VCU Staff Senate: advocating, informing and fostering opportunity
Today’s guest blog post is by VCU Staff Senate president Saher Randhawa. She is the program manager for the Office of Educational Affairs (OEA) within the Internal Medicine Department of the VCU School of Medicine. She manages the staff of OEA and coordinators that run the residency, fellowship, clerkship, Grand Rounds and research for the internal medicine department. Saher is a member of the Association of Collegiate Conference and Events Directors-International (ACCED-I) and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). In addition, she serves as the Chair of the Young Professional Leadership Council (YPLC) for the American Diabetes Association of Central VA and is a member of the VCU Recent Graduate Council. Saher graduated from VCU with a degree in Mass Communications, Public Relations, and a minor in General Business. She has been with VCU for the past 3 and a half years.
As the governance body at VCU that advocates on behalf of full-time, non-faculty university staff, VCU Staff Senate encourages open communication and responsible decision-making while addressing the current and future needs of staff.
The Staff Senate’s goals include:
- To be a representative body for staff; encourages staff to serve on university committees
- To provide a forum for the exchange of university information
- To provide referrals for staff questions or concerns; and
- To advocate for staff issues across the university including, but not limited to: shared university governance, career development, and workplaces that foster a spirit of respect, dignity, unity and collaboration.
Senators serve on committees across both campuses with representatives from the student body, faculty and administration.
As a group, we’re evolving to meet the needs of a growing and changing University community. In this respect, Staff Senate is in the process of passing updated bylaws and election procedures that will allow us to adapt to a newly instituted HR system allowing greater and more diverse representation from across university departments.
We expect the best from one another and our values are deeply rooted in those of the entire VCU community: integrity, respect, accountability, diversity, collaboration and a commitment to service excellence.
Every year we put on the VCU Employee Appreciation Week during Spring Break, where we partner with VCU Human Resources to put on a two-day free conference for professional career development for all VCU employees, provide access to VCU resources and discounts, provide fun activities and events to meet with fellow employees via free doughnut/coffee days, workshops on employee health, leave, safety and more, and provide partnerships with on-campus departments for resources and activities. We also work with the Governor’s office for mansion tours and our on-campus libraries for library tours! Also during Employee Appreciation Week we do the Annual Staff Awards and Recognition to showcase some of VCU’s amazing employee’s and their hard work and dedication over the year.
All VCU staff and VCU Health team members are welcome to join us for our monthly September – June full staff senate meetings, in person or online.
If you are unable to attend a Staff Senate meeting in person, you can join the meetings remotely by using either of the following methods:
- Online: https://vcu.zoom.us/j/4567891111
- By phone: +1 646 558 8656 (U.S. Toll) or +1 408 638 0968 (U.S. Toll) [Meeting ID: 456 789 1111]
- By iPhone one-tap: 16465588656,4567891111# or 14086380968,4567891111#
2019 – 2020 Full Senate Meeting Schedule:
The VCU Staff Senate typically meets the third Thursday of every month from 3:00–4:30 p.m., unless noted otherwise. Meetings alternate between the VCU Health and Monroe Park campuses.
August 22, 2019 3:00–4:30 pm | Convocation
Monroe Park Campus | Cabell Library Rm. 303
September 19, 2019 3:00–4:30 pm
Monroe Park Campus | Cabell Library Rm. 250
October 17, 2019 3:00–4:30 pm
VCU Health Campus | Tompkins-McCaw Library, Room 2006
November 21, 2019 3:00–4:30 pm
Monroe Park Campus | Cabell Library Rm. 250
January 16, 2020 3:00–4:30 pm
Monroe Park Campus | Cabell Library Rm. 250
February 20, 2020 3:00–4:30 pm
VCU Health Campus | Tompkins-McCaw Library, Room 2006
March 19, 2020 3:00–4:30 pm
Monroe Park Campus | Cabell Library Rm. 250
April 16, 2020 3:00–4:30 pm
VCU Health Campus | Tompkins-McCaw Library, Room 2006
May 21, 2020 3:00–4:30 pm
Monroe Park Campus | Cabell Library Rm. 250
If you are interested in joining Staff Senate, please email staffsenate@vcu.edu for more information.
Categories 21st-Century University, News, To VCU