JHU Staff Advisory Council is up and running

Newly elected members of the JHU Staff Advisory Council met Feb. 21 at Johns Hopkins at Eastern for a daylong orientation and first council meeting.

The morning opened with a welcome message and introduction of speakers by Kathy Forbush, executive director of Talent Management. President Ron Daniels, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Laurent Heller, and Interim Vice President for Human Resources Meredith Stewart addressed members with remarks. Each shared their vision for how the newly formed council will impact leadership's decision-making process related to programs and initiatives that impact the university's staff.

Members also engaged in a question-and-answer session with members of the Staff Advisory Council Planning Group, which was responsible for creating the infrastructure for future elected councils and for identifying the composition, term lengths, and procedures for electing members and leadership.

The SAC consists of 37 elected members and five nonvoting members appointed by university leadership. Elected members were determined by the number of employees in a division, with a minimum of two seats for each division. The appointed, ex officio members are divisional business officers: Mark Bailey, SAIS; Desiree Cleeves, Berman Institute; Mary O'Connell, University Student Services; Kofi Ofori, Krieger School; Yaacov Rubin, University Administration. Members will serve two-year terms, though one-year terms were assigned to some members at random on Wednesday so that terms can be staggered to ensure the group's continuity. In addition, six nonvoting members of the 2023 SAC Planning Group will work with the council during its first year.

The SAC was created to help inform key decisions and policymaking for staff initiatives at Johns Hopkins. Updates about the council's work and progress throughout the year will be posted on the SAC website, which also includes a form where staff can submit questions and feedback. The full membership list is available there as well.