By LINDSAY RODZWICZ

Staff Council, the University of Pittsburgh’s shared governance organization for staff, has existed for over 50 years to advocate for and advance the interests of staff members across the institution.  Staff Council plays a critical operational function as a communication channel between staff, faculty, students and administration.  To accomplish this, our dedicated staff commit their volunteer time outside of their job function to advance the mission of the University.

At the end of August, Staff Council onboarded our largest group of new members in recent history — 25 staff from across Pitt, taking our total to more than 120 members.  Please join us in welcoming these individuals to Staff Council and acknowledging their volunteer service to the University.  

New member Marcie Johnson, director of special projects in the dean’s office of the School of Public Health, said she, ”decided to join Staff Council to learn more about the University as a whole.  Staff Council is a great way to stay informed of changes and it’s a good way to learn, then share out within my network. Ironically, it was also my very first job at Pitt, so it’s come full circle by being able to serve as a volunteer and ensure voices are being heard.” 

Do you know who in your network is on Staff Council?  You can see our full roster here: https://www.staffcouncil.pitt.edu/members/full-roster. If you want to learn more about Staff Council’s upcoming programming, events, or to discuss a matter of importance to you and your work at Pitt — please connect with any of our members and they’ll point you in the right direction.

Also in August, Staff Council elected our standing committee chairs for the upcoming two-year term (FY2024-FY2025).  If you want to learn more about our standing committees and the work they do, visit: https://staffcouncil.pitt.edu/about-us/committees.

For Jeremy Biroscak, Staff Council provides a broad view of staff’s role on campus. "I get to meet new people from different departments, and we solve problems together," Biroscak explained. The Staff Life Committee serves to promote the health, safety and security among all members of the University of Pittsburgh community.  And Biroscak said, “It’s a privilege to serve as Staff Life chair. With the help of my committee, I can get some real work done to help change the University for the better.”

In shared governance, Staff Council also appoints our members to the 15 University Senate committees, 11 of the Board of Trustees committees, the University Planning and Budget Committee, the Medical Benefits Advisory Committee, the HR Advisory Committee, search committees for senior administrators, and other University level committees. For this academic year, join us in congratulating Caitlin McCullough, Staff Council parliamentarian, on her appointment to the Year of Discourse & Dialogue steering committee.

 “I’m excited about the Year of Discourse and Dialogue and representing Staff Council on the steering committee. I look forward to engaging with the committee and connecting staff with creative ideas related to the theme from across campus,” McCullough said.

Just as Christine Jackson represented staff on the Chancellor’s Search Committee, once the upcoming Provost Search Committee is formally announced, you also will see staff representation appointed by Staff Council.  These types of collaborative committee services to Pitt are of the utmost importance to shared governance by representing staff interests, along with providing staff perspective and input in operations, processes and policy development.

To gain more insight into Staff Council and shared governance at Pitt, we invite you to attend our next monthly general meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 20 via Zoom. Upcoming meetings and a robust line-up of our fall events are on the University calendar.

Follow @upstaffcouncil on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, or share your thoughts or concerns by emailing sc@pitt.edu, calling 412-624-4236, or stop by our office in B39 of the Cathedral of Learning.

Lindsay Rodzwicz is the president of Staff Council. She is also the director of special projects and strategic initiatives in the Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering.