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Employee Council welcomes new faces
Voting for seven vacancies on the NMSU Employee Council drew to a close on Dec. 9, and the certified election results include three new exempt staff members, three new faculty members and one new non-branch representative.
New exempt staff council members include Ida Quinones, assistant to the dean of the College of Education; Steven Loring, associate director of NMSU's Agricultural Experiment Station; and Robert Nosbisch, education outreach coordinator for the College of Health and Social Services.
University faculty are now represented by Jay Lillywhite, associate professor in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences; Monica Brown, associate professor in the College of Education; and Ellen Bosman, department of technical services at the NMSU Library.
Tom Dean, county program director with Socorro County Cooperative Extension, filled the only vacant seat for non-branch employees.
Also, effective Feb. 1, Roseanne Bensley will take over as chair of the Employee Council, replacing Kelly Brooks.
Quinones has come back to the council, having served a few years ago on the Advisory Council on Administrative Policy, the precursor to the Employee Council.
"I ran because I wanted the College of Education to be represented," she said. "I felt that the colleges were not getting enough representation on the council and as a result weren't being heard. I want to keep my faculty and staff apprised of what's happening and provide a voice for them at council meetings."
Loring, who first arrived at NMSU for postdoctoral research in 1984, had been previously nominated, but this is his first stint on the council.
"I was trying to make a difference," said Loring of running for an exempt staff seat. "The Employee Council is a way for NMSU staff to get their concerns about university procedures and protocols recognized and presented to the board of regents. It's a worthwhile and effective voice for university employees."
Quinones' motivation was in part inspired by how much she enjoyed her first term, and besides, she said, "it's great networking too."
Regular meetings of the NMSU Employee Council will be held from 3 to 4:45 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month in Zuhl Library Conference Room 225.
"I have a great deal of respect for the people that have served on ACAP and now Employee Council, and their service inspired me-I felt that I needed to serve the university outside of my regular job description," said Nosbisch. "I was very surprised to have won a seat, because there were some well-known and very good people on the list of nominees; it's humbling. It will be a learning experience, but it should be fun."
Dean agreed that the experience would offer an education.
"We've got some unique situations throughout the state," said Dean of representing the non-branch employees. "I don't mind going to campus to represent Cooperative Extension and what it means to the university. I look forward to the challenge and learning more about the council process."
The Employee Council investigates matters involving the policies and procedures of the administration of the university, and makes recommendations based on such investigations to the university president. The council also establishes and maintains an organization of university staff to provide communication between the staff and the administration of the university, as well as to provide communication among the several parts of the university staff.
For more information visit http://www.nmsu.edu/empcouncil.
Written by Mark Cramer.