Key Updates from Staff Senate's March Meeting
- Resolution in Support of Diverse Hiring Practices for the Board of Trustees
- The Staff Senate discussed a resolution shared by the Associated Student Government in support of diverse hiring practices on the Board of Trustees.
- In collaboration with Faculty Senate Council and Associated Student Government, Staff Senate will consult with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion regarding the language and content prior to approving the resolution.
- Fr. Dorian, Tom Plante, and Anne McMahon: Mission Priority Examen, discussed the examen (structured reflection) currently underway to reflect upon what it means for Santa Clara to be a Jesuit university today.
- Participation is invited! How can we more fully live out our Catholic and Jesuit values? If you had one wish for SCU around our mission, what would it be?
- Email responses to examen@scu.edu or visit scu.edu/examen.
- John Sobrato, Chairman, Board of Trustees answered Staff Senate's questions regarding:
- The role and structure of the Board of Trustees
- Goals for the Board of Trustees in upcoming years
- Staff input and involvement in collaborative governance
March 21, 2019 meeting minutes are saved on the Staff Senate Google Drive
Get Involved with Staff Senate
Spring is the season for Staff Senate elections! Keep an eye out for upcoming emails soliciting nominations. You may nominate yourself or others for a role on Staff Senate. It's a great opportunity to:
- Connect with staff from across campus
- Advocate for the needs you see in the staff or campus communities
- Stay up to date with the diverse processes and projects happening on campus
Want to see what Staff Senate is like before getting involved? Attend our April 18th meeting, at 10:30 in the Nobili Dining Room. All staff are welcome!
Share Feedback with Staff Senate
Send comments, concerns, feedback, questions, or suggestions to Staff Senate by emailing us at staffsenate@scu.edu or using the form linked on our website.
April 18, 2019 at 10:30am
Nobili Dining RoomAll staff are invited to attend Staff Senate Meetings.
Hear updates, share your ideas or concerns, and connect with staff from across campus.
The April meeting includes a visit from Cara Uy with an update on the Sustainability Strategic Plan, and Amy Schachter and Bridget Colbert with an update on university efforts to address the concerns of adjuncts and lecturers.
In an effort to get to know each other better and to identify areas of collaboration, senators will take turns during every meeting to share three personal facts about themselves, and a highlight and challenge in their area or department.
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Lisa Fabiny, International Student Advisor, Global Engagement Office - Senator
Things about Me
- I took my first trip to the middle east by going to Israel in November.
- I’m a certified health coach.
- I would like to build a tiny house on wheels.
Area Highlights
- Global Engagement continues to develop the University's strategic commitment to global understanding and engagement.
- This year we introduced two new programs, i-Exchange and the Life in the U.S. Series, to support international student adjustment to SCU and foster meaningful engagement among SCU faculty, staff, and international students.
- SCU Study Abroad nominated 400 students to study abroad for 2019-2020 after the most competitive application process in recent years. For students who were not nominated, the study abroad office offered two workshops on How to Submit a Successful Application to help prepare them for applying to future programs.
- The university continues to increase the numbers of faculty and staff leading student programs abroad and engaging in the process to support university-sponsored international travel through departments throughout the university. Examples include: Global Explorations faculty-led summer study abroad; Engineering senior design projects abroad; College of Arts & Sciences Real grants for experiential learning, and more.
Area Challenges
- Aligning the SCU quarter academic calendar with the rest of the globe that is on semester calendars continues to make study abroad more expensive for SCU than at semester institutions and therefore more challenging for the university to support the highly qualified students being admitted to SCU expecting to spend a term abroad.
- With the current political climate and immigration rhetoric in the U.S., we continue to face challenges in advising students who have anxiety and uncertainty for their future.
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Joe Pereira, Custodial Supervisor, Facilities - Senator
Three Things about Me
- I am retired from a Public Employee Retirement System (PERS). I worked in waste water collecting and treating over 36 million gallons of water a day for 24 years!
- I have been at SCU four years this month. Prior to SCU, I was the custodial Supervisor at Tesla Fremont/Palo Alto/Newark/Lathrop/Sunnyvale for 19 months in charge of all the contract custodians, landscape, tree trimming, sweeping services (about 400 people).
- I am a musician and I have played the Saxophone since I was nine years old.
Area Highlight
- I am very passionate about recycling. I want to start reducing costs by removing cardboard from our stream. Recycling alone costs SCU about $130,000.00 a year. By reducing cardboard, we should see an immediate reduction of about 25% to 30% savings on our facilities budget in this area.
We have taken our first steps towards our adventure by purchasing a baler. This baler will be located in a central location between the bookstore and the Benson Memorial Kitchen. These areas were identified as our two largest generators of cardboard waste. I believe we will remove approx. ten to fifteen tones of cardboard weekly, which can then be sold to a recycler for a profit. Doing this and moving towards a full recycling station will allow us to be better stewards to our community and the environment. My ultimate goal is to provide a full sort-recycling center. This will lessen our carbon footprint for the world.
Area Challenge
- One of the biggest challenges is the negative view toward the cleaning industry and the people that work in it. Staffing is a big challenge. Long and short-term absences from work are problematic for our department. We do not have an extra group of custodians or recycling techs to do the work when team members do not report for their assigned shift. This leaves a burden on their co-workers and it impacts everyone on campus. We are hoping to make a change in the near future as money allows.
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