By
Selena
Stevens

"Being
a staff senator will require a commitment from a staff
member, but senators will have the ability to make
a difference for all staff. The satisfaction of seeing
all staff benefit from your work should be worth the
effort."
--
Jeanie Caldwell,
chairperson,
UK Staff Senate Development Task Force
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March
29, 2002 (Lexington, Ky.) -- The
call for nominations for the first senators of the
new University of Kentucky Staff Senate is out. Nominations
will be taken April 1 through noon on April 12.
"Being
a staff senator will require a commitment from a staff
member, but senators will have the ability to make
a difference for all staff," said Jeanie Caldwell,
chairperson of the UK Staff Senate Development Task
Force. "The satisfaction of seeing all staff benefit
from your work should be worth the effort."
Russ Williams,
the UK Board of Trustees staff representative, appointed
the development task force, which recently elected
Caldwell, Human Resource Development, as its chairperson.
All regular, full-time employees as of March 1, 2001,
are eligible to run for a senate position.
Senators
will be required to serve on various sub-committees
and represent the senate as needed, in addition to
continuing their normal jobs. From the nominations,
90 senators will be selected from the University's
10,000-plus staff contingent during campuswide elections
April 29-May 17.
The elections
will be certified May 20-24 and announced May 24.
A second round of elections next year will bring the
senate to full force with 175 senate members.
The senate
precincts were developed by using an annual report
of departments and dividing the staff departments
along location and similar function guides. The goal
was to achieve a proportional representation, and
the result was 56 precincts. The precincts will be
reviewed and adjusted as needed in coming years, noted
Ann Livingstone, election officer and Election Committee
chairperson for the task force. A listing of the precincts
and areas they encompass can be found at www.uky.edu/Staff/
Senate/SSDTF/precincts.
The freshly
elected senate will participate in orientation June
17, with a July 1 make-up orientation for those who
miss the earlier session. The first meeting of the
UK Staff Senate is scheduled for 1 p.m. July 11 in
the auditorium of the William T. Young Library.
The Staff
Senate will serve as a liaison with the University
administration, making suggestions and recommendations
about staff-related matters.
A PresidentialAdvisory
Committee will help advise the president on staff
issues, and the Staff Advisory Committee will work
with the staff trustee. The UK Board of Trustees adopted
a new governing regulation at its Jan. 22 meeting
establishing the Staff Senate.
The university
has had a faculty senate since the mid-1960s.
Caldwell
noted that the new Staff Senate brings the staff onto
a more level field with faculty and the University
Senate.
"The senate
will give all staff a voice, input and a united front
on staff issues," Caldwell said. "It will give the
staff a chance to have more influence over issues
that impact our workplace."
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