With the new academic year in full swing, the College’s Staff Advisory Committee to the President (SAC) has already begun work on new and existing initiatives aimed at strengthening connections and communication among staff members and creating a stronger voice for staff within the College’s administration.

Elections for the 2018-19 SAC were held during spring semester, with the newly constituted committee holding its first meeting of the academic year on Aug. 2, 2018, to onboard new members, discuss ideas and elect members to committee leadership posts. (See below for a full list of members.)

Faculty and staff having a little fun at the 2018 Staff Awards Luncheon. (Photos by Mike Ledford)

Among other responsibilities, the SAC seeks to create greater awareness about staff contributions to the College (through the annual Staff Awards Luncheon) and advises the CofC president on matters relevant to staff, including questions or concerns about institutional policies and practices. The committee meets with the president a number of times throughout the academic year, and the committee’s chair presents to the College’s Board of Trustees at each of its quarterly meetings to provide updates on committee activities.

“I’m looking forward to working with the Staff Advisory Committee this year,” says CofC Interim President Stephen C. Osborne ’73. “I applaud their desire to strengthen the staff bond and to make the College an even greater place to work. Our staff serves an integral role in carrying out the College’s public mission, and it is their commitment to our students’ well-being that helps foster our student-focused culture.”

This year’s committee is larger than past iterations due to the recent establishment of new administrative divisions at the College. Last year’s SAC worked to increase the number of elected seats and to lengthen members’ terms of service in an effort to better represent all staff at the College and to create more continuity in the committee’s work from year to year.

The Division of Marketing and Communications hosted the first staff drop-in event in 2018.

Last year, the SAC also launched a Staff Drop-in event series aimed at boosting camaraderie among staff. Two drop-ins were held during the last academic year – one hosted by the Division of Marketing and Communications and the second hosted by the Career Center (part of the Division of Student Affairs). Both drop-ins, which coincided with the College’s monthly Cougar Spirit Day, were well-attended and featured catering by Aramark and raffle prizes.

The first Staff Drop-in of the 2018-19 academic year will be held on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018, in the Stern Center Ballroom. Additional details will be announced by campus email.

Among some of the initiatives the SAC is currently exploring and/or implementing are:

  • Staff Open Forums – The SAC is interested in organizing a series of campus forums for staff members to discuss and learn more about specific topics that are likely to have relevance to large numbers of CofC employees. If you have suggestions for possible forum topics, please email them to sac@cofc.edu.
  • A Faculty/Staff News Webpage – In partnership with the Division of Marketing and Communications, the SAC advocated for the creation of an internally focused webpage devoted to faculty and staff news. This new page can be accessed through a link at the top of the College’s news site, The College Today, or directly at https://today.cofc.edu/faculty-staff/.
  • Faculty/Staff Twitter Account – The College’s Office of Communications, which manages the College’s social media accounts, has established a new Twitter account devoted to Faculty and Staff News. You can follow the account at https://twitter.com/CofCFacStaff.
  • Health and Wellness Speaker Series – The SAC Morale and Wellness Subcommittee is interested in establishing a speaker series focused on health-related topics of interest to staff. If you have a suggestion for a speaker or topic, please send an email to sac@cofc.edu.
2018-19 Staff Advisory Committee to the President (*denotes new members)
Melantha Ardrey Director of Residence Life, Residence Life Programming At-Large
Jillian Clayton Assistant to the Dean, School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs At-Large
Cathy Peebles Administrative Coordinator, Provost’s Office At-Large
Gregg Semenetz* Director, Business Operations, Athletics At-Large
Jessica Rodgers* Director of Marketing Athletics
Jessica Stone* Student Services Program Coordinator Academic Affairs
Lisa Calvert* Operations Manager/Assistant to the Dean Academic Affairs
Cheryl Drum Data Reporting Manager Business Affairs
Kimberly Gertner Director, Office of Equal Opportunity Programs Business Affairs
Celeste Granger Assistant Director, Residence Life Student Affairs
Elizabeth Klixbull* Staff Nurse Practitioner Student Affairs
Christina DeCario* Senior Associate Director for Admissions Enrollment Planning
Joshua Bloodworth* Associate Director of Assessment Accreditation Executive Division
Wanda Whitley* Administrative Assistant Executive Division
Michael Kling* Electrician Apprentice Facilities and Planning
Robert Lucas* Construction Project Manager Facilities and Planning
John Curtis* IT PC Network Technician Information Technology
Jeff Woraratanadharm* IT PC Network AV Technician Information Technology
J. R. Barnhart* Assistant Director of Financial Services Institutional Advancement
Ron Menchaca Executive Director of Communications Marketing and Communications
Pam Grant* Therapist, Counseling Center Temporary Employee
Ex-Officio Members
Rudy Alisauskas Data Specialist; Past SAC Chair Institutional Advancement
Ed Pope Vice President for Human Resources Human Resources

The following members have been elected to leadership positions for 2018-19 and will constitute the SAC Executive Subcommittee:

Chair: Melantha Ardrey

Vice Chair: Cathy Peebles

Treasurer/Secretary: Jeff Woraratanadharm

Chair of the Communications and Concerns Subcommittee: Jillian Clayton

Chair of the Membership Subcommittee: Cheryl Drum

Chair of the Morale and Wellness Subcommittee: Ron Menchaca