2012 conventions 2012 election 2013 session arts arts and culture author ballot measures basketball bomb books boy scouts budget bullying business charlie hales children clackamas climate change coal college courts crime culture culture club democrats drugs economy education environment family film fluoride food gay rights guns handguns health health care health insurance high school history housing immigration internet kitzhaber law legislature lgbt literary arts living marijuana marriage media medicine mental health military minor parties mohamed mohamud movies music native americans news newspaper obama olympics oregon our town parenting pers photography police politcs politics port portland portland business journal president prevention public safety religion republicans rnc romney rural salem sam adams sandy hook schools science shooting sports suicide supreme court taxes technology television terrorism theater third parties transportation union university of oregon washington wildfire women

Welcome, Incoming President Glassner! As a staff member at Lewis & Clark, I too have questions about the transportation and diversity issues raised by the other commenters and am very interested to hear your thoughts on that.

Here is my question...Many staff members feel a disconnect from the rest of the instution -- we have few events or occasions for uniting with the students and faculty, or even staff members who work in other buildings, or at other campuses, unless we are directly collaborating on a project. How do we bring our campus closer together? How can staff participate more fully in the vibrant intellectual atmosphere that is around us? In my opinion, this needs to go beyond "attend a class" or go to large all-staff meetings with no meaningful interactions.

Most importantly, how can we make this a meaningful part of our jobs -- so often we are judged on our job descriptions, which don't usually include things like "make friends" or "get to know other departments." I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic, as I think the lack of a sense of community is bringing down morale to a large degree, and contributes strongly to turnover.

posted 2 years, 9 months ago
view in context