CSSAC offers wisdom, functionality to help members

As the administrative assistant for the Office of Admissions, Jenny Bower’s responsibilities include answering emails to [email protected].

“They will ask any question under the sun,” Bower said.

And usually, she knows the answers, where on campus to go, or whom to recruit if she needs an assist. When Bower started in the position five years ago, she replaced someone who had already been gone for six months and had to learn all the ins and outs on the fly. Fortunately, Campus Support Staff Advisory Committee members helped her gain some of that knowledge.

Part of university community since 1975, CSSAC consists of more than 200 hourly-paid employees, including the administrative assistants, clerical, and service staff from each department. There are no membership dues. A 12-person leadership committee attends monthly board meetings and relevant campus meetings to keep members informed.

Some of that reporting comes through an end-of-the-month newsletter called The Support Report, which highlights available resources, benefit explanations, information about various campus entities, and answers to submitted questions.

“The official purview of CSSAC is we’re going to give you a voice to the upper administration and this committee and that committee,” said Jalyn Girardot, administrative assistant to the Department of Communication, “but I think the real value in it is connecting all of us and making a brain pool of resources that helps us all do what we do better and feel more connected on campus.”

That included a May meeting with Chancellor Ron Elsenbaumer. A CSSAC membership survey suggested discussion topics including salaries, cost of parking, advancement, training, and benefits.

“There are a lot more responsibilities that are coming up and they expect us to handle them,” said Cindy Firestine, administrative assistant for TRIO who has worked on campus for 14 years. “Now you are the face of the department, the tip of the iceberg. We are frontline and it’s important to get that support as we get more put on us.”

Bower, Firestine, and Girardot are each developing how-to manuals for their departments, tips they often share with other CSSAC members.

“When you are hired, you may not have a person who was here who could train you—and you don’t know who to contact even when you get a random question,” Bower said. “We have multiple people in multiple departments across campus, and when we pull our resources together, one of us is likely going to have the answer or be able to direct you to the appropriate place to get the answer, which is a huge benefit.

“We want them to know that they can come to us. Even if our department doesn’t handle it, we can tell you where to ask next.”

CSSAC recently elected Robert Burton as chair, Jessica Rouleau as vice chair, Katherine Yates as treasurer, and Bower as secretary. Other board members include Alyssa Anguiana, Angel Schnurpel, Christine Hall, Kaye Pitcher, Spencer Saunders, Tracy Mitchener, Firestine, and Girardot.

CSSAC is hosting a meet and greet event on Monday from 4 to 6 p.m. on the skybridge that connects Helmke Library and Walb Student Union.