Fall holds many traditions at the University of Houston, and one that’s become increasingly popular among staff members is the annual Staff Council Fall Forum.

Each year, the forum features UH President Jay Gogue and his cabinet who address staff questions regarding a range of topics. During this year’s event, staff members assembled in the University Center’s Houston Room to listen to the administration’s responses on subjects including salaries, smoking policies, classroom enhancements and training opportunities.

An early question focused on the university’s efforts to adjust UH salary structures to compete with other organizations’ salaries. John Rudley, vice president for administration and finance, responded that a salary compensation survey for staff members is in development. UH also is conducting research to identify the positions on campus that pay below market value.

Although he acknowledged that work needs to be done in the area of offering competitive salaries, he reminded the audience that most Texas universities have experienced regular salary increases for the past few years.

“Since I arrived at UH five years ago, there have been regular increases in salaries,” he said. “Other universities around the country have had to make budget cuts and offered no increases at all.”

On the question of how UH can become a smoke-free campus, Rudley said that three years ago, the administration responded to Staff Council’s recommendation to create certain outdoor areas near exits and doorways where smoking is prohibited. While no plans are in place to make the university completely smoke-free, he said the administration is always open to hearing the concerns of the campus community, and will follow all federal and state regulations.

The status of Cullen Performance Hall also was discussed at the forum, particularly how it will function as a classroom and its pending renovation.

Rudley said that the university began holding classes at the theater this semester. He also said that the facility’s management now reports to the Division of Academic Affairs instead of the Division of Student Affairs. The hall will most likely be remodeled in summer 2007 to further accommodate its new function as a classroom, Rudley said. He, however, did not go into detail as to the extent of the renovations.

A question regarding the effectiveness of the new Employee Assistance Program (EAP) was posed to Karl Sparks, assistant vice president of human resources. HR is expecting a report by November or December that will allow the department to see which EAP services are being utilized and the areas that might need strengthening.

Sparks also fielded a question on management training opportunities on campus. He said that HR is developing new programs similar to UH’s Management Institute, an intensive training course focused on leadership and management in higher education.

“We are putting together a supervisory institute and a leadership institute,” Sparks said. “The supervisory institute will focus on the one-on-one skills that supervisors need such as coaching, counseling, interviewing new hires and performance management. The leadership institute will concentrate on team building, planning and program management. ”

Mike Emery
memery@central.uh.edu