The History of Staff Senate
The Staff Senate was born from the Staff Advisory Council (SAC), a long-standing CCU committee convened to discuss the suggestions, concerns, and ideas that arose based on input from staff members. The SAC was established by President David DeCenzo as an outgrowth of a recommendation from a strategic planning cycle and held its first meeting on Feb. 6, 2008. The original SAC included a chairman appointed by the President along with 12 members representing the major functional areas of the University. The intention of the SAC was to have a direct line of communication to the President to facilitate active and participatory communication and engagement between the President and the staff community.
During the years of the SAC, input from staff and the campus community was encouraged and comment cards in suggestion boxes were placed across campus. Remember these? Suggestions could be made online or through direct communication with a SAC member.
During its tenure, the SAC:
- Proposed the installation of teal and bronze lighting at the pond at the HTC Center. Fun fact: The original suggestion was to dye the water teal!
- Brought forth a recommendation for a staff orientation program offered through Human Resources
- Suggested increased safety measures on campus
- Endorsed the University 2016-2021 Strategic Plan on April 21, 2016
- Worked to create the foundation of the Staff Senate
The idea to transition the Staff Advisory Council to a full-fledged Staff Senate was raised on several occasions over the years. Members of the SAC felt that transitioning to a Staff Senate would provide the staff with a more respected voice within the shared governance structure of the University and would allow the staff to make more informed, meaningful, and powerful recommendations to the administration. President David DeCenzo voiced support to begin this process as a component of the 2016-2021 Strategic Plan.
Dan Lawless, former University Registrar and chair of Staff Advisory Council at the time, led the team that worked on the initial Staff Senate proposal. The SAC drafted and ratified the Staff Senate by-laws, election procedures, and determined the initial Senate representation. The inaugural Staff Senate meeting was held on October 9, 2018.
Staff Senate today . . .
The Staff Senate today consists of 29 Senators representing 24 units across campus. The Senate is governed by the Executive Committee consisting of a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Parliamentarian. The dedication and vision of the officers past and present are integral to the success of the Senate. The first set of elections were held after the first full year of membership in July 2020 with Senators committing to a three-year term.
Significant Achievements of Staff Senate. These programs and accomplishments occurred, in part, due to the Staff Senate’s involvement and initiative:
- Creation of the dependent scholarship program (scholarship for dependents of faculty and staff, program had previously been eliminated)
- Creation of Tuition Benefit Program (free tuition for staff members, program had previously been eliminated)
- Establishment of the Staff Ombuds position
- Involvement in COVID Communications during 2020-2021
- Representation on Committees, councils and task forces, of particular note being the President’s Executive Council
- Ex officio representation on important university committees and provides staff an access point that had not historically been available to them.
- Creation of and maintenance of the Staff Senate website, including the Submit a Topic feature