December 16, 2022
University support staff employee forums
Submitted by Monica Macfarlane
Good day to all university support staff employees,
Next week, University Support Staff Senate leadership will host two USS employee forums on the Salina and Manhattan campuses to discuss a shared governance proposal that would change the structure of the USS Senate. The proposal is meant to address some long-standing issues while honoring the vital importance of shared governance.
The first forum will take place at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, on the Salina campus in the College Center conference room. The second forum will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21, on the Manhattan campus in Forum Hall of the K-State Student Union, and it will also be livestreamed via YouTube. A link to the livestream, the draft proposal and an FAQ file can be found on the USS Senate webpage.
The key points of this proposal are the creation of a USS employee caucus in Faculty Senate, and the dissolvement of the current USS Senate structure.
The forums will address key points about the proposal:
- Background and reasoning for the proposal.
- Membership and representation differences between non-union and union-eligible USS employees.
- Next steps in the process.
Given the importance of this shared governance proposal, we highly encourage all USS employees to attend these forums. There will be a Q&A session during the forum to address any questions or concerns with the proposal. Forum panelists will include members of USS Senate leadership, as well as current and past members of Faculty Senate leadership. Members of university administration will also attend the Manhattan forum.
We hope to see you next week,
Monica Macfarlane
USS Senate president