The fall 2023 all-staff meeting, hosted by the Staff Affairs Council (SAC), was held last week in a large tent on the Merrill House lawn. SAC co-chairs Christine Moskell and Nicole Carvell welcomed staff members and invited President Casey to give an update on capital projects and the ongoing Campaign for the Third Century. Sue Burdick, deputy registrar and SAC representative for the Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty provided an overview of the results of the spring 2023 staff survey.
“Overall, we had 339 responses, and staff morale was the top-ranked theme,” Burdick said. “Additionally, although family care ranked fourth in the overall list, it was the most passionately commented upon issue, comprising about 27% of the written responses.”
Burdick explained that the SAC formed three new working groups last summer to respond to the issues raised from the staff survey: Staff Morale and Campus Culture, Professional Development, and Family Care. These are in addition to a working group established last year that will continue: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. View the aggregated results of the survey online.
After Burdick’s discussion of the staff survey results, Vice President and Dean of the College Paul McLoughlin discussed Colgate’s emergency preparedness and the SOMAC transition. Information on the transition of ambulance services from SOMAC to Madison County can be found in an online FAQ.
Vice President for Administration Christopher Wells then provided an update on 2024 insurance premiums. He explained that, after several years with little or no increase in the cost of Colgate’s health plan, the past year had seen a sharp rise. “We’ve worked with consultants to manage the budget for employee healthcare, and we’ve worked hard to tweak the plan to bring down the premiums, as well as tapped a reserve to further lower the impact. However, most employees will see some level of increase this year,” he said. Wells also noted that the Human Resources Department will set up informational meetings as we approach the open enrollment period, Nov. 6–11, 2023.
On a lighter note, Wells mentioned that, after working with the Staff Affairs Council to identify areas of concern for Colgate staff members, human resources will be providing more robust services for staff members in the form of supervisor training and career counseling. Employees who are interested in these programs can reach out to humres@colgate.edu for more information.
The SAC co-chairs closed out the meeting by inviting staff members to reach out to the SAC reps with feedback either directly via email, or via the form on the SAC website, which can be filled out anonymously. And, in recognition that many employees had expressed interest in more opportunities to socialize with each other, the co-chairs invited all staff members to return in the afternoon for ice cream and hot cocoa. The full recording of the meeting can be viewed online and will also be available on the SAC website at colgate.edu/staffaffairs.