Letter from the Incoming President | Spring 2024

As we wrap up the 2023-2024 year for Staff Senate, I want to look back at one of our recent accomplishments.  In 2005, when I was a baby Classified Staff Senator, we wanted to expand the staff tuition assistance to include tuition assistance for our children.  We received an emphatic NO from the KU Administration of that time.  Those positions eventually turned over, and KU Staff Senate picked up dependent tuition assistance again.  Working with the Faculty Senate we were able to get the KU Employee Dependent Tuition Assistance Scholarship approved in the Fall 2022.

I share that story to show that persistence pays, and that is part of the role of the Staff Senate – to keep the issues important to staff in the forefront of KU Administration. 

Our current issues, as identified in the Docking Survey, stem from years of budget cuts and staff reductions, or as CFO Jeff DeWitt calls it “death by a thousand cuts”.  The Docking Survey showed the impact of those years on the morale of KU Staff.  Jessica Chilcoat, former Staff Senate President, created a PowerPoint showing the data from that survey in an easy to digest format.  That PowerPoint was shared in multiple listening sessions and town hall meetings.  We shared the feedback from those sessions with several Staff Senate Committees and they are working on potential solutions.  As the incoming President of the Staff Senate, I will share those suggestions and ideas with Provost Bichelmeyer and KU Administration.  

I strongly believe in the value of the work we do as staff at KU.  Without us processing grants, admitting students, doing desk-side IT assistance, or conducting research, the work of KU would not happen, and without the people in Facilities & Operations, KU would literally fall apart.  I think that the current KU Administration recognizes our value, and they are working to make KU one of the best places to work.

Sincerely,

Teri Chambers

KU Staff Senate President

KU employee for 26 years