactation spaces on campus to include the installation of two Mamava Pods, participation in the interview process for the new Provost and President of UVM, and expanding partnerships with departments and leaders all over campus. But as always, there is much continued work to be done. You’ve got a chance to help steer and guide the Council as we continue working for the betterment of the staff at UVM and the entire UVM community.
Representative nominations will soon be open too, and we will be looking to fill vacancies in the following units for the 2020-2023 Term:
- College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
- College of Arts & Sciences
- College of Medicine
- University Library
- President's & Provost's Office
- Student and Campus Life/Living and Learning Center Programs/ Residential Learning Communities
- University Communications
We'll be reaching out to leadership in each of these units in the next several days with details on how to appoint or elect representatives, with the goal of filling all open positions by 5/29/20.
More information and nomination forms are available on our website or through the direct links below:
- Officer Nomination Form (PDF)
- Representative Nomination Form (PDF)
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Thank you to everyone who responded to the Staff Council survey! The survey closed on Thursday 3/26 after having been open for 3 weeks. The next step involves delving deep into the data with the Office of Institutional Research (OIR), but for the moment we'd like to share with you a few quick statistics:
- The survey had a 48.3% response rate (for any statisticians out there, you know that's a great rate!)
- Most people reported being familiar with Staff Council overall.
- Only half of respondents knew who their unit's Staff Council Representative(s) were - so we have room for improvement there, for sure.
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Staffline is read by a majority of people every month (and we received many suggestions on what else respondents would like to see included in this monthly newsletter - thank you!)
OIR will be working on this data over the next few weeks with the target of giving us a final analysis by 6/1. This may seem like a long wait, but we want to get this right. As we learn about what your ideas, questions, and needs are, we'll begin running a regular column in Staffline to communicate exactly what we are doing with the information.
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Due to COVID-19, the Staff Council Social Committee's planned events have had some updates:
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Matilda: after canceling the rest of their season, the Lyric Theatre has rescheduled its performances of Matilda! The new date for which we'll be selling tickets will be Sunday July 12th at 1:00 PM. Watch Staffline next month for a new sign-up, including an online payment portal.
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Cooking Class: The April 30th cooking class on Chinese cuisine has not officiallly been cancelled yet; the Social Committee is looking into whether an online form of the class might be possible. We'll be in touch with those who had already signed up, and in the meantime if you'd like to add your name to the list of interested folks, go ahead and sign up.
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Corporate Cup: The Vermont Corporate Cup Challenge has been rescheduled to September 10th, 2020 at 6:00 PM. More information on forming UVM teams and getting shirts and swag will come in the summer. In the meantime, they're also offering a virtual race this year which you might want to check out!
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Red Sox Bus Trip: This trip has unfortunately been cancelled. However, we had a lot of interest in this and we will be looking into possibly rescheduling later this year.
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Lake Monsters Game and BBQ: As of right now, this event has not been cancelled. Save the date - June 28th at 5:05pm. Look for a sign-up in the May edition of Staffline.
The Social Committee continues to think of ways to bring fun, stress-relieving, and community-building events and activities to you during this unprecedented time. Please be sure to check out the "Arts and Education" section of the weekly Staff Council COVID-19 Resource newsletter (check out the latest one) as it lists lots of great online activities and classes for kids and adults.
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In the last few issues of Staffline, we asked you to let us know if your unit had participated in charitable giving or volunteer work, and we're so proud and glad to report on the following wonderful work undertaken by UVM staff:
- Every year, the staff at the (Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP)) “adopts” a family at the Lund Center. They buy presents for the family from a list provided by the family. They also buy general gifts for other families at the Lund Center, and have been doing this every year for at least 10 years.
- The UVM Career Center has been participating in the holiday giving program by Steps to End Domestic Violence (formerly known as Women Helping Battered Women) since 2014. The program exists to help mothers who are transitioning out of their homes and are in need of toys, clothing, money, and other resources. The Career Center typically provides gifts, giftwrap, and ribbons for a family with two children, sometimes also including a gift card for groceries.
We honor your generosity! We'd love to hear from more units about what they've recently done or are doing to help out others in the community. If you'd like information about organizations that need help during the current COVID-19 crisis, the most recent issue of Staff Council's weekly COVID-19 Resources bulletin has a lot of great suggestions.
Let us know if your unit participates in charitable giving or service, as we'd love to acknowledge that important work. Just send us an email at staff.council@uvm.edu
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When we put out our call last month for staff who are notary publics, we were so pleasantly surprised to receive numerous emails from folks in many different units. We have put together a database here (OneDrive spreadsheet) for your convenience. Please note that all appointments should be made in advance by email or phone.
Right now this list may or may not be very useful, since those staff who are able to are working remotely right now, but we hope that when things get back to "normal" this will serve as a helpful resource for all. And many thanks to all the notary publics for offering their time and services.
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The Rainbow Graduation & Awards 20th Anniversary celebration of LGBTQIA2S+* UVM graduates and awardees will now be a VIRTUAL ceremony!
When: April 30th, 2020 at 4:30pm EDT
If you’re interested in attending virtually, please RSVP online.
Now more than ever is the time to celebrate the fact that LGBTQIA2S+ students at UVM continue to prove their brilliance and resilience, just like a flower blossoming out of broken concrete. Self-nominate or nominate someone for an award today to honor students, staff, and/or faculty at go.uvm.edu/rainbowawards.
For questions, please contact Laura Aguilera (they/them, she/her) at laguiler@uvm.edu. Stay tuned on the Prism Center’s social media for updates!
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The UVM Interfaith Center is hosting an online version of their Dinner & Dialogue event on Thursday, April 2nd and it will be the last one of the academic year.
Scientists contend there are six moral foundations innate to all human beings, but how we understand and express them can vary significantly. How do you understand morality from your own religious and/or philosophical perspective? Join with students, staff and faculty to explore the question "What makes us moral?" and discuss how we define "good/bad" and "right/wrong" in our daily lives.
Feel free to bring your dinner with you to discussion! The topic for this final conversation of the year is "LIBERTY."
They'll be meeting online via Zoom. You can also check out their Facebook event invite.
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ONLINE WORKOUTS
LIVE group fitness classes will continue this week - check their live schedule for classes or go directly to the classes via ZOOM. Some of last week's classes are on their YouTube channel, too.
ESPORTS
UVM Sport Programs is excited to offer intramural esports as a free option for UVM students, faculty, and staff.
Head to our website or IMLeagues to register and find out more.
Games include:
- FIFA 20
- NBA 2K2
- Rocket Leagues
- Supersmash Bros Ultimate
- League of Legends
- Overwatch
These games are meant to play at home with your own equipment and are designed for both the casual and competitive gamer.
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