Message from the Vice Chancellor:

CUNY's True Grit

 

Let's face it: 2012 was one for the record books. What with several years of economic mountains to climb and one fiscal cliff after another, for some time now it has seemed that we just lurch from crisis to crisis. But the year ended with a bona fide natural disaster in the form of Superstorm Sandy that put everything else into perspective. For me, the lessons of Sandy are not embodied in what was lost, but in what we as New Yorkers and members of the CUNY community once again rediscovered within ourselves: resiliency. In the aftermath of Sandy and all the turbulence of the past few years, we're developing -- to borrow a line from a classic Western movie -- true grit.

 

Resiliency is the ability of an individual, family, organization or community to cope with adversity and adapt to challenges and change. It allows us to endure, bounce back, tap into hope and transform difficult situations into wisdom, insight and compassion. It is what helps us get things done when times are tough.

  

Organizational resilience can be defined as the capacity of a workplace to withstand significant economic stress, systemic risk or disruptions by adapting, recovering, and continuing to function and operate within acceptable levels. In those terms, CUNY's workforce has demonstrated remarkable grit and determination.

  

Resiliency is primarily a learned behavior:  we can't always control what happens to us, we can only control our responses. Because resilience can be learned, it can be strengthened. According to Ken Warren in CEOnline, employees who feel connected to others and who believe they have access to resources have a greater sense of security. Teams of workers who support each other and work creatively together are more resilient.  In fact, it's amazing how much stress people can tolerate when they have great relationships with their colleagues. Close relationships with supervisors and co-workers allow us to recharge and share ideas for addressing workplace challenges. Promoting positive workplace relationships through mentoring, social activities and professional development can promote mutual support and positive attitudes among workers.

  

Some of the things that contribute to our resiliency at CUNY are our shared values and dedication to the University's core mission. Other factors that can contribute are consistent leadership, clear communication, resource sharing, and clearly defined structure, roles and responsibilities throughout the community. We do some of this pretty well, but we can do even more to reduce stressors in the workplace, build teamwork and organizational strength, and develop resiliency in our staff.

  

One way to do that is to show appreciation. Although we are still a ways away from being able to offer monetary rewards for high performers, that doesn't mean we can't provide recognition for them.  It's amazing how hard people will work, and the challenges and stress they'll put up with, if they are given meaningful recognition for what they do.  A genuine "thank you," handwritten as opposed to an email, can go a long way.  If praise is given verbally and in public, it can go even farther.

  

Not long ago I attended a "lunch 'n learn" webinar with several of my staff entitled What to Do When There's Too Much to Do.  One of the things I took away was that my own personal resilience at work can be fostered by finding some time in the day, even if it's just an hour, to do something I love that I know I do well. That's a New Year's resolution we should all consider making, and encourage our staff to adopt, too, because it helps us feel more satisfied in our work and mitigates the stress of those chores we don't especially enjoy.

  

So as we go forward into 2013, I applaud you all for your resilience in weathering the storms of 2012 -- economic, natural and otherwise -- and invite you to join me in cultivating our inner John Wayne: employing true grit, perseverance and passion as we undertake the long term goals, challenges and ultimate promise of our great University.

 

 

 

 

 

Gloriana B. Waters

Vice Chancellor

 

In This Issue
CUNY's Faculty Diversity Conference
Workplace Violence Prevention Year
Everybody Asks Raymond
The Benefits of Diversity
Recruitment Metrics
New Faces at OHRM
CUNY Faculty Diversity Conference Slated for March 8, 2013

CUNY's Office of Recruitment and Diversity will sponsor the inaugural CUNY Faculty Diversity and Inclusion Conference on Friday, March 8, 2013 at the CUNY Graduate Center.  

Entitled Building on a Strong Foundation: Opportunities and Challenges, the conference will address a range of critically important challenges and opportunities related to faculty diversity and inclusion that were identified in the recently released CUNY Diversity Action Plan.
Read More >> 

New Workplace Violence Prevention Year Begins in February 

 

February is Workplace Violence Prevention Month, and OHRM's Office of Professional Development & Learning Management (PDLM) will offer six professional development programs to assist specific CUNY audiences in promoting a positive and violence-free workplace. Click here for a copy of the class calendar.
OHRM Presents "Data Driven Decision Making"

CUNY's Financial Management Conference on January 29th, 2013 focused on linking strategic and financial planning. To that end, OHRM sponsored a session entitled "How HR Can Use
Data Driven Decision Making to Create a Sustainable Competitive Advantage at CUNY." Read More >>
OHRM Recognizes  2012 "Stars" and "Employee of the Year"

Each year OHRM employees are nominated by their peers for our "Spotlight on Achievement" program, which seeks to recognize those employees who make a significant and distinguishable contribution to OHRM's operations and whose work exemplifies OHRM's core values and goals. Read More >> 
   
  
 
Raymond O 'Brien
Everybody Asks Raymond
About Job Descriptions and the New "Code of Practice"

 

On November 28, 2012, the Board of Trustees approved major changes to the Bylaws that included removing most of the job descriptions for instructional staff. So where did they go?

  

Q.   Where are the instructional staff job descriptions now?

 

A.   When the Board removed these job descriptions from the Bylaws, it delegated to the Chancellor or his designee the responsibility to establish appropriate job descriptions. In turn, the Chancellor delegated to Vice Chancellor Waters the authority to establish minimum qualifications and duties for titles in the instructional staff (except for those titles , primarily in the Executive Compensation Plan, that remained in the Bylaws). Accordingly, Vice Chancellor Waters promulgated the "Code of Practice: Regarding Instructional Staff Titles: Title Descriptions and Minimum Qualifications."

  

Q.   Where can I locate a copy of the Code of Practice?

 

A.   The Code of Practice is located on the OHRM webpage under Policies and Procedures. Click here to view a copy of the Code of Practice. 

 

Q.   Now that the Code of Practice has been issued, will the campus HR Directors have an opportunity to suggest modifications of the job descriptions?

 

A.   Yes. Issuing the Code of Practice is just the first step. We recognize that some of the job descriptions are decades old and need updating. Changes in the title descriptions and qualifications for faculty positions require the approval of the Board of Trustees, while such changes for other instructional staff titles are approved by the Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Management. Read More...  

 

 

The Benefits of Diversity 

Jennifer S. Rubain, University Dean of Recruitment & Diversity 

 

The City University of New York has long been guided by the principles of diversity and inclusion. These principles are interwoven into its mission and bolstered by empirical results of studies showing that diversity is essential to educational excellence. Diversity enables American society, and the academy in particular, to maintain intellectual leadership by harnessing the innovative capacity of the nation's entire talent pool. (Beyond Bias and Barriers, National Academy of Sciences 2006)

 

Educating and employing members of all segments of the nation's rapidly changing population is imperative to developing an educated workforce with the values, culture, and perspectives to provide solutions to pressing local, state, national, and international problems. (Grant-Thomas and Orfield 2009)

 

What are diversity and inclusion?

 

Diversity denotes an understanding of difference that includes many dimensions, including race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, national origin, socioeconomic status, and other characteristics of social identity. These interconnected differences serve as sources of knowledge, encourage new research, and contribute to the University's capacity to address societal issues, create new curricular areas, and develop new paths for engagement with external communities. (CUNY Master Plan 2004-2008)

 

Inclusion is the creation of a climate where all feel valued and appreciated, where there is meaningful interaction among groups, and where diverse groups participate in academic and administrative decision making, and barriers to inclusion-whether policies, practices, or systems-are identified and addressed. An inclusive environment embraces diversity's multi-faceted dimensions and allows students, faculty, and staff to thrive. (Brooklyn College Diversity and Inclusion Plan 2008-2012)

 

Diversity creates opportunities to engage in difficult dialogues about challenging issues -- a central tenet of the academic experience. Findings document that students who interacted with racially and ethnically diverse peers both informally and within the classroom showed the greatest "engagement in active thinking, growth in intellectual engagement and motivation, and growth in intellectual and academic skills." (Fine and Handelsman 2010)  Read More... 

 

Recruitment Metrics -- A First Glance

Anne Chamberlain, University Director for Talent Acquisition
 
Even considering CUNY's size and scope as one of the largest higher education institutions in the country, its activity and successes in the area of faculty and staff recruiting are impressive. Over the past three years, the University initiated between 900 and 1,100 searches per year. There were more than 163,000 applications in CUNYfirst in the past academic year (and over 400,000 total since TAM was implemented), over 150 applications per vacancy on average. We have advertised in nearly 300 different outlets over the past two years. We administer University-wide contracts and relationships such as the Higher Education Recruiting Consortium (HERC) and a relationship with a major advertising agency (Creative Media). We operate, maintain, and continuously upgrade a large and complex Talent Acquisition Management system.  

Over this past year, the Office of Recruitment and Diversity has developed a network of staff around the University with substantial involvement with recruiting. We've found that over 100 CUNY faculty, staff, and executives identify themselves as recruitment personnel, part-time or full time. Their efforts are supported by the countless hours spent by others, including HR staff, hiring managers, admini-strative personnel, and importantly, search committee members, to support the ongoing effort to hire a highly-qualified, diverse workforce. Read More... 

New Faces at OHRM

From left, Vice Chancellor Ginger Waters, Sahana Gupta, Raymond O'Brien
Sahana Gupta has joined OHRM's executive unit as Deputy to Senior University Executive Director Raymond O'Brien. Sahana spent the last eleven years at Bronx Community College, serving first as Executive Assistant to the President and Affirmative Action Officer, and subsequently as Director of Strategic Human Resources Management.  She has a Masters of Arts degree in English from Jadavpur University, India.  Sahana and her husband, Jay, recently moved to the Bronx and look forward to enjoying being in the city. Sahana loves to cook and is an Indian food gourmet. 

From left, Bernard Dumas, Gina Aviles, Vice Chancellor Ginger Waters,  Maryann McKenzie and Donna Katz

Donna Katz has joined University Benefits as Human Resources Programs Manager, responsible for implementing new programs such as Dedicated Sick Leave and the Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank. Donna comes to the Central Office from Baruch College, where she was Associate Director of Human Resources. Donna holds a Master's degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Baruch College, and holds SPHR and HR designations as well as CEBS, the designation for benefits professionals. Donna enjoys pilates, volleyball and anything to do with the sun and sand.

 

Bernard Dumas is the new Employee Relations Officer for Central Office Human Resources. Bernard comes to CUNY from Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he was Senior Labor Relations Specialist responsible for creating departmental partnership committees and developing employee relations training for various leadership levels. Prior to his work at Mount Sinai, Bernard held Labor Relations and Equal Employment Opportunity positions at HHC-Health and Home Care and with the Interfaith Medical Center. He holds a Master's in HR Management from The New School and a Bachelor's degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.  In his downtime, Bernard enjoys cooking, writing and playing the saxophone.  

 

Maryann McKenzie is the newest member of the Office of Recruitment and Diversity, reporting to Dean Jennifer Rubain as her Deputy.  Maryann has broad experience in the nonprofit and corporate sectors of higher education, community service and healthcare organizations.  Prior to joining OHRM, Maryann worked at Brooklyn College for 10 years, serving as Executive Assistant to the Dean of the School of Education. Maryann completed undergraduate studies at Rutgers College and is a graduate of Baruch's Executive Masters in Public Administration (XMPA) program.  A mother of three, she lives in Brooklyn with her husband Robert. She has a fourth degree black belt in aikido.  

 

Gina Aviles has joined University Payroll Systems & Operations as Deputy to Director Sherry Azoulay. Gina has been with CUNY in various capacities since 1981, including serving as the Director of Payroll Services at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and as Executive Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs. She graduated from Hunter College with a Bachelor in English. Gina currently serves as the Chair of the Performance Measures and Standards Subcommittee and was originally a member of the Operations Committee for the Payroll Users Group of the NYS Comptroller's Office. Gina says she was born to dance!   

 

About Us
The CUNY Office of Human Resources Management is responsible for developing the University's human resources guidelines, standards, rules and regulations. We enforce federal, state and local employment laws, and ensure compliance with the CUNY Board of Trustees' policies and procedures regarding employment, including affirmative action and equal opportunity employment. OHRM administers employee benefits and professional development programs for University staff, and oversees the administration of Civil Service examinations. 
 

Our Mission:  To provide strategic, consultative and effective human resources services that promote organizational success, individual achievement, inclusiveness and excellence.

 

Our Vision: OHRM will serve the University community by embracing the dual roles of transaction and transformation in response to the current and emerging needs of the University and its workforce.  It will become a model for human resources as internal consultant and problem-solver; it will provide expertise and leadership to enable the campuses and the University to achieve their goals while complying with pertinent HR policies and regulations.  In all matters, OHRM will carry out its duties in a manner that is respectful, knowledgeable, and that reflects the highest standards of inclusiveness and excellence.   

 

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