Supporting Our Staff
February 8, 2021
Dear Colleagues,
We hope you’re off to a great semester.
You may remember that the Implementation Team for Racial Justice was established last summer in response to calls from students, staff, and faculty to address structural barriers to racial equality on our campus. In fall 2020, the team hosted open forums and an online community feedback form for the college community to voice their concerns. The team used that information to issue a series of recommendations throughout the fall to enhance racial justice on campus.
This semester, we are moving forward on those recommendations, and we are pleased to begin announcing their implementation. This first update is focused on our recommendations last fall to support our staff.
It began with the constitution of the Implementation Team for Racial Justice itself. In response to the desire to expand staff representation, last semester we recommended that the team add a CLT and a Gittleson. We recruited Costume Shop Supervisor Deborah Hertzberg as the CLT representative and Administrative Assistant in SEEK Annette Nesbit as the Gittleson representative. Their additional input helped us move forward with broader expertise about staff experiences on campus.
Recommendation on Staff Leadership and Mentoring
A core question emerged about how to enhance the voice of staff across the college. Staff members told us that they would like opportunities to communicate with the leadership of the campus about their issues and concerns. In response, last week, the college announced the establishment of the Presidential Advisory Committee for Staff, open to staff members across departments and titles. If you are interested in participating, please e-mail Ayana Murray-Richards in the Office of Human Resources or Tony Thomas in Legal Affairs.
We endorsed the idea that the college appoint mentors to support staff. However, uncertainty arose about whether staff members needed mentors, ombudspersons, or something else entirely. We decided that we need a further assessment of the matter, so the Presidential Advisory Committee for Staff will explore this question and work to identify and match the right support to our staff members’ needs.
Recommendation on Governance and Staff
We recommended that the team host an informational session explaining the governance structures of the college. Led by the chair of Faculty Council and the college’s chief legal and labor relations officer, the informational sessions are scheduled to take place three times this semester: for students on February 18 at 2 p.m., for staff on February 22 at 2 p.m., and for faculty on February 24 at 2 p.m. Watch for announcements with registration.
Recommendation on Staff Training
We recommended that representatives from the Office of Legal Counsel and Human Resources offer staff informational sessions about various titles under the contracts, CUNY processes for hiring, promotion, and salary differentials. Our chief legal and labor relations officer and director of human resources conducted two of these information sessions last fall, one for classified staff, and one for HEOs and CLTs in conjunction with leadership from the PSC.
Recommendation on Staff Professional Development
We recommended that the college offer professional development for staff on how to prepare for and advance in their careers when opportunities become available. Last fall, our Human Resources Office offered nine professional development programs for staff (four of which were revised and five of which were new) on topics as diverse as understanding the classified titles, communicating around mistakes in the workplace, and understanding the HEO salary differential. Additionally, the newly formed Presidential Advisory Committee for Staff will survey staff to identify other useful professional development opportunities.
Recommendation on Job Transparency
We recommended that the college enhance the transparency of job opportunities by advertising the location on the CUNY website that lists open positions. We want to use this opportunity to highlight in this message the location on the Brooklyn College website that lists job opportunities at the college and across CUNY.
Recommendation on Management Training
We recommended that the college offer enhanced training for managers on topics such as implicit bias, performance reviews, staff advancement, and a supportive and inclusive work environment. Our Human Resources Office offered managers trainings on how to manage teams and conduct performance reviews in a remote environment. Additionally, the Office of Diversity and Equity Programs enhanced all of its diversity trainings by incorporating the current social climate and the remote work environment, including video/chat room discussions, equal access to technology, and ADA accommodations. The Office of Diversity and Equity Programs offered eight implicit bias trainings in October, November, and December as well as anti-racism training, anti-bias training, and inclusive workplace trainings for managers throughout the fall.
We will continue to update you on the college’s progress in implementing our recommendations, and we welcome your questions and comments via e-mail or through the anonymous Community Feedback Form.
Yours sincerely,
Anthony Brown, Ron Jackson, and James Lynch
Co-chairs of the Implementation Team for Racial Justice
