Staff Council Standing Committees

The University of Houston Staff Council Bylaws call for seven standing committees and special committees appointed by the Staff Council President on an ad hoc basis. Additionally, Staff Council has four representatives on the University System Staff Executive Council (USSEC). Current committee descriptions and memberships are below.

Staff Council is also represented on University-wide standing and other committees. See the Staff Council University-wide Committees page for more information.

Awards & Advancement Committee

Leadership

Silva, Trina	713-743-8529	tmsilva3@uh.edu
Chee, Jacqueline	713-743-8725	jchee@uh.edu

The Awards & Advancement Committee manages the Staff Council Scholarships Program and is responsible for analyzing issues related to, and advocating for, University of Houston staff professional development.

Communications Committee

Leadership

Kaiser, Brooke	713-743-0300	bkaiser@uh.edu
Merrell, Emily	832-842-8866	emerrell@central.uh.edu

The Communications Committee is responsible for all external communication, including releases to university media. Duties include managing and updating the Staff Council website, sending information out on the Staff Council listserv, researching ideas by calling other Committee chairs and getting information, and writing about current events.

Cougar First Impressions (CFI) Committee

Leadership

Moon, Andy	832-842-4782	ajmoon2@central.uh.edu
Scott, Paul	713-743-8241	pscott@uh.edu

Cougar First Impressions (CFI) is sponsored by Staff Council and offers students a chance to receive campus maps, directions to class, and bottled water from UH staff members stationed across campus during the first two days of the Fall semester. The event is made possible by generous contributions without student fees. See the CFI home page for more information.

This year's CFI theme is “Connecting Coogs”, and the event has been re-formatted to be 100% virtual in order to fulfill our mission of providing new and returning students with resources and quality customer service - even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing. Virtual CFI will connect students to resources available on campus, UH at Sugar Land, and UH at Katy with live breakout rooms in Microsoft Teams addressing key areas students most inquire about during their first week on campus.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee

Leadership

Pruski, Leslie	832-842-0949	lpruski@uh.edu
Rangel, Amber	713-743-8137	arrangel2@uh.edu

The Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee (DEI) is responsible for recommending and promoting diverse, equitable, and inclusive initiatives in alignment with University of Houston’s values to enrich the University’s culture and enhance the staff experience.

Objectives

To disseminate information to the Council and staff concerning diversity programs/activities and seek support from the Council to promote and encourage staff participation.
To actively solicit, promote, and interact with diverse groups on campus and in the community in support of their goals as well as jointly sponsored events/programs.
To request annual updates from the University on the progress made toward increasing diversity and inclusion of staff on campus and report out to Staff Council annually.
To work with the University of Houston to help build and promote an inclusive work culture that encourages, supports, and celebrates the diversity of experiences, cultural backgrounds, and ideas among our staff.

Workplace Conversations Series

DEI Resources

Events Committee

Leadership

Durham, Gabriel	713-743-6985	gbdurham@uh.edu
Anderson, Shatera	713-743-6746	sjanders@uh.edu

The Events Committee oversees specials events for Staff members and the UH community sponsored by Staff Council, such as:

Staff Council Leadership Luncheon--This is a luncheon to recognize outgoing members and to welcome incoming members.
Sock & Blanket Drive--During the holiday season, Staff Council collects items from the UH community to assist needy families.
Spring Egg Hunt--The Events Committee collects candy and stuffs eggs for a UH community family event.
Staff Mixer--This event is to show how much Staff Council supports our staff.

Membership and Elections Committee

Leadership

Brown, Ashley	713-743-6330	anbrown7@central.uh.edu
Mason, Scott	713-743-5572	smason@uh.edu

The Membership and Elections Committee is responsible for reviewing the apportionment of representation among the University's Divisions, for making recommendations to fill vacancies, and for overseeing and conducting the annual campus-wide Staff Council Elections.

See the Staff Council Elections page for further information.

Staff Affairs

Leadership

Evans, Seth	713-743-3453	shevans@uh.edu
Johnson, Whitney	713-743-4913	wnjohnson6@uh.edu

The Staff Affairs Committee is responsible for identifying and analyzing all issues affecting the University of Houston’s staff at all levels. The committee formulates and presents recommendations to Staff Council to represent the staff perspective and advocate for staff interests with UH executive leadership.

The scope of this committee’s work includes but is not limited to: employee benefits, parking and transportation, and campus safety.

Specific activities include:

Organizing and hosting periodic public meetings with the UH President at which university issues are presented and discussed;
Organizing and hosting periodic public meetings with staff and presenting topics of interest with speakers and opportunity for feedback; and
Conducting employee opinion surveys and periodic issue-specific surveys, to identify areas of current and ongoing concern to staff and communicate them to UH executive leadership.