University of Kansas Support Staff Senate

University Support Staff Senate Committee Membership

USS Senate Executive Committee

The Senate Executive Committee ensures that all functions of the Senate are carried out expeditiously and in accordance with the provisions of the Code. It arranges for and calls meetings and sets the agenda of the Senate. It verifies the results of each Senate election. The Senate Executive Committee acts on the behalf of the Senate in those situations and on those matters requiring immediate attention, and any action taken by the Committee is considered as if passed by the Senate itself. The Executive Committee reports any such action at the next Senate meeting, and its action will be over-ridden only by a majority vote of the Senate. The Executive Committee is comprised of the USS Senate officers, EEO reps, chairpersons of USS Senate standing committees, the representatives to University Senate and the USS Senate liaison to the Unclassified Senate.

There are three standing committees in the University Support Staff Senate and every member is expected to join at least one of them. The president is generally considered to be an ex officio member of all committees and should be notified regarding their activities. These committees are:

Communications

Personnel Affairs

Legislative Affairs

The Code states that the president shall appoint membership to these committees but in practice individual members have chosen the committee in which they wish to participate at the first meeting of the year. Except for the work done by the executive council and the president, these committees do the real nuts and bolts work of the senate. For most members, the more involved she or he becomes in committee work, the more satisfying the time spent in University Support Staff Senate will be.

The Communications and Public Relations Committee is responsible for creating the Senate newsletter. It should coordinate its work with the president and seek advice from the executive council. It generally handles all mass communications for the Senate including those from the Elections Committee. Traditionally, the chairperson of this committee has solicited newsletter articles from each chairperson of the other standing committees when those committees have activities to report. It is sometimes necessary to coordinate communication activities with the Senate secretary. The committee also works with University Relations and Human Resources to keep university support staff employees informed regarding new or changed university policies and benefits. This committee is also charged with maintaining, updating, and archiving any and all parts of the University of Kansas Support Staff Senate website. This committee will also work with University Relations to insure that all University Support Staff Senate meetings are listed on the University calendars. The committee is to work to raise public awareness of the vital role performed by university support staff employees in the success of the University and will develop and implement a method of electronically notifying constituents of meeting times/dates and any other information that they may find relevant to being university support staff employees at the University of Kansas. Sets up a mechanism to be alert to news stories related to the University Support Staff welfare and disseminate the location of the news to USS in a timely manner.

The Personnel Affairs Committee handles matters related to employee benefits, civil service regulations, university policies, and other matters that the president and executive council may determine to be appropriate. It is important that this committee stay aware of Article II of the Code, which states, "The Senate will not act in an advocacy role in any specific employee/employer dispute within the University, nor will it assume the role of arbitrator in any such matter." There may occasionally be matters brought before this committee, which are initially, disputes between an individual and the administration. In the event that this dispute affects a group of employees or has the potential to affect a group of employees, it has sometimes been the practice, after approval of the executive council, to try to reach a satisfactory resolution by working with the director of Human Resources or her delegate. When matters reach this stage it is necessary to exercise the greatest degree of caution, discretion and judgment. It is occasionally necessary for this committee to coordinate its efforts with the Legislative Affairs Committee.

The Legislative Affairs Committee is concerned with the activities of the state government as they relate to matters affecting university support staff employees. The busiest periods of activity are usually in late summer to early fall, and in late January to early February. The committee keeps track of bills during the legislative session. On occasion the chairperson or one of the members may be asked to testify before a legislative or governmental committee. It composes the KU Classified Senate position paper to be adopted by the university support staff senate. The chair and members serve as a nucleus group for participation in the annual Legislative Information Day. The committee advises the president on legislative matters. This committee works closely with the executive council and the senate as a whole. It also works with university legislative liaison when uncertainties about legislative intent or potential legislative impact arise, when the senate has a legislative guest on campus or when a member of senate is going to testify before a legislative or governmental committee.