Here we are, in 2017 and January is almost over! UAAD committees are busy planning events, meetings and workshops for the spring semester. Some are in the planning stages and others have been finalized. February will be a busy month with Chancellor Green presenting to UAAD, with UNOPA members invited to attend, on February 8 from 12:30-1:30 in the Unity Room in the Gaughan Center. This will be an opportunity to ask questions of the Chancellor, being mindful that we have one hour with him to discuss what may be several topics. No registration is required.
We will be celebrating the 55th anniversary of UAAD at Founder’s Day on Feb 15, 11:45-1:00 in Colonial Room in the City Union. Our Keynote Speaker will be Michael Boehm, Vice Chancellor, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska–Lincoln; and Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska. We will be presenting the Carl A. Donaldson and Floyd S. Oldt Awards, which recognize two employees for outstanding management skills and exceptional service at the university. Please RSVP by February 7, 2017 by registering, using this link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/founders-day-celebrating-55-years-of-uaad-tickets-30904384847
Please contact Kate Engel at kengel3@unl.edu if you have questions.
In addition to the professional development opportunities UAAD offers each semester, there are other workshops offered across campus at various times and open to faculty and staff at UNL. The Spring Power Lunch series offered by CBA Executive Education will have a series of four lunches/presentations this spring. These include Leveraging Your Strengths for Leading (Feb 1) in Omaha, which will be an excellent follow-up to our UAAD fall professional development workshop in which the focus was Gallup Strengths Finder. This will be led by Mark Pogue, Executive Director of the Clifton Strengths Institute. The remaining 3 lunches will include Strategies for Growing Into New Markets (Feb 15) in Omaha, Understanding the Psychology of Change (Feb 22) in Lincoln and Business is War: Management Lessons from the Military (Mar 1) in Lincoln. More information and registration can be found at: http://cba.unl.edu/execeducation
As you are all aware by now, the State of Nebraska and the University of Nebraska is facing fiscal uncertainty the remainder of this fiscal year and going into the next biennium. With that comes challenges in how we continue to meet the mission of the University with reduced funding. We are fortunate to have President Bounds and Chancellor Green, both accessible to faculty and staff, and communicating via email, on a regular basis, regarding where we are in the budget discussions with the State Legislature. Chancellor Green had his Town Hall Meeting Jan 26th at which time the Strategic Planning Chairs reported on progress of their committees. These include Achieving Distinction, Budget Model, Smart Enrollment Growth and Student Matriculation. The Chancellor provided updates on the budget and meetings the last several days with the Appropriations Committee and the Governor. He also addressed the current hiring freeze and fielded questions from the leadership in attendance. President Bounds will have two one-hour long sessions on January 31 in the Nebraska Union Auditorium. The staff session will begin at 8 am and the faculty session will start at 9:15. Please plan to attend the staff session as this will provide an excellent opportunity for you, as UAAD members, to ask questions and have a voice in your concerns.
The results of the survey sent to UAAD members in December and January has been compiled by the survey committee and I want to thank those of you who took the time to respond. This information will be helpful going forward in discussions among Board members this year and in the future.
I look forward to seeing you at Chancellor Green’s presentation and Founder’s Day award luncheon in the next few weeks. We have exciting monthly programs planned and our spring professional development workshop is in the planning stage so there is something for everyone to round out the remainder of the spring semester!