Recently, members of the University Staff Advisory Council (USAC) sat down with Penn State President Eric Barron for a question-and-answer session. They covered a broad range of topics pertinent to staff, from results of 2014's Values and Culture Survey to short- and long-term challenges facing the University. A transcript of the session is being published as part of a new communications initiative by the members of USAC.
Q: The Values and Culture survey results revealed that 30 percent of staff witnessed misconduct, but did not report it for fear of retaliation. How do you think that we, as the University Staff Advisory Council, can help to alleviate this fear of retaliation?
A: I appreciate your thoughts and met with the consultant who conducted the survey on this topic. The number seems really high and that is not a good sign. I asked the consultant if this is true for other institutions as well, and they indicated they didn’t have a good point of comparison with other universities. So I think more information is needed. First, I wonder if everyone knows about the anonymous hotline and how it works. Do we tell people what steps are taken to protect their privacy when they do report? Is it only fear of retaliation or do they (staff) think corrective action won’t happen anyway, so there is no point in reporting? It is also hard to report back to someone if they are using anonymity; therefore, they think nothing was done. And if more information is needed, it is impossible to follow up. So maybe we should let staff know ‘this is how and what we do’ when something is reported.
Q: How do you plan to improve staff morale during your tenure as President?
A: Staff morale is very important to our University, and part of my job is to solve problems. In meeting with your executive council, we discussed communication being a problem and we fixed that by giving USAC a link on Penn State Today so that information can be shared with all staff. My philosophy is if we have a problem, let’s fix it. And I will be honest if/when I can’t solve the problem. Understand that I am human, and I will make mistakes.
Q: Over the past few years, some have lost trust and faith with University leadership. How do you plan to restore such trust and faith during your tenure as president?
A: This is my job, and I need to focus in a way that will translate into having faith. This is hard to fix, but my philosophy is 1) tell everyone the same thing, be consistent and not sugarcoat it for different audiences, and 2) if I say I will do something, I will do it. There are things people won’t want me to get involved in, but I can’t afford to stay on the sidelines.
Q: Currently, according to University Policy, there is six (6) weeks of paid maternity leave for female faculty members, but there is no paid maternity leave for staff members. Do you have any plans to address this concern?
A: I didn’t realize this until I read it. This policy may stem from the fact that the faculty does not have paid days off. It is a different model from staff, who have paid sick and vacation time, so there is a tradeoff. I would like to go back and look at it, but to have complete balance, there may have to be one tradeoff for another.
Q: On the day of the HUB threat (Oct. 12, 2014), what steps would have been taken if the suspect were NOT caught before the incident was reportedly going to take place? What would the University have done to protect the staff, faculty, students, and visitors?
A: I can’t imagine that if the threat was credible, the building would have stayed open. We would have taken every precaution to make sure everyone was safe. This person made a horrible mistake, and will have terroristic threats on his resume. Not a smart move.
Q: What are the immediate and long-term challenges you see facing Penn State?
A: In every respect, the University is healthy. Enrollment is going up, and we foresee small changes in federal funding. We sit at the highest end of the tuition spectrum because we do not get a lot of state funding. Costs continue to go up. We need to increase tuition to cover benefit increases and we need to continue with budget cuts for salary increases. Investing money in innovation is also important. We are a great research institution. We need to grow out of the past and fix things that were wrong.
Q: How can the University Staff Advisory Council best help you during your tenure as President?
A: To promote a higher degree of communication, we need to present the issues when we hear them. When meeting with the executive council, I mentioned that we need to discuss things as they occur and you can just send me an email. Let’s keep our lines of communication open.
More about USAC:
The University Staff Advisory Council was formed in January 1995, when the associate vice president for Human Resources appointed the body (formerly known as the Staff Advisory Committee) to act in an advisory capacity to senior administration through the vice president for Human Resources. Today’s USAC is composed of 30 members from across campuses, colleges and units, including liaisons representing the President’s equity commissions. To learn more about the council, visit http://ohr.psu.edu/university-staff-advisory-council/.