Danforth staff invited to apply for position on new advisory council

‘Valuable tool to broaden and strengthen lines of communication between Danforth staff, administration’

A Danforth staff advisory council is being created at Washington University in St. Louis and all interested Danforth staff members are invited to apply for a position on the council, announced Henry S. Webber, executive vice chancellor for administration.

Webber said the Danforth Staff Council (DSC) is being created to provide a platform for ongoing and consistent communication between Danforth staff and the senior administration.

“I believe that DSC will prove to be a valuable tool to broaden and strengthen the lines of communication between Danforth staff and the administration, and I personally am grateful for the opportunity to receive advice and feedback from staff on many issues,” Webber said.

DSC will comprise 25 Danforth staff members, ideally representative of a diverse set of departments and backgrounds.

Among the goals of DSC will be to seek out the issues, interests, ideas and participation of employees; provide an effective two-way communication link between senior administration and staff members; provide staff input into Washington University’s decision-making processes, especially those that directly affect staff; and help foster a more open and positive environment throughout the university community.

The council members will meet eight times a year and work most closely with Webber, who will bring in other university leaders to give presentations or hear feedback from the staff representatives at its regular meetings.

DSC also will hold two open meetings annually to hear feedback and input from Danforth staff members at large.

All Danforth non-faculty and non-union staff members below the associate vice chancellor level are invited to submit applications if interested in serving on the first DSC cohort.

To be eligible to serve on the council, applicants must be employed and in good standing as a Danforth employee for at least a year prior to the start of a term, which begins Jan. 1.

The deadline to apply for the first cohort is Monday, Dec. 14. Representatives of the administration, along with members of a working group that proposed the advisory council, will select the first council members. Selected staff will be notified by Jan. 1, 2016.

To view the DSC bylaws and for more details about the application process and to apply, visit the DSC website.

First cohort to comprise working group members

The first DSC cohort will include 15 Danforth staff members who comprised a working group that over the past year helped bring a proposal for an advisory council to the administration and, subsequently, helped establish the bylaws for the council.

Empress M. Sanders, student coordinator and adviser in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures in Arts & Sciences, was chair of the working group, and Trevor Bilhorn, registrar in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, served as co-chair.

The other members of the working group are:

  • Gail A. Boker, program coordinator for Diversity & Initiatives, vice provost office;
  • Amy M. Gassel, assistant director of Graduate School Financial Services and coordinator of Diversity Programs, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences;
  • Jennifer K. Gibbs, executive assistant to the dean of Arts & Sciences;
  • Ashley L. Gilkey, diversity in retention coordinator, Cornerstone: The Center for Advanced Learning;
  • Marissa B. Hardwrict, PhD Program manager, Brown School;
  • Jeff Herman, associate director, Student Financial Services;
  • Cynthia S. Kahn, assistant to the chair, Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences;
  • Jackie Lorrainne, manager of human resources and payroll, Olin Library;
  • Michelle D. Repice, assistant director, Teaching Center;
  • Angela Smith, director of Employer Diversity and Recruitment Programs, School of Law;
  • Debora I. Spraggins, business officer, Olin Library;
  • Emily S. Stenberg, digital publishing and digital preservation librarian, Olin Library; and
  • Phil G. Valko, assistant vice chancellor for sustainability.

The 15 members of this working group will only serve a one-year term, while the 10 new members who apply and are selected for the first DSC cohort will serve two-year terms.

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