Task Force Report
March 5, 2002
Dear Colleagues:
Because of the importance of UCI's non-academic staff to the success of the campus, I convened an ad hoc task force one year ago and asked them to identify staff issues related to campus growth, and to make recommendations for developing the UCI workforce. I also asked the task force to determine the numbers and types of staff needed to support UCI's planned growth and to look carefully at recruitment, retention, and staff development to ensure that UCI offers long-term career opportunities for staff.
I would like to thank the members of the task force, particularly Dean Susan Bryant who served as chair of the task force. All of the members, as well as additional staff who served as consultants to the group, devoted a significant amount of time to prepare a thoughtful report with excellent recommendations.
Today we are releasing the Staff Task Force Report on the Chancellor's web site, and telling you of our plans for implementing many of the recommendations. On the web site you will also find an overview of the task force recommendations, the progress we have made on them this year, and the implementation plan that we developed.
The task force recommended that I appoint a Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Staff in order to ensure that our overall implementation plan proceeds. I will do so and will announce shortly the chair and members of that committee which will include faculty and staff.
We have conducted this review with a sense of long-term vision for UCI's future. We have spent time to define some of our needs and to anticipate challenges ahead. Despite the current budget constraints, I am committed to hold staff concerns and goals in highest regard, and look forward to implementing task force recommendations.
Accountability for implementation will extend across the campus to every function and level of staff and faculty. This report is not comprehensive in uncovering issues affecting the working conditions and environment at UCI, but it is a significant start. And, with earnest participation from the entire UCI community, I know that our mission and vision will carry us as financial conditions improve.
On my web site, there is a place for you to give me feedback. I look forward to hearing from you about the report, about implementation actions that have already begun, and about your own ideas for change.
Sincerely,
Ralph J. Cicerone
Chancellor
