October 2021 System Office Staff Council meeting highlights

Oct. 29, 2021

The System Office Staff Council held a regular business meeting on Monday October 11th. Below are highlights from the meeting:

  1. Vaccine mandate survey - Staff council discussed how to format the results of the vaccine mandate survey that was sent to all System Office staff. Since the October meeting, the results of the survey were gathered and sent to UA leadership. The results can be viewed here.
  2. Staff Development Fund - A subcommittee is continuing work on reviewing options for a speaker to use the funds from the Staff Development Fund. Council members also discussed the possibility of working with the other three staff councils to coordinate a systemwide activity.
  3. Compensation philosophy - Staff council discussed their feedback on the draft compensation philosophy that will be presented at the November Board of Regents meeting.
  4. Compensation memo - Staff council discussed President Pitney’s response to Staff Alliance’s FY23 Compensation Memo.
  5. Post-COVID Workplace Project - Trainings on the new remote work regulations are happening now. The transition team will continue to monitor the implementation to help address any further questions or issues. Please visit the new remote work website for more details on the new regulations and related resources.
  6. End-of-year events for System Office staff - The events committee has been working on planning some activities for the Thanksgiving and winter holidays. SAVE THE DATE for two virtual gatherings, one on Friday November 19th at 11:00am and one on Wednesday December 15th at 1:00pm. Watch your email for further information on end-of-year activities. 
  7. Council members heard a report on Staff Alliance activities:
    1. Morale committee - Members of the morale committee have been working on presenting the results of the morale survey in a visual format, and are planning to make this available to all staff when it is completed.
    2. Ad-hoc committee on shared governance - This committee is continuing to meet and discuss ways to improve shared governance.
    3. Alaska Native Success Initiative - Staff Alliance invited Dr. Pearl Brower to their October meeting to present on the 5 year strategic plan for ANSI. 

SOSC will meet next on Monday November 8th from 10:00am-12:00pm. All staff are encouraged and welcome to attend. Reach out to SOSC representatives to share your ideas and/or concerns. Additional information about SOSC and the Zoom link for regular meetings is available on its website.