Statewide Staff are cordially invited to join SAA at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, in Butrovich 109 and BOB 205 for an awards ceremony and ice cream social (fruit, yogurt and other options available too!) to recognize the hard work and dedication of Statewide staff.

Service Awards will be presented to five-year, 10-year, 15-year, 20-year, 25-year, 30-year and 35-year employees as recorded by HR for the year 2011. In addition, we will present the Outstanding Employee Awards for 2011. These awards annually recognize employees who consistently contribute to University of Alaska System by carrying out the responsibilities of their jobs in an exceptional manner.

Please join President Gamble, the Statewide Administration Assembly and all of your peers at Statewide in celebration of our excellent staff and their dedicated service.

A second push in the ongoing Stay on TRACK campaign is timed with the beginning of spring registration for fall courses. The Stay on TRACK campaign encourages students to take steps to reach their educational goals with as little debt and time as possible. The campaign’s initial focus is on full-time students pursuing a baccalaureate degree. As part of the spring revival of the campaign outreach, Mary Gower shared the following EDITORIAL in student newspapers.

We would like to hear feedback on this campaign. Please answer a short student survey or faculty/staff survey after you've had a chance to learn about the campaign at the Stay on TRACK website, at� www.alaska.edu/stayontrack. If you have any questions, please contact Mary at msgower@alaska.edu or call her at 907/450-8145.
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Do you desire to know more about what is happening at the university? Want an opportunity to review and comment on policy changes before they happen? Do you enjoy planning events that make the workplace a better place? Want to assist the community within and outside of the workplace? Or maybe you feel a need to speak out about conditions affecting statewide staff. If you answered "yes" to any or all of those questions, we need you in the Statewide Administration Assembly.

Now is the time to get involved! Please take a couple minutes to nominate yourself or a coworker for the Statewide Administration Assembly. Send nominations via email to sysaa@email.alaska.edu or drop them into the box provided in the System Governance Office, 105H Butrovich.

We need to fill four voting seats from Fairbanks and one from Anchorage. These are two-year terms.� We also need two alternates to serve one-year terms (any location is fine).

Outgoing SAA members are Erica Kurowski, Betty Dupee, Michael Scott, Jeff Holloway, Izzy Martinez, Lisa Sporleder, and alternates Dana Platta and Rita Murphy. Members who still have one year of their term to go, and thus are ineligible for nomination this year, are Monique Musick, Dory Straight, Daniel Hostetler, Linda Hall, Alex Taylor and Briana Walters.

Nominations are scheduled to close at 5 p.m. Monday, April 9. Please submit the names of all the Statewide or OIT employees you think would make good representatives for your workplace concerns.

SAA is our staff voice to the UA administration. Active participation is vital. Visit the SAA Website to find out more about what SAA does and how your experience can be put to use in the university’s governance system.

Administrative Professionals Week (April 22-28, 2012) calls attention to the important workplace role of administrative professionals.� In recognition of the dedicated and hardworking administrative professionals at the University of Alaska, the Statewide Office of Human Resources and Public Affairs are jointly sponsoring various events on Thursday, April 26, 2012. The events will be held in the Butrovich Building, Board of Regents' Conference Room 109 and are open to all UA employees.� �

Sessions during the day will include presentations on personal safety and wellness, career development, technology applications to improve workflow and a panel discussion by administrative professionals. Also, WIN for Alaska will provide 15-minute wellness sessions, healthy snacks and chair massages to UA employees. Additional details and registration for the chair massages will be forwarded in the coming days. These sessions are open to all UA employees, not only administrative employees. �

For this event, we have partnered with the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) Interior’s Polar Chapter. The Polar Chapter will have an informational table with display and brochures. They also will sponsor a few door prizes at the end of the day, so be sure to put your name in for the drawing!

Supervisors - what can you do?
As a supervisor of an administrative professional, you may choose to recognize and thank administrative professional(s) working for you by:
1. INFORMING - let your staff know about the upcoming event and ask them if they are interested in attending one or more sessions. This dialogue can help determine if it’s the right topic or time to be away from your department;
2. SUPPORTING – support the request to attend events during April 26, and ask that they share information learned, and;
3. THANKING - remember to thank them for their efforts in your department, regardless of whether or not they’re able to attend a session.�� �

Administrative staff - what can you do?
As an administrative professional, you can help to keep the flow of information going smoothly between clients, community and staff. You can recognize yourself and your peers by:
1. INFORMING - seek permission from your supervisor to attend one or more of these sessions and communicate how it benefits you;
2. SUPPORTING -� network with your peers and encourage each other to attend a session, share and utilize tips learned; and
3.� THANKING - thank your peers and others who help you; thank your supervisor for supporting your professional development.

Additional details about the events will be communicated via email and posted on the Statewide Human Resources Training and Development Calendar.

For more information on IAAP or Administrative Professionals Week, visit www.iaap-hq.org.

Annually, prior to the new fiscal year, all benefits-eligible employees have the opportunity to review their health plan enrollment options for the coming year. This period of open enrollment is April 16–May 15 this year. Watch for more information from Human Resources, and for the 2012 Open Enrollment Guide to be posted soon.

Keep up-to-date on current wellness benefits and be inspired by healthy lifestyle tips through the UA Health Link. This online newsletter provides monthly updates on IHP programs, wellness breaks, current incentive programs and more. If you missed this month's issue, read it HERE.