May 1, 2006

Staff Advisory Board hosts forum

Parking, telecommuting, and child care on campus were among issues raised at the Staff Advisory Board General Forum on April 26.

Staff Advisory Board members—who are accepting nominations for new members up to the end of the day on Monday, May 1—also put in a plug for others to join the board.

Board members outlined their roles in some of the key committees on campus and sought suggestions and comments from the audience at 159 Kresge.

Eric Grabiel, who sits on the Transportation Advisory Committee, drew the most comments. Staffers suggested improved shuttle service to campus offices at 2300 Delaware, and development of a separate parking permit for part-time employees, who must now pay the same cost as full-time employees.

Grabiel urged any staffers interested in transportation issues to attend the meetings on the second Wednesday of each month, in Baskin Engineering 330. Transportation and Parking Services staff members are available to answer questions at each meeting.

Another audience member said the campus was behind the times in its use of telecommuting, and urged a stronger push for the concept. SAB member Rosemary Anderson, who telecommutes once a week, endorsed telecommuting’s benefits. “My productivity is vastly increased by just having that one day that I don’t drive to work,” she said.

General information on telecommuting at UCSC, as well as a sample telecommuting agreement are available online.

SAB member Judy Scarborough updated the crowd on her work with the Child Care Advisory Committee. Currently, two-thirds of the child care spaces in any given age group are reserved for students’ children, with one-third of spaces set aside for the children of faculty and staff combined. A proposal for a 50/50 split between children of students and children of faculty and staff has been made, but would not take effect until the overall number of child care spaces is increased, Scarborough said.

Staff members were urged to contact SAB members with their specific concerns. In addition to the parking and child care committees, Pamela Edwards is on the Long-Range Development Plan Committee, and Cyndi Edinger is on the Campus Welfare Committee.