Staff Senate & Staff Association

Supporting employee wellness and achievement

Archives for February 2014

Congratulations!

David Sushinsky, Director of Alumni Relations, and Katie Siguenza ’08 got engaged just before the holidays. Dave shares the engagement story: “My friend and I strung up 2,000 white Christmas lights in a tree near the Garden of Remembrance and connected them to a clapper. I invited her to bring the dog to walk around campus like we’ve done many times before and when we came close to the tree I clapped twice and voila! The lights went on and I popped the question. And thankfully she said yes.”

Kate Shirey, Assistant Director of the Career Center, welcomed the birth of her daughter on Dec 29, 2013. Josephine Lucille was 5 lbs, 10 oz & 19.75.”

Linda Wallace, Director of the Health Center, welcomed the birth of her third grandson on Jan 20. Collin Wallace Moran was 2 weeks late but showed up in 2 hours and beat the doctor to the hospital! He weighed 7 lbs, 13 oz and has a shock of black hair. He joins brothers Sean Aiden (4) and Rory Patrick (21 mos.) who live in Alta Loma, CA.

Lucy Myers, Fiscal Associate in Kent Hall, welcomed the birth of her first grandchild on Jan 27. Avery Grace was 7 lbs,12 oz & 20″.

Human Resources Announces Changes to Evaluation Procedures

After much discussion, minor modifications to the annual performance review process are being implemented beginning in 2014. The modifications as outlined below have been adopted in an effort to continually improve the performance assessment process.
Effective immediately:

  1. Employee mid year reviews are required only for new employees after completion of their first 6 months of employment. Mid year reviews are optional for all other employees.
  2. Annual self evaluations are required for administrative/exempt employees only. Annual self evaluations are optional for staff/non-exempt employees.
  3. The due date for employee annual reviews has been extended to November 1.
  4. The employee review of a direct supervisor will now be sent directly to Human Resources to provide anonymity.

The updated performance review forms can be found on the shared N drive in the Human Resources folder.

The intent of these minor changes is to enhance our annual performance review process. Annual reviews can be a valuable tool to understand your own job performance and to set future workplace goals with your supervisor. Your thoughtful input and participation in this process is important and encouraged.

Food Pantry

The Office of Student Activities has announced the opening of a campus food pantry in the Commuter Kitchen Campus Center 146) and would greatly appreciate donations!

How it Works
The pantry is a need-based opportunity for students who are unable to afford food other-wise. It will be run on a “give what you can, take what you need” basis. They will need consistent donations from the campus community to ensure this program’s success.

How to Give
Donation boxes will be located in buildings throughout campus (residence halls, Campus Center, Glendening, and academic buildings). Donations can also be brought to the Office of Student Activities (CC143) during business hours.

Why do we need this?
Attending college can be very costly, and food insecurity is a growing problem among the college student population. We want to ensure that students have a source of nutrition de-spite their financial situation.

Questions?
Contact Service & Social Change Programs in the Office of Student Activities — volunteering@smcm.edu or x4209.

Hats Off to Our Incredible Staff! Monthly Staff Recognition Award Winners

December 2013: Ashley Stopera, Graphic Designer
“Ashley has worked like a dog since July to make the kind of impact for Admissions that needed to be made. She worked weekends, evenings,and in multiple capacities (photographer, web consultant, designer) and still found ways to be creative and bring fun to her projects. Ashley is a role model in diplomacy and is a fantastic team player”

January 2013: Danielle Doubt, Admissions Counselor
“Danielle is a natural leader who works well under pressure and consistently gets her work done on tight deadlines.”
“She is selfless and always gives credit to the entire admissions team; she is such a team player!”

Nominate a worthy staff member today! Winners receive 5 FREE tickets to the Great Room. Nomination forms for the monthly award are available in department offices and online. They are due the 3rd Friday of every month to Beth Byrd (eabyrd@smcm.edu or Alumni House).

Staff Spotlight: Meet Danielle Doubt

How long have you been at SMCM?
I graduated St. Mary’s in 2012, and began working at the school as an Admissions Counselor in July of 2013.

What path led you to St. Mary’s?
I attended high school in Ohio, but a family friend graduated from SMCM in the 1980’s and encouraged me to apply. After I visited the campus on an Accepted Student Day I knew I wanted to attend the school.

What do you do by day?
Well, this winter, I spent most days reading application files.

What do you do with your evenings/weekends?
Visit friends, watch Arrested Development, go on bike rides, runs, etc.

What is your favorite off-campus lunch spot?
Hmmm. It is definitely a toss-up between St. James Deli, Blue Wind, Bollywood, and the Coffee Quarter. They are all so delicious!

What would colleagues be surprised to find out about you?
I got third place in the National Junior Olympics 5k race walking event when I was 14. That is probably my biggest/weirdest claim to fame.

What is the most interesting/surprising job you’ve ever had?
Once I worked on a Christmas tree farm with my friends. I was fifteen at the time, and I was pretty bad
at it. I was fired about a month in when I accidentally mowed over a field of baby Christmas trees.

Staff Spotlight: Meet Kent Randell, Archivist

How long have you been at SMCM?
Since March 2013.

What path led you to St. Mary’s?
I was looking to return to a smaller school so that I could once again be a “lone arranger,” which is the official term in the archives world for somebody that works in a small unit. I have been interested in colonial history for many years and the history of the Monument School is fascinating. After meeting the friendly people at St. Mary’s I was hooked!

What do you do by day?
As archivist, I process and describe the materials, help other people find the materials, and strive to make them discoverable. I am also a librarian, and assist with the information literacy mission of the library and school. Sometimes people say to me, “it must be fun to look at old stuff all day,” but the reality is that it is more involved than that. But, I have to admit, it really is as fun as it sounds to look at old stuff for some of the work days.

What do you do with your evenings/weekends?
I am a fan of music and the outdoors.

What is your favorite off-campus lunch spot?
Courtney’s.

What would colleagues be surprised to find out about you?
I collect musical instruments. My favorites are a charango and a bowed psaltery.

What is the most interesting/surprising job you’ve ever had?
I once worked as a Master Control Operator for the nation’s smallest NBC affiliate. This included running outside and clearing snowdrifts off of satellites in between commercial breaks. If you were in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan or Northeast Wisconsin circa 1999 and saw accidental color bars during Days of Our Lives, you might have seen my handiwork.

Bylaws Committee

The Bylaws Committee has been carefully reviewing staff senate policies and procedures and will be recommending some changes for the purposes of clarification and some restructuring. They’ll be calling for the Staff Association to vote on changes later in the semester.

Staff Mentoring Program

The Professional Development Committee created opportunities for staff to learn about filling out FAFSAs, utilizing Photoshop, and how to write more effectively. They are planning Excel workshops and finalizing plans for the launch of the new Staff Mentoring Program.

Valentine’s Day with Social Connections

Social Connections spread love in the form of candy and smiles around campus on Feb 14. If good morale is infectious– we sincerely hope you caught it while it was going around! Coming up next is a Spring event (with FREE pizza) during the week of Spring Break.