The Staff Senate will hold a Constitutional Election on March 15 to allow the staff to vote on amendments.
The amendments would:
- Fix the wording for classifications because of changes instituted by the State of Arkansas in the classification system.
- Increase the number of representatives to a proportional share of staff members and address the changes made when Finance and Administration were combined under one vice president.
- Give the Senate power to nominate staff members for vacant positions, regardless of their classification or division.
Ballots will be disbursed by email to all staff members and will be available until March 18. This election is to allow the staff to vote on the recent amendments to the constitution that was approved by the Staff Senate on February 24. Those amendments are posted on the Staff Senate website at: http://www.uca.edu/staffsenate/documents/Constitutional_Amendments.pdf
Comments or concerns for the Staff Senate can be made to any senator or anonymously at: http://www.uca.edu/staffsenate/contact.php
In other business, the Staff Senate, after years of work and study, is proud to announce the availability of funds for the professional development of staff members at UCA.
A generous donor has created the Staff Enhancement with the UCA Foundation. The fund will allow the Staff Senate to distribute funds to individuals seeking to enhance their careers.
The goal of this fund is to provide reimbursements for conferences, licensing and testing fees, or professional development seminars, training events, or any activity that enhances a staff members’ career.
“There has been a great need for professional development opportunities for the staff at UCA for many years,” said Larry Burns, interim president of the Staff Senate. “I am grateful that the work of the previous Senates and Senate presidents has come to fruition. I hope that we can continue to build this fund so that the numerous professional development needs of the staff can be met.”
Burns said the staff, at all levels, deserves and requires career enhancement opportunities.
“I hope the University’s commitment to increasing travel funds for faculty can be extended to include comparable development funds for the staff in all areas,” he said.
Staff Senate Staff Development Committee is currently working on the guidelines for future disbursement of these funds. Disbursement is planned to start in the fall semester. While the guidelines are being created, the Senate has approved $2,000 in disbursements for the current year.
Some of these funds will be going to university training to support a new professionals event, a professional development speaker, and other training events. Additionally, funds were given to the Physical Plant to reimburse for licensing and testing purchased by the Physical Plant and to allow for physical plant employees to attend Office of Personnel Management training events. For a breakdown of the fund disbursements to date, visit: http://www.uca.edu/staffsenate/documents/professionaldev201010.pdf.