Committees

The Unclassified Senate has the following standing committees, each composed of at least three persons: Professional Development, Public Relations, Governance & Representation, and Elections. Memberships of these committees are comprised of volunteers from the electorate.

• Annual Committee Reports: 2009-10
• Annual Committee Reports: 2007-08
• Annual Committee Reports: 2006-07

Professional Development

This committee identifies current needs for the professional development of unclassified staff and develops programs and initiatives to address those needs. A major responsibility of the committee is planning events that appeal to a wide audience of unclassified staff. In the past, this has involved tours of campus facilities such as The University Theatre and KPR/Audio Reader, workshops on updating career documents and developing career maps, the state of KU's Energy Policy, and presentations by administrators on how to work most effectively within KU’s culture. The committee also is responsible for planning the annual, one-day Unclassified Staff Mini-Wheat State Whirlwind Tour.

Recent initiatives include evaluating the state of professional development for unclassified staff at KU through comparison to peer institutions and the creation of a professional development fund that can be used to reimburse unclassified staff for professional development opportunities, such as attendance at workshops or research projects, which are not fully funded by the staff member’s department

Public Relations

This committee manages communication between Unclassified Senate and the university community, unclassified staff members, and the larger community within the state. The committee manages the organization web site and works to deliver printed materials and emails to Unclassified Senate constituents and legislators.

Governance & Representation

This committee investigates and handles a broad variety of administrative matters concerning unclassified professional staff as assigned by the Unclassified Senate. Specifically, it seeks to improve interaction between Unclassified Senate and the higher administration at the university and strives to assure that Unclassified Senate is fairly represented on crucial governing bodies at the university. The Governance and Representation Committee has begun a dialogue with organizations similar to Unclassified Senate at other Kansas Regents institutions.

In addition, the committee organizes a legislative function each year. This event gives unclassified senators a chance to meet with Kansas lawmakers and share with them the importance of Unclassified Staff at KU.

Elections

This committee is charged with finding and contacting staff who are interested in serving on Unclassified Senate and presenting the slate of nominees to the members for voting. This committee usually only meets in the spring semester.