UofL Staff Senate elects 2022-23 officers; new senate website highlights employee resources

The University of Louisville Staff Senate is ready to kick off the 2022-23 fiscal year with newly elected officers. Voting for Staff Senate officers closed at 4 p.m., June 14, and the results were made official June 15.

John Smith, assistant director of Intramural and Recreational Sports, will serve a fifth term as senate chair. In his remarks at the June 14 monthly Staff Senate meeting, Smith, who also serves as the staff constituency representative on the UofL Board of Trustees, said his priorities for the next year will focus on the presidential search and the compensation and total rewards study.

“I believe we will have a strong candidate pool for the university’s next president,” said Smith who is on the presidential search committee. “I will consider candidates who are committed to shared governance, and I encourage all of our senators to keep sending me their ideas, questions and concerns about the presidential search.”

Where the compensation study is concerned, Smith said he will focus on how the results of the study will be addressed and will push against measures that put unnecessary strains on university departments.

Kevin Ledford, enterprise systems programmer III for UofL’s Information Technology Services, is the newly elected vice chair. He served as the senate’s secretary-treasurer in fiscal year 2021-22 and replaces Andrew Grubb who decided not to run for another term as vice chair.

“I see a lot of challenges and opportunities with shared governance and human capital,” said Ledford. “We must do what we can to make sure our university retains good employees. Our senate must also be sure we have a voice in every room where decisions are made.”

Smith, Ledford and several of the senators thanked Grubb for his service.

“You have all done much more for me than I have done for you,” said Grubb, senior academic coordinator for the University Honors Program. “It was a pleasure to have served you.”

Carcyle D. Barrett, a paralegal in the Office of University Counsel and immediate past president of the Black Faculty/Staff Association, was elected secretary-treasurer. She said, given her capacities at the university, she is confident in her awareness of issues of importance to the senate and university staff and will look for opportunities for the senate to be part of university decision-making. Further, she hopes that the Cardinal Anti-Racism Agenda (CARA) will remain a priority for the new administration and the entire university.

“CARA is not just a characteristic of previous administrations,” said Barrett. “This is a characteristic of all employees now and into the future.”

New Staff Senate website

The new fiscal year also brings a refreshed resource for the Staff Senate and UofL employees. Thanks to the efforts of Senators Kari Donahue and Gretchen Henry, the UofL Staff Senate webpages have been updated to provide more and easier access to senate information. Donahue, a marketing and communications specialist in the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, and Henry, senate coordinator, said the new webpages are the result of about two years of work. Adjustments to the pages will be made as the university’s web improvement project falls into place, and information will be updated as necessary.

Guest speaker: Josh Heird, Athletics

Josh Heird, UofL’s new athletics director, was the guest speaker at the Staff Senate meeting. In his comments to the senate, Heird, who previously served as interim athletic director since December 2021, said that more frequent communication between Athletics and the Staff Senate is integral to strengthening trust throughout the university community.

“Athletics may be the most visible department in the university, but it is certainly not the most important,” said Heird, who also noted fiscal responsibility and providing student-athletes with the resources they need to succeed as some of his other priorities. “All of us work together to make sure our students are proud to learn here and work here.”

Other business

• Committee reports for the June 14, 2022, Staff Senate meeting are available on the Staff Senate website.
• The next UofL Staff Senate meeting is Tuesday, July 12, and will be held via Microsoft Teams.