Dear Staff Colleagues,
I am happy to announce the formation of the Williams Staff Committee, an elected body that will seek to increase the visibility of staff on campus and to advance their role in the life of the college.
The group will provide suggestions and input to the senior administration and to the broader college community and will contribute to the richness of our community and to the college’s mission of providing the finest possible liberal arts education.
The description pasted below spells out how the group will work and the guidelines put in place to ensure that its members are representative of our wonderful and diverse staff.
This committee does not replace the longstanding Staff Advisory Council, which will continue to consult with Human Resources on issues of importance to staff, including feedback on institutional policies and practices.
Formation of this new committee grows out of discussion among various groups on campus, especially the Committee on Diversity and Community, and draws on models at some similar colleges.
I’m asking an ad hoc committee to focus on soliciting nominations and on determining the voting procedures for election to the WSC. It’s members are:
Lisa Briggs, Dining
Kelly Kervan, Controller’s Office
Tom Mahar, Facilities
Pat Malanga, English
Christine Menard, Library
Trevor Murphy, OIT
Geraldine Shen, College Relations
Suzanne Silitch, Communications
Rick Spalding, Chaplain
I thank them for their willingness to serve.
I look forward to the beginning of their work early in the new year and to having the WSC in place, with its potential to enrich our campus community by developing ways to draw staff more centrally into its life.
Regards,
Adam Falk
President
Williams Staff Committee
An elected body, the Williams Staff Committee (WSC) seeks to increase the visibility of staff on campus and to advance their role in the life of the college. WSC provides suggestions and input to the senior administration and the broader college community, contributes to the richness of our community and to the college’s mission of providing the finest possible liberal arts education.
The committee:
Brings ideas from the staff to senior administrators and serves in return as a group that the senior administration may consult for staff input on college issues, excluding terms and conditions of staff employment,
Provides open and direct communication within the staff community,
Advises, as appropriate, on staff members who will sit on other standing and ad hoc committees that address issues that relate to matters of interest to staff,
Identifies other ways for staff to engage with each other, with students, and with faculty in an effort to promote community and to make the staff community a more visible and recognized part of the wider college community.
Guidelines:
WSC is elected by all eligible staff members* (exempt and non-exempt) from self- and other nominations solicited from all staff.
WSC is composed of 11 exempt and non-exempt staff members, in proportion to their representative numbers (currently four exempt and seven non-exempt).
WSC must have at least one non-exempt member from dining services and at least one non-exempt member from facilities.
No more than two members from any department or office may serve concurrently.
In consultation with WSC, the president appoints one ex officio non-voting member from human resources, below the level of director.
Members serve two-year terms, with five members of WSC being replaced one year and six the next.
Meetings are held monthly, with additional subcommittee meetings as needed.
Each year, WSC elects from among its voting members a chair, who develops meeting agendas, in consultation with the members of WSC.
All votes are made by secret ballot unless WSC agrees unanimously otherwise.
WSC membership, with contact information, appointments to subcommittees or other college committees, and meeting notes are posted in a timely manner on the WSC website.
Members’ time to attend WSC meetings during work hours, as well as meetings of other committees they have been appointed to is considered by the college to be work time.
WSC receives administrative support from the Office of the Vice President for Finance & Administration.
It is expressly understood that WSC is not a recognized labor organization for the purposes of collective bargaining with the college over terms and conditions of employment.
* Eligible members exclude the President, the Provost, the Deans of the College and of the Faculty, the Vice Presidents for Finance & Administration, Campus Life, Strategic Planning & Institutional Diversity, and College Relations, the Chief Investment Officer, the Assistant to the President for Public Affairs, and the Secretary of the College.
Establishment of the initial Williams Staff Committee:
The president will appoint an ad hoc committee, composed of a diverse group of staff, to organize the election of the first WSC. The ad hoc committee will solicit nominations from all offices and departments, and will determine voting procedures (presumably modeled on those for faculty elections). The first WSC will be composed of five members serving three-year terms and six members serving two-year terms, to establish the two-year rotation described above.
Megamenu Social