October TUSS News for Staff

Published by on October 26, 2022 1:13 am Comments Off on October 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 agendas and minutes are posted to TUSS SharePoint. 

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE RECENT TUSS MEETING: 

  • Shared Governance: Shared governance body leaders’ quarterly meeting on October 10 resulted in commitment to specific effort of sharing agendas and news across the groups. 
  • Stratus: VP Lowenthal shared that more reports are coming in Stratus and reminded to send all questions or concerns to stratusfinancialsteam@towson.edu. Being specific will help the team in troubleshooting. 
  • Budget: Initial internal materials for the FY24 budgeting cycle are expected in the coming weeks, so budget officers in all areas should be on the lookout.  
  • State Surplus: USM is lobbying for as much as possible of the expected state surplus of $2 billion. These requests are typically focused on financial aid for students, and we are optimistic since Maryland values higher education.  
  • Point of Pride: TU’s StarTUp at the Armory has been named North America’s top university economic development initiative! CONGRATULATIONS! Read the story https://www.towson.edu/news/2022/startup-economic-development.html
  • Climate Survey: VP Bradley reported that the planned campus climate survey is expected to launch October 31. All staff are encouraged to participate. 
  • COLA: VP Jones anticipates a comprehensive message regarding eligibility for the state-funded 4.5% COLA increase will be sent to campus by or before Friday, October 28. New hire cutoff date for positions that will be eligible is October 26. The cumulative increases of COLA and merit offered this year annualize to a 14.2% increase for full-time employees. 

REMINDERS: 

AWARDS: 

Homecoming Decorating Contest – Congratulations and thank you to all 13 teams who participated this year! The campus pride shown was fantastic! We encourage you to keep “showing your stripes” all year long! 

Human Resources, Student Conduct & Civility Education, University Marketing and Communications, Albert S. Cook Library Circulation Desk, Occupational Therapy & Occupational Sciences Office, International Student and Scholar Office, Accessibility and Disability Services Office, Career Center, Campus Life Suite, Center for Student Diversity/Student Success Program/Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Suite, Facilities Management, Admissions, and Auxiliary Services 

The scoring rubric was shared with all the teams in advance. Judges’ scores were tallied on October 19, 2022. Due to the excellence campus-wide, scores were tight! The champions were announced in the TUSS meeting that afternoon.  

2022 Champions: Center for Student Diversity/Student Success Program/Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Suite 

The championship includes a trophy that passes to the next champion in the next contest, as well as a Baked Potato Bar for 10 people. All participating teams will receive a certificate to display to commemorate their efforts. 

USM Board of Regents Staff Awards – Now is the time to make the contributions of yourself or an outstanding colleague widely known by nominating them for a USM Board of Regents (BOR) Staff Award. This award is the highest honor bestowed upon full-time non-exempt and exempt staff employees with at least 5 years of continuous service at their institution. 

Staff, faculty, alumni, students, and members of the external community are encouraged to nominate TU staff members in the award category that best reflects their nominee’s contributions. Nominating someone is easy! Submit the cover sheet, nomination letter and recommendation letter as a single PDF to the TU Staff Senate Awards Committee, BORStaffAwards@towson.edu, by November 14. 

Learn more at https://www.towson.edu/borstaffaward. 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: 

TU’s DEI Summit: November 4, 2022
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Summit is an opportunity to elevate racial consciousness and understand how race affects your students’ lives and your classroom practice. The summit is designed for campus and civic leaders, educators and administrators to deepen individual and organizational racial literacy. Learn more at https://www.towson.edu/inclusionequity/diversity/summit.html. 

TUSS Meeting: November 16, 2022, 1 p.m.
Zoom Direct Link: https://towson-edu.zoom.us/j/98702752003?pwd=N05Id3JZTEhxM2Z4ZUNBRk5OSDAvUT09
Meeting ID: 987 0275 2003
Passcode: TUSSZoom 

SENATOR SPOTLIGHT: 

This month features Division of Academic Affairs Exempt senator Saidat Adeleke (she/her(s)), who is IT Operations Specialist in the Albert S. Cook Library. 

How long have you worked at TU?
I became a regular staff member at TU in January 2017, so over 5 years. Although, I did start working at TU as a student worker in the library, and if I counted those years with my current years as a staff member, it would be closer to 10 years. 

What is your department and what does your position entail?
I work in the Library as an IT Operations Specialist, and I am responsible for the deployment, maintenance, and the creation of the entire student experience with the library’s public and classroom computers and technology. I also hire and manage Library IT’s student workers. 

What does a typical workday look like for you?
On a typical day, I already start working before I get in. My students usually come in before I do. I use Webex a lot to communicate with my students on different tasks that need to get done. The typical day starts with checking on TechHelp for online service requests to make sure we have solved reported technology issues with the library computers. Sometimes I spend the whole day resolving computer issues. I direct our student employees in replacing missing objects that public computers need to function. We also work together to make sure our software is updated. Sometimes, I take time to work on a longer-term project such as computer inventory and researching a solution to a chronic problem with our computers. Quite honestly there is no typical day in the Library IT. Sometimes, my schedule shifts if I am working on a quick project or trying to train new student workers. I serve on also committees within the library, on TUSS and on the USMAI level as the TU Campus lead for our ILS Migration Project. 

What do you enjoy the most about your job?
My day is seldom boring and often spontaneous, and I love that. 

What is your favorite place to eat on or around campus?
Hmm… I really love food so this is harder to answer than you can imagine. Short answer is everywhere, but recently the Administration Building. Longer answer is initially, the campus had Halal options in the Glen Dining Hall and Patuxent, so I would often eat there. But there are no longer Halal options on campus, so I find it hard to eat on campus and now I go to the Halal Boys cart in front of the old court house in Towson. 

What do you do to relax?
I love watching Korean dramas and hanging out with my friends. I am a very outgoing person, so I enjoy doing things with friends and family. 

If we were to create a TU playlist, what song would you want to include and why?
“Eye of The Tiger” by Survivor. It’s just so Towson (you know with the tiger and stuff) and it’s also inspirational. I also learned this song during my freshman year on campus. 

What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
People would be surprised to know that I sometimes like to be quiet… this is because I am usually talking a mile a minute. 

What’s one thing you wish you had known when you were a teenager?
I wish I had known that everything would be okay and that I would be happy as an adult. I had a tough childhood and most of the time, it felt like the world was ending. 

If you could have any one skill or talent that you don’t already have, what would it be?
Patience; I am not patient. 

What’s the proudest moment of your life?
It might be cheesy to say but my proudest moment hasn’t happened yet. I have a big hope that the best is yet to come! 

Why did you decide to get involved with the TUSS?
I decided to get involved with the TUSS because I am passionate about advocating for staff issues on campus. I believe we need to have a greater voice on campus, and I joined TUSS so that more of my colleagues can have that voice. 

Describe what you have learned (or hope to learn) during your time in TUSS?
One poignant thing I picked up on while in TUSS is that if you want change, you must continue to voice out and feel empowered to make that change. There is an opportunity and an avenue for you to make changes at TU, but you wouldn’t know that if you sat back. 

___________________ 

Please visit our 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 Sorensen, Heather