Committee./Michelle J. Anderson on Facebook
President Michelle Anderson announced on Feb. 2 that she will be establishing a Presidential Advisory Committee, comprised of Brooklyn College staff members and designed to narrow the communication gap between staff and the administration.
“It will improve the morale of staff. Many feel largely forgotten or ignored; many of us have to implement the plans of our supervisors but are never asked for our input on how this will work or if there is a better solution,” staff member Crystal Schloss-Allen, Administrative Executive Associate to the Dean of Natural and Behavioral Sciences, said.
So far, about 20 individuals, from various departments across the college, have expressed interest in helping form the committee.
“As members are appointed, their first responsibility will be to help identify the needs of our professional staff members, such as recommend training and professional development opportunities, which President Anderson outlined in her letter,” Media Relations Manager, Richard Pietras, told the Vanguard. “As staff identify areas of need, plans can be made to address those areas with the Committee,” he continued.
Some goals of the committee are to keep the lines of communications open regularly between staff and the administration, to provide professional development and growth, and to resolve issues more quickly and effectively.
“This committee came about after President Anderson and the administration learned that staff members wanted to increase their involvement in matters relating to their roles and responsibilities at Brooklyn College,” Pietras explained. “It was only natural to add this extra layer of communicative capacity and support, and the administration feels the new Presidential Advisory Committee for Staff will make Brooklyn College a more efficient, productive, and positive institution for both employees and students.”
Staff members voiced their appreciation of the implementation of this initiative. The staff are an integral part of the Brooklyn College family and their input is necessary for the success of the community.
“People have been here for many years and in many cases, none of them are asked ‘what do you think we can do to run this better?’” Schloss-Allen said. “This is an opportunity to listen to the staff’s thoughts based on their years of experience. Many of the staff have been here for over 10 years, many even more; they are an untapped resource of experience and are the campus’s memory.”
The administration is still accepting submissions for the committee, advising interested staff to contact Tony Thomas, chief of legal affairs, or Ayana Murray-Richards, human resources manager of recruitment and instructional staff.