In 2018, Kerri Barber, department administrator of sport management, and Joan Nelson, associate vice president of human resources, dusted off the hard copy of Rice's Staff Advisory Committee bylaws that were drafted in 1998. With the university's blessing, they took up the mantle of improving the mission and impact of the committee.
After serving a few years on the Staff Advisory Committee, Barber and others felt like there was more the group could do -- more to cultivate the staff community, but with fewer ice cream socials. When they dug out the original bylaws, they realized the group had been running without a guiding mission.
“The stars aligned and we gained momentum,” said Barber. “There were a lot of people who wanted to create something new that represents staff.”
Barber and Nelson reached out to peer institutions to learn about how other campuses organize staff engagement and staff advocacy. With new bylaws and a new mission, the group aimed to launch the Rice University Staff Council, a group focused on community, professional development and advocacy, in the spring of 2020.
The pandemic threw a wrench in those plans, and the group continued work out the details of the launch as the campus moved to work-from-home status.
The delayed, mostly virtual relaunch saw the council grow from nine to 26 members. Chair Anne Santos and vice chair Korin Brody are focused on spreading awareness and bringing events and initiatives to the campus community with coffee chats, spirit weeks and professional development.
The primary purpose of the council is to build a collaborative community for staff that facilitates professional growth and networking as well as creates a culture of staff advocacy by partnering with human resources and the university’s administration.
The council aims to have a minimum of 15 members selected to represent different aspects of campus at all times: four from academic departments; four from non-academic departments; four from Housing and Dining, Facilities, Engineering and Planning and the Rice University Police Department combined; and three nonspecific universal members.
“We were really cognizant of the makeup of the group as we developed the bylaws. We wanted to make sure we represent all staff,” said Barber. “People were excited to join, and excited about pursuing staff advocacy.”
The council has four subcommittees: communications, social connections, professional development and staff advocacy. The social connections group recently distributed service pins to 2019 and 2020 recipients after a long hiatus due to the pandemic. The professional development group partners with human resources to support their initiatives and will host an “Ask the Expert” event once a semester. The staff advocacy group will act as a liaison between the general staff community and university leadership.
The staff advocacy subcommittee will ensure staff recognition, promote the Staff Council mission as a partner of the university, spread awareness across campus of personal and professional development, increase staff engagement on campus and share observations of the campus climate with human resources.
Members serve staggered three-year terms, but officers typically serve four years, with their last year as a nonvoting member. Applications for next year’s new members will open in April to any benefits-eligible staff with two or more continuous years of service.
The Rice University Staff Council will act as an advisory and consultative body to the vice president for human resources. Upon request, the council can also provide the same service for any university administrator or business unit on any matter that may affect the issues, policies and practices that impact or are impacted by staff.
The mission is to facilitate active and direct communication between staff and the university’s administration; to serve as a sounding board for the administration regarding proposed actions, programs, policies and procedures that will affect the staff; to provide a forum for hearing and reviewing staff concerns and interests; to recommend staff representation to serve as appointees on University Standing Committees or human resources committees; and to foster the development of a supportive and collaborative network of colleagues through social and professional development opportunities that promote the RICE MILE and university values.
Find out more at https://staffcouncil.rice.edu.