January TUSS News for Staff

Published by on January 25, 2022 1:01 am Comments Off on January TUSS News for Staff in General

The Towson University Staff Senate (TUSS) is the advocate body for all university staff employees. All TU staff are general members of the senate and are encouraged to attend meetings. Meeting minutes are posted to TUSS SharePoint. 

Highlights from the recent TUSS Meeting 

  • Theresa Jenkins is the senate representative on the CIO search committee. 
  • TUSS will be seeking input from senators on the timesheet system. Send your senator or the TUSS email (tuss@towson.edu) feedback. 
  • Budget: The Governor’s budget was made available right before the TUSS meeting. Preliminary review looks positive and, once it is analyzed, more information will come. 
  • STRATUS: STRATUS is 65%-70% complete. It is expected to go live on July 1, 2022. 
  • Pay changes: VP Jones shared information about the pay changes that were included in the email to campus on 1/19/2022. See email for more information about COLA, Merit and bonus. 
  • COVID: KN95 masks are available on campus. They are required in the classroom and encouraged on campus. 
  • Telework Policy: The revised policy is expected to be approved by the start of the spring semester. 
  • Pay Study: OHR (Office of Human Resources) is in Phase 2 of the pay equity work now. 
  • Hiring: TU has hired nearly 175 people in the past year. Many positions are being filled across the Division of Administration and Finance, which will improve many services across campus. CDL bus drivers are now fully staffed! 
  • Senior Positions: Senior positions searches are continuing. 
  • Compensation: TU is in the process of finalizing compensation for staff that took on duties of lateral or lower positions. 
  • Juneteenth: TU had identified Juneteenth as a TU holiday. It is now a state and USM (University System of Maryland) holiday, so for 2022 TU has shifted that university holiday to October 17, 2022. 
  • $15/hour: The $15/hour shift on January 1 includes student employees. More details about how this will be implemented and funded are still to come. 
  • Diversity training: Any department interested in diversity education, reach out to the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity. 
  • Campus Master Plan: TU is expecting the completed campus master plan to be unveiled online in February. 
  • Council of University System Staff (CUSS): The 30th anniversary of CUSS is coming up in June 2022. 
  • Elections: Staff Senate elections will be held in the spring. More information to come. 
  • Reminders: 

Awards 

Top Tiger 

Join us in congratulating Top Tiger Award recipients: 

  • Mary Weir, Payroll Office Help Line Supervisor 
  • Taylor Sevik, Coordinator for Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life  

TU faculty, staff and students can nominate staff members for a Top Tiger award by submitting the Top Tiger Nomination Form.  

Mark Your Calendar 

TUSS Meeting: February 16, 1 p.m.
Zoom Direct Link: https://towson-edu.zoom.us/j/98702752003?pwd=N05Id3JZTEhxM2Z4ZUNBRk5OSDAvUT09
Meeting ID: 987 0275 2003
Passcode: TUSSZoom 

Notify TUSS@towson.edu by Monday before the meeting if you need to attend in person, please. 

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Staff Development Conference: March 23, 2022 – “Push What’s Possible: Make an Impact”
Registration will be opening in early February. An email with details will be coming from TU Staff Senate. 

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Administrative Professionals Conference: April 28, 2022
Presented by USM.  Save the date and look for updates in TU Today this spring. 

 

Senator Spotlight 

This month features Division of Administration & Finance Non-Exempt Senator, Deniz Erman (she/her). She works for the University Store (Auxiliary Services). 

How long have you worked at TU?
I have been working at Towson University for nineteen years (soon to be twenty years). I began my career at TU on March 20, 2002. 

What is your department and what does your position entail? 
When I began at the University Store nineteen years ago, I was the Adoption Supervisor in textbooks for ten years. I then moved on to merchandising and buying which is a lot of fun! My “official title” is Buyer/Merchandiser Specialist. I purchase the supplies for the University Store. In addition, I work with departments and professors who request certain items to be sold in the University Store for their courses. I search for new supplies that are popular or may become popular. I input and price any merchandise that I purchase into our MBS system. I make certain that if the pricing needs to be changed, it gets changed. I also work with purchase orders and make sure that they are correct and match the invoices. I also make sure that my section is ready for inventory when that process occurs once a year. I am responsible for putting all of my supplies that have been ordered out on the floor and I merchandise the sales floor. I reorder products accordingly when stock levels are running low, as well as keeping my section in the stockroom organized. More importantly, my number one task is to help and assist customers. 

What do you enjoy the most about your job? 
What I enjoy most about my job is helping faculty, staff and students with any questions they may have about the products we sell at the University Store or any questions they may have about TU. 

What is your favorite place to eat on or around campus? 
My favorite place to eat on campus is the 7720 Café. It has the best food that I have tasted on campus.   

What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I am always told that the spelling of my name, Deniz, is different and unique. My name spelled  “Deniz” which means “the sea” in Turkish. My Dad was from the island of Cyprus and he was Turkish. I was told that I used to speak Turkish fluently when I was little.   

If you could have any one skill or talent that you don’t already have, what would it be? 
I always wanted to be a singer, but I am afraid that my singing will empty a room because it is so bad. Bless my office mates who listen to me sing because I am humming or singing most of the time while I am working – I am sorry! 

What’s the proudest moment of your life? 
The proudest moment of my life is when I graduated with my four-year degree. That is definitely at the top of the list. It took me a long time to get my degree because I worked full-time and took care of a sick parent while I pursued it. There were a lot of times that I wanted to quit, but with the help of my family, friends, and my University, I made it and it was the best feeling! 

Why did you decide to get involved with the TUSS?  
I got involved with TUSS because I wanted to be an advocate for the staff, and to be more involved with TU. Meeting and working with staff from other areas of campus has been fun and a learning experience. I learned that the staff that work at TU care a lot about this University and want what is best for it. We have a lot of staff that do incredible things for this campus. 

Describe what you have learned (or hope to learn) during your time in TUSS? 
I have learned that change happens, but it takes time, patience, and persistence. I have been lucky enough to serve on TUSS for nine years and CUSS for eight years and I have seen change happen slowly on both committees, but change is happening! I learned that faculty, staff, and students must work together and support each other to make change happen. Having support from President Schatzel and the President’s Cabinet has helped TUSS reorganize and move forward. I hope with the ongoing changes to TUSS, staff will want to become more involved with TUSS and the University.    

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Please visit the website for more information about TUSS, details about upcoming meetings, the list of senators, and details about staff awards: https://www.towson.edu/tuss . 

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This post was written by Karp, Robert J.