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Full support from Chancellor Christ for staff to participate in Staff Organizations during regular workdays
Dear Colleagues,
The UC Berkeley community gives life to our mission of teaching, research, and public service and every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which Berkeley’s Principles of Community can thrive. Our strategic plan calls for a healthy campus climate that will foster equity of experience and ensure that staff, students, and faculty of all backgrounds feel safe, welcome, and included.
Much of this vital work is accomplished through staff organizations that have been founded by staff and sponsored by the University for the purpose of providing opportunities to build and strengthen both personal and professional connections that enrich our campus community. The work that our staff does through these organizations is, in fact, work on behalf of the university and should be valued and respected as much as any other work done by an employee. This is not “volunteer” work that an employee does in their free time and we need to be sure that staff have time during their regular workday to do this part of their jobs.
Therefore, we want to reaffirm our continuing commitment by encouraging and supporting our staff who work for these organizations. As Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien wrote in 1992, when UC Berkeley formally recognized the value of staff contributions to these organizations, we too believe an “effective UC Berkeley manager or supervisor is one who provides opportunities for staff to contribute to the Campus.”
In the coming months, we will be updating our campus policy to better reflect this commitment to our staff. Among other things, we will provide guidance to managers and supervisors for granting release time to staff for participation in campus-sponsored activities.
Thank you in advance for your continued support of the amazing staff on our campus.
Carol & Eugene
Carol Christ, Chancellor Eugene Whitlock, AVC-HR
If you are a manager who supervises UC Berkeley employees without email access, please circulate this information to all.
