{"307871":{"#nid":"307871","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Creating a Voice for Staff at Georgia Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUntil recently, staff at Georgia Tech didn\u2019t have a formal means of communicating their perspectives to the Institute\u2019s executive leadership. And given that there are more than 3,700 staff members at Tech, there is plenty of insight to be shared. So, at the request of President G.P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson, a planning committee was established last year to develop the framework for the creation of Georgia Tech\u2019s inaugural Staff Council.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Staff Council\u2019s primary mission is to act as an advisory group to the Institute\u2019s executive and senior leadership and provide insight on how decisions regarding policies, procedures, and investments affect this segment of the campus community. The Council, which will meet with executive leadership at regular intervals, is intended to serve as a conduit for staff perspectives that are broadly representative of the greater staff population.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen I first came to Georgia Tech in 2009, one of the first things I noticed is that we didn\u2019t have a group in place to share insight and advice on decisions that affected our staff,\u201d said Peterson. \u201cOur new Staff Council will enable our staff to have a formal channel of communication with Georgia Tech\u2019s senior leadership, just like our faculty and students already have. I would like to thank the planning committee and the members of the interim Staff Council for their work in helping to make this a reality.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe interim Staff Council, which was appointed by the president, is charged with developing a plan for the planning and execution of the inaugural campuswide Staff Council elections this fall. In August, this group will lead public forums as a means for staff to learn more about the Staff Council as well as involvement opportunities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo facilitate this goal of transferring appointed seats to elected seats in January 2015, the interim Staff Council also elected its first leadership team to help steer the committee toward a successful first term.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECouncil Chair: Dwayne Palmer, lead information technology project manager in the Office of Information Technology\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECouncil Vice-chair: Christie Stewart, associate director of Campus Recreation\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECouncil Secretary: Andrea Be, assistant director for business operations in the Office of Industry Research\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe interim Staff Council is very excited to serve the campus community in this capacity,\u201d said Palmer. \u201cThere is a lot to accomplish in the short term. This summer, we will conduct several information sessions where we will engage staff \u2013 asking them to bring their concerns and input to the Council. In addition, we will also be establishing the Staff Council elections process for fall 2014. I am really charged up about this opportunity for Georgia Tech\u0027s Staff Council to have a positive impact on campus.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESeats on the 20-member Staff Council will be allocated based upon the relative size of the staff populations under the Institute\u2019s Job Classification and Compensation System (JCCS). For instance, the 739 staff members who comprise the skilled trade classification equate to five council seats. There are five categories in JCCS: Administrative and Professional, Scientific and Research, Skilled Trade, Information Technology, and Development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA Staff Council website will be launched later this summer. In the meantime, questions and comments can be submitted to: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:staffcouncil@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Estaffcouncil@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Until recently, staff at Georgia Tech didn\u2019t have a formal means of communicating their perspectives to the Institute\u2019s executive leadership. And given that there are more than 3,700 staff members at Tech, there is plenty of insight to be shared."}],"uid":"27164","created_gmt":"2014-07-18 16:27:35","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:45","author":"Rachael Pocklington","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-07-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-07-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"307861":{"id":"307861","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech Forms Inaugural Staff Council","body":null,"created":"1449244708","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:28","changed":"1475895017","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:17","alt":"Georgia Tech Forms Inaugural Staff Council","file":{"fid":"199787","name":"small_staff_council_logo_no_text_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/small_staff_council_logo_no_text_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/small_staff_council_logo_no_text_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":27597,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/small_staff_council_logo_no_text_0_0.jpg?itok=GBeibF0V"}}},"media_ids":["307861"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"8254","name":"Administration and Finance"},{"id":"2775","name":"human resources"},{"id":"167004","name":"staff council"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Staff Council\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:staffcouncil@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Estaffcouncil@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}