Smith College Staff Council is a representative body providing a voice for all staff. The Council gives staff members focused and direct involvement in the governance of nonacademic affairs and in the life of Smith College. It ensures participation of staff in the policymaking process, promotes the visibility of staff as valuable members of the Smith community, and facilitates a sense of belonging across campus.
All Smith College staff, whether members of Staff Council or not, can attend Staff Council meetings or most committee meetings.
Here’s what Staff Council committees are working on right now:
Activities Committee (Andrea Fernandes and Cathy Kearney, Co-Chairs)
- Preparations are underway for the annual Soup and Spuds event at the Conference Center Wednesday January 22, 2025.
- Watch for announcements about a chair massage event coming in the spring!
Communications Committee (Laura Gomez and Rachael Hagerstrom, Co-Chairs)
- The committee is developing a strategic plan to ensure effective and sustainable communication from Staff Council in order to reach all of our constituents.
VIBE (Value, Inclusion, Belonging, and Equity, Lorelei Erisis and Kai Devlin, Co-Chairs)
- The VIBE Committee recently crafted a mission statement to clearly define VIBE’s direction and purpose: “VIBE committee works through Staff Council to elevate the interests of Smith’s most marginalized staff.”
Personnel Policy Committee (Abril Navarro and Caroline Bertrand, Co-Chairs)
- PPC continues to meet with HR twice a month to review and elevate staff concerns.
- The committee is developing a mechanism to track trends about issues that are seen but not acted upon for long periods of time.
Membership and Recruitment Committee (Jennifer Kennedy with help from Ann Mayo)
- Membership and Recruitment is reviewing historical staff council membership to identify departments that haven’t been well-represented.