As I looked around a full room of staff councilors in our May staff council meeting, my last as the current president, I felt pride, joy, excitement and gratitude. There was an energy in the room that was palpable, perhaps because it was only the second time in a year that we were in person together. Perhaps because it was finals/graduation week and people were excited to end a semester. Or perhaps it was because the councilors felt accomplished and committed to the success of staff council initiatives. We welcomed newly elected councilors. We celebrated outgoing councilors, who I can without a doubt say have each made an impact at IOWA and represented their constituencies well.
As committee chairs shared the accomplishments of their respective committees, I was reminded of the amazing, dedicated and talented staff that we have at The University of Iowa and who I’m proud to call my colleagues and friends. Sixty percent of our staff councilors volunteered in at least one volunteer activity this year totally more than 255 volunteer hours that included outreach activities such as the Homecoming Parade, Highway Clean-Up, Food Donation Drive, UI Dance Marathon and On Iowa. Councilor Anne Hinkle was recognized as Staff Council Volunteer of the Year giving 28 hours of her time in seven different community outreach events. We celebrated diversity, equity and inclusion with an Annual Celebration event. We hosted a councilor feedback session sharing and listening to concerns, ideas and feedback and then educated, explored and elevated that information as appropriate throughout the year.
We saw great success and impact in our three priority areas of focus this year.
- Staff Well-Being
- Staff Engagement Recognition and Impact
- Awareness and Engagement of Staff Council with Health Care Leadership and Staff
Staff Well-Being Impact:
- Included topics on overall health and well-being with specific attention to mental health in every staff council meeting
- Actively participated and engagement in the UI Health & Well-Being Fair
- Organized a food drive for the Food Pantry at Iowa collecting more than 627 pounds of food!
- Endorsed the resolution to support and promote to staff the Kognito: At Risk (Suicide Prevention) training (160% increase in utilization since fall poll)
- Promoted and became Wellness Heroes
- Submitted recommendation to include mental health in sick leave language in the operations manual to align with Iowa code language.
Staff Engagement, Recognition and Impact
- Shared more than 52 UI or UI partner-related articles and resources with staff
- Pushed out monthly newsletters to 8100 staff with information, resources and recognition
- Evaluated 131 applications to recommend 15 members to presidential charter committees
- $500K in tuition assistance approved for an additional year, an increase of $250K over permanent funding
- Recognized 18 staff members with staff council awards totaling $14K
- Sent 17 councilors to the state capitol to advocate for IOWA staff during Hawkeye Caucus Day
- Created a staff council video for new employees
- Represented staff on search committees including Vice President for Medical Affairs, Dean of the College of Engineering, Vice President for Legal Affairs & General Counsel and Director of Organizational Effectiveness.
- Celebrated diversity, equity and inclusion with our annual event
Awareness and Engagement with Health Care Leadership and Staff
- Staff Council table at Science Thursdays
- Established cadence of meetings with UI Health Care leadership
- Staff Councilor on search committee for Vice President of Medical Affairs
- Elevated questions and feedback around the Staff Attendance Initiative
President Wilson said it best when she shared her gratitude to our councilors recognizing that each staff councilor goes above and beyond their normal work duties to be of service to the institution in this elected capacity. To my fellow staff councilors, thank you for your commitment to the council. Thank you for advocating on behalf of your IOWA colleagues, and sharing feedback and ideas. Thank you for allowing me to serve you all as your President of Staff Council. I continue to be honored, humbled and grateful, but most of all Proud Iowa Staff.