The UNMC Staff Advisory Council is being formed to promote and facilitate communication between UNMC administration and staff throughout UNMC’s colleges and departments.
With the support of University of Nebraska President Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, and UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, the 32-member UNMC Staff Advisory Council will act in an advisory capacity to the chancellor, campus administration and other university groups on behalf of all staff.
A special committee has been working to create the staff advisory council’s structure and bylaws. Now, UNMC’s administrative, office and service staff members are invited to help choose the council’s inaugural members – starting with a nomination process to advance names of staff members who will be part of a council election in January.
Nominations will be open from today (Dec. 6) through Jan. 10, with voting taking place Jan. 20-24.
“The council will serve as a forum to exchange ideas, to promote common interests among staff,” said Jacqueline Hankins-Berry, who has been involved in the formative discussions and is a community engagement administrative associate with the UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute. “We encourage all UNMC staff to take this opportunity to form this important, new advisory council.”
See details about the UNMC Staff Advisory Council on the council’s webpage.
The work to create the council began in 2021-22 with the launch of the Staff Advisory Council Interest Survey. That survey found broad staff interest in creating such a council.
This year, a bylaws creation committee was formed with a small group of UNMC staff members to establish the council’s structure and develop the initial bylaws. Those committee members are: Hankins-Berry; Stacey Coleman, UNMC College of Public Health; Robin Jaeckel, UNMC Academic Affairs and College of Public Health; Lacey Merica, UNMC College of Public Health; Cody Phillips, UNMC Graduate Studies and UNMC College of Medicine; and Misty Pocwierz-Gaines, UNMC Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases and the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
Interim Chancellor Davies thanked the committee for its work.
“Our bylaws creation committee has laid the groundwork for the next steps in this important process, and I look forward to this nomination process getting underway, the election of members and ultimately the establishment of the UNMC Staff Advisory Council,” Dr. Davies said. “Our campus leadership will benefit from discussions and feedback that the council will offer, ensuring that the voices and perspectives of our dedicated staff are considered and integrated into the decision-making process.”
Said Anne Barnes, UNMC’s vice chancellor for business, finance and business development, “UNMC has a unique mix of staff across its colleges, centers, department and operating units, and they all help form the backbone of our academic medical center. The creation of the UNMC Staff Advisory Council is an important step in facilitating communication between that staff and UNMC leadership.”
The bylaws creation committee formed the staff advisory council bylaws using models offered by similar organizations at other NU campuses, including the UNMC Faculty Senate. Draft bylaws were submitted to then-Chancellor Gold and approved by Interim Chancellor Davies this summer.
A copy of these bylaws can be found using this link. Other campus bylaws are available for UNK, UNL and UNO.
UNMC staff members can nominate themselves, as well as individuals from any unit. Staff members are urged to nominate only staff members they feel would be willing and able to serve on the council, although there is no limit on the number of people an individual can nominate.
To be eligible to serve on the UNMC Staff Advisory Council, staff must be:
- Under the administrative jurisdiction of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
- A full-time employee or part-time employee of greater than half time for a minimum of one year in the position of administrative, managerial or professional staff, office staff or service staff.
- Be in good standing at UNMC.
The UNMC Staff Advisory Council will represent all employees and will include members from these 11 groups:
- UNMC College of Allied Health (two members)
- UNMC College of Dentistry (two members)
- UNMC College of Medicine (nine members)
- UNMC College of Nursing (two members)
- UNMC College of Pharmacy (two members)
- UNMC College of Public Health (two members)
- UNMC Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases (two members)
- UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute (three members)
- UNMC Academic Affairs/McGoogan Health Sciences Library (two members)
- UNMC Administration/Office of Business & Finance (four members)
- UNMC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (two members)
Once all nominations are received and verified, further information regarding the election timeline will be announced. Employees will vote within their respective group.
Those elected will serve a three-year term of Feb. 3, 2025, through June 30, 2028. Council service time of elected staff members shall be counted toward normal work hours.
With questions or for more information, email the UNMC Staff Advisory Council inbox.