USAC Members:
Fall 2009 Staff Conversation with President Gee
The University Staff Advisory Committee (USAC) invites staff, faculty, and students to join President Gordon Gee for a conversation about the university, our progress and our opportunities.
USAC asks college and department leaders to support their staff in attending this important event.
Date: Monday, November 2, 2009
Time: 11:30-12:30
Location: Fawcett Center
URL: Live and on-demand streams
PDF: Staff Conversation
Additional Information
- Ask the president a question at the event. Any questions that are not answered during the event will be answered on this website after the event
- Fill out a cards at the event
- Send a question to USAC@osu.edu and we will attempt to present this question to him.
- Handicapped accessible area
- On-site interpreter for hearing-impaired
Fall 2008 Staff Conversation with the President
Positive changes are afoot for the University Staff Advisory Committee's Town Hall Meeting that invited staff to interact with Ohio State 's senior leadership during fall, winter and spring quarters.
It will now be called a Staff Conversation with President Gee, and the president, who enthusiastically agreed to the changes, will be the only senior leader in attendance, beginning with an Oct. 21 conversation from noon-1 p.m. in Jennings Hall.
“I am looking forward to the opportunity to talk directly with staff about some of the larger issues the university is facing at this moment,” Gordon Gee said. “Our challenges are great, but so are our opportunities. We are fortunate to have a cadre of creative, talented people to help us fulfill our mission.”
The new format is a chance for Gee to learn more about staff concerns, and staff in turn can be more informed — straight from the top — about how the university continues to build its relationships with employees.
“We wanted to make it more informal instead of USAC moderating and it devolving into a question-and-answer session,” said USAC Chair Katie Hall. “The president was all for the new approach, and he stated clearly he can learn more at these events if he can engage more readily with staff, so we wanted to set up a process where that can happen.”
The timing of the upcoming Staff Conversation with President Gee was a special request by Gee's office so that his discussions with staff would closely follow his bi-annual speeches to faculty, allowing Gee to touch on the same general themes at both appearances. At the upcoming addresses, Gee will discuss Ohio State 's role in stimulating the state's economic recovery, training educated citizens and nurturing the arts, among other topics. He also will talk about the changing work culture at Ohio State , which aims to deliver a more merit-based approach to rewarding performance and ensuring the best candidates find their way into OSU jobs.
“We want staff to be able to hear and ask questions about, ‘What does it mean to me?'” Hall said. “Many staff don't understand their connection to that and how it will play out in their college and department.
“We're really talking about the future of the university, the direction we're going and how people can support that,” Hall added. “Staff need opportunities to talk to the president and come to understand not only how he sees us supporting that future but how we see ourselves supporting it. Staff, we hope, will raise questions and concerns, talk about personal experience and think more holistically about how we support this future direction.”
Questions from staff can be sent in advance to usac@osu.edu, and those in attendance also may ask questions of Gee in person.
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