Past Issues:

January 2003
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002

A newly invigorated team of administrative staff on the bi-weekly payroll has set to work energizing and expanding the role of the organization formerly known as the Personnel Advisory Committee, or PAC. The new advisory committee provides a voice for all staff employees on the bi-weekly payroll not represented by a labor organization, including part-time administrative staff.

The members of the newly expanded advisory committee met for the first time in December to get acquainted and to elect officers. Out of this meeting came the election of Ann Murray, senior accounting assistant, to the position of chair. Lisa Hurley, publications assistant, was elected vice-chair. Robin Kelly, secretary of the athletic department, was elected secretary of the advisory committee.  There have been two subsequent meetings to review organization and objectives of the committee that advises the president and the administration on staff issues.

“There are so many things on the table at the moment,” Murray says of the advisory committee’s agenda. “The biggest thing that we’re doing is restructuring and revising our by-laws. We feel that we have a responsibility to prove ourselves to the staff. The staff wanted representation, but they didn’t just want ‘party planning’ representation. Everybody is very excited about the opportunities we have and the changes we can make.”

First on the agenda, Murray says, is renaming the advisory committee to create a sense of a new organization and to reflect the committee’s expanded role. The committee, she says, welcomes suggestions for names from any member of the Trinity community. Murray says one role of the advisory committee that she hopes will receive more emphasis in future is the introduction of new staff to the campus itself. 

“We’re looking at ways to get back to that,” Murray says.  “We want all new employees to know who we are and to feel comfortable coming to us with questions or concerns. They can come to us with a concern and we can take it up to the senior level if need be. We’re really here really to facilitate communication between senior management and the staff.”

Murray says the new membership of the advisory committee has broadened the committee’s representation of administrative staff members from all over campus.

“It’s a good mix of people from across the campus,” Murray says. “We really wanted to get as many people involved from different areas of the staff as possible.” Murray expects the new advisory committee to take a much more proactive approach to communication initiatives. She says that facilitating communication is a central role of the advisory committee. “The issue of communication was one concern we were hearing a lot,” she says. 

In the coming months, Murray says, the advisory committee will complete the process of revising its by-laws, and will begin to explore the possible creation of an advisory committee Web site.

“It’s now on our shoulders to prove that we are capable of much more than just planning parties and picnics,” Murray says. “We’re here to hear any issues that come up and address them quickly and make sure that we get them resolved.”  The committee has already met with Senior Vice President of Finance Michael West to explore questions about the new salary package and plans to continue to represent the interests of all administrative staff on key issues.

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