MONTHLY COMMUNICATION: January 2020
UNM Staff: Welcome to 2020! I hope that each of you were able to take at least a few moments over the last several weeks to rest, appreciate the people and things that are healthy in your lives and to reflect on the efforts and products of 2019. If you’re like me, you may also have identified more work to do, and that’s helpful, too! I’m always looking to “what’s next” and so those two things seem to me to be a good place to focus this message! Let’s Review First, I want to extend a thanks to each of you for the hard work we’ve all done over the last year. It’s hard to do more and more with less (and with fewer colleagues) but I believe we’re beginning to see a change! New members of administrative leadership are instituting changes which – I hope – have led to less bureaucracy and more effective decision-making, and I expect to see even more of this as we move forward. One of the most rewarding things that I had the opportunity to do this year was to meet so many of you. I was able to visit with many staff through tours of different areas of campus, visits to Department Administrator meetings, attendance at campus events (including some truly fantastic welcome barbecues with our Student Advocacy Centers), and through one-on-one meetings when you respond to one of these emails. I’m also very proud of the relationships that I, and Staff Council by extension, have been able to cultivate and enhance throughout 2019. Shared governance systems only work when advocacy groups (Staff Council, Faculty Senate, ASUNM, GPSA, Retiree Association) and the decision makers (Regents, Administration, etc) work together and collaborate. This has not always been possible, but it is more now than it ever has been. Our hard work and consistency have gone a long way to build important bridges – including with individual staff members across campus and at our branch campuses! You may not fully realize, but staff representation is both broad and deep. I want to take a moment to highlight the ways that I and other staff (both inside and external to Staff Council) directly participated in shared governance in 2019 on your behalf: Monthly meetings focused solely on staff concerns: President, Provost, Senior VP for Finance & Administration, Policy Office Budget Leadership Team & Subcommittees Capital Planning Leadership Team President’s Executive Cabinet Diversity Council President’s Safety Task Force President’s Ethics Task Force Regents ASAR Committee Regents Business Meetings Strategic Plan Steering Committee UNM Seal Redesign Committee UNM Re-Engineering Task Force Hiring Committee, Provost Hiring Committee, Senior VP for Finance & Administration Hiring Committee, VP Enrollment Management Hiring Committee, Chief Governmental Affairs Officer Enrollment Task Force Rec Services Advisory Board KUNM Advisory Board Provost Committee for Staff Faculty/Staff Benefits Committee Faculty/Staff Government Relations Committee These assignments are in addition to the Staff Council’s regular meetings and committees. Through these various outlets, the voice of staff has been amplified and represented. When we know what staff would like to see happen, we can advocate for it. By working together as constituency groups, we can truly make change! We saw this in action when faculty, students and staff were unanimous in their recommendation regarding compensation funding last year – resulting in a 3% increase for faculty and staff, rather than just 2%. We saw this when we worked with staff individually and with administration to secure four weeks of paid parental leave. We see it again and again and the message is clear: together we can accomplish much more than we can apart. You don’t have to be a part of Staff Council to be a part of positive change-making. If you want to get involved, even in just one small way, reach out and we’ll connect you! What’s Next As we look to 2020, the lessons from 2019 are important. We can apply them to continue moving forward and to further the progress that we’ve made and see even greater successes. Very soon, the 30-day 2020 New Mexico Legislative session will commence. Staff Council is working closely with the office of Government and Community Relations to advocate for UNM’s priorities(including a fix to the compensation formula and a 5% pay increase for faculty and staff – something about which Staff Council has been very vocal).
The Staff Council Government Relations Committee will be hosting a postcard-writing campaign, with more information to come shortly! Should you wish to contact your legislator, Staff Council will be providing postcards and sending them on your behalf! It should be an exciting session made even more so by its brevity. 2020 also marks 30 years for Staff Council on UNM’s campus. From 1990 to now, some aspects of the staff experience are evergreen. We’re looking to celebrate these 30 years by continuing to highlight the work of individual staff and departments. Stay tuned for more information regarding these plans! 2020 also marks the decennial census. UNM has a Complete Count Committee, and it is absolutely imperative that every New Mexican be counted. Importantly, there will be no ‘citizenship question,’ and we will be working to support ways for every person residing in New Mexico to be counted. Finally, we will be working on changes to UNM policy – as we do each year – and for that we need your input. This form can be completed to express your thoughts and suggestions for where we might focus. Submissions will be as anonymous as you make them (but do feel free to include contact information if you’d like to engage in discussion). The specific submissions will not be shared with anyone outside of the Staff Council. I remain hopeful, as always, that this new year can bring more and better things than any of us can imagine if we work hard and support one another in fulfillment of our role as the backbone of this institution. As always, I look forward to hearing from many of you during the next month and don’t forget that you can engage with us by following along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Respectfully, Ryan E. Gregg
Data Manager | Admissions
President | UNM Staff Council
greggr@unm.edu
scpresident@unm.edu | 
