Vol. 2 No. 2 A quarterly e-newsletter from Cornell University’s Employee Assembly

Hello from the Employee Assembly! We hope you’ll take this opportunity to take a quick glance at news from members of the Employee Assembly as well as campus information and events targeted to CU staff. Feedback and ideas are always welcome at ea@assembly.cornell.edu.

• A special town/gown tribute to Cornell’s women’s hockey team, ranked #2 in the nation, is slated for December 4 at 3 pm at Lynah Rink, when the Big Red takes on ECAC rival Clarkson. One dollar from each of that day’s game tickets and proceeds from special raffles will be donated to the United Way of Tompkins County. Tickets: $6 general admission; $5 senior citizens; $4 CU staff/faculty; children 12 and under free.
• The University is currently under review by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. A first draft of Cornell’s Self Study is available. The final draft will be submitted to the Middle States Commission on February 2011. The committee welcomes comments from staff at middlestates@cornell.edu (of particular interest to staff would be Chapter Three: Institutional Stewardship).
• The University Transportation Advisory Committee is looking for staff member representatives. The TAC meetings are on the third Wednesday of each month from 2:00–3:00 pm and are held in B16 Day Hall. The next meeting is December 15. If you are interested please contact Tanya Grove at tl40@cornell.edu.
• Nominations are currently being accepted for the EA’s George Peter Award, given to Cornell staff members who are great at their job, extend themselves to help others, and go “above and beyond” on a daily basis. Details at <http://assembly.cornell.edu/EA-GeorgePeter/Home>.
• KUDOS! Leslie Sadler Meyerhoff and Tanya Grove would like to send kudos out to members of the men’s basketball coaching staff, who helped them carry in boxes to Barton Hall for the Employee Appreciation Day. Send your Staff Kudos in for publication in the next EA News. The Kudos giver and receiver will be invited to an Employee Assembly Staff Kudos luncheon at the end of the academic year. So recognize your colleagues by sending in your Staff Kudos to to ea-staffrecognition@assembly.cornell.edu.
• The Employee Assembly was pleased to host the President’s annual Address to the Staff on November 12, where topics addressed ranged from a healthy work/life balance for staff to the financial status of the university. To view President Skorton’s address on video, click here. In addition to a free lunch, the over 400 staff members attending the Address had the opportunity to win prizes if they donated to the United Way at the event or had previously donated this year. The prize winners were: Lisa Boettcher, Building Care (Schwartz Center tickets), Walter Bardrof, Hans Bethe Retail Dining (women’s hockey tickets); Barbara Friedman, CIT (women’s hockey tickets); Judy Wiiki, Fiber Science & Apparel Design, (men’s hockey tickets); Jane Miller, Baker Institute (men’s hockey tickets); Rodney Beattie, Robert Purcell (women’s hockey tickets); Patricia Schafer, Olin Library (coffee with President Skorton); Lenore Kathan, Cornell Adult University, (Schwartz Center tickets); Mary Williams, Balch Hall (women’s hockey tickets); and Barbara Romano, Robert Purcell (lunch with Vice President Mary Opperman). Congratulations to the campus first responder groups (Cornell Police, University Student Crisis Management Team, Human Resources Crisis Management Team, and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety), who were awarded the 2010 Employee Assembly Appreciation Award.
• Interested in being involved with the Employee Assembly? Join one of our committees! We are looking for members for all our committees: internal operations, elections, communications, education, personnel policy, finance, and staff recognition and awards. For information on joining a committee visit the committee webpage.
• Cornell staff members are invited to participate in “Soup and Hope” on Thursday, January 20 from 12:15–1:00 pm in Sage Chapel. Join members of the Cornell community as they share inspirational messages of hope for the new year. Renee Alexander, Director of Minority Alumni Programs, will be speaking at the January 20 lunch. Bring a soup bowl; complimentary soup and bread are provided courtesy of Cornell Dining. Soup and Hope is co-sponsored by Cornell United Religious Work and the CRESP Center for Transformative Action, Cornell Dining, Division of Human Resources, CU Wellness, Office of the Dean and Gannett Health Services.
• Mary Opperman, vice president for human resources, spoke to the Employee Assembly at its regular monthly meeting on November 3, providing an overview of the administrative streamlining processes to date and the staffing challenges facing supervisors, managers and senior administrators. Noting that the university has reduced its workforce by approximately 900 positions over the past two years — most from retirement but also including layoffs-Opperman said that the task ahead is to align work to the positions available. That requires deciding on priorities and determining what work can be stopped or done differently, she said. Visit the the Administrative Streamling Program website for more information.
• Holiday film for the whole family! Don’t miss “A Miracle on 34th Street” to be shown at Bailey Hall on December 17 at 7 pm. The event is free and open to all members of the Cornell community.
• For news on staff opportunities, events and programs, access <www.pawprint.cornell.edu>.
• If you or your unit have items that you would like to see included in the next EA E-News please send to ea@assembly.cornell.edu.