Staff Senate met virtually on September 8 and they were joined by SusanMcKellep, training coordinator forٳHuman Development Company (HDC),which is UofL’sEmployee Assistance Program(EAP).
McKellepguided senators through a40-minute PowerPoint presentation on ٳfree counseling services and resources HDC provides toall employees.Themost commonissue employees request assistance with is increased stressand many counseling sessionsare conductedvirtuallyfrom inside employees’personalvehicles.
“The stressors of the world have just increased exponentially, so everyone is feeling stress that they may have never felt beforeto a degree they have never felt,” she said.
When employees call the HDC phone line, 502-589-4357,they can receive counseling immediately or schedule an appointment.Counselingsessionsare:
- Strictly confidential and not put on medical records
- Free to employeesand theirhousehold family members
- Availablebyphoneand video call
- Available 24/7 every day of the year, including holidays
Employees receive eight freecounselingsessions per issue.Typical issues includestress,maritalorfamilyproblems, mental health, substance abuseandfinancialstress. Any problem, however,causing employees to worry or become frustratedcan be addressed with an HDC counselor.Counselorsare always on calland employees may indicate theirpreferences in a counselor.
“You just call us, give us your basic information and then we find out what it is you’d like to talk with someone about and if youthink you’d prefer a female or you prefer a male or an African-American, or someone who is LGBTQ friendly, or someonewho works really well with teenagers. Whatever your criteria might be, just let us know andthen we will match you up with the best counselor for you,” McKellep said.
For more information about free HDC services, employees can call 502-589-4357 or 800-877-8332, email info@humandev.com, or visit.
TheAnti-Racism Committeewas created over the summerandis beingco-chaired by SenatorsLeondra Gully and Andrew Grubb. Gullyexplainedto senatorsthat the committee was formed toensure staffsenatorsplay a role in shaping ٳuniversity’s anti-racism agenda.
“Regardless of where youfeel in terms ofwhere your knowledge level is or where you are in the process of understanding what the anti-racism work is, we know that different peopleare in different places, in different levels, and we really want to encourage everyone, if you are interested, to join the committee,”Gully said.
Staff Senate Chair JohnSmith added,“I think it is a critical piece for us as a senate bodyandI’vegiven this committeea pretty aggressive timeline to report back to us in October. The important thing is that we shift fromidentifying opportunities to making a concrete plan about an action plan.”
Smithwent on toreport thatthe new provost search isstillmovingforwardandthe Staff Senate ExecutiveCommitteehasincreaseditsmeeting frequency from monthly to bi-weekly.
Policies and Economic Development (PED) Committee Chair Virginia Hosono reminded senators ofHR’s decision to defer the sweep date for employees who have leave time that exceeds their maximum. The date was deferred from June 30 to December 31 this year.
Staff Help and Relief Effort (SHARE) Committee Chair SallyMolsberger stepped down from the senate over the summer due to her increased workload. Senator Kari Donahue is the new committee chair and Senator Bonnie Dean is the new vice chair.
All committee reports and aof the September meeting can be found on ٳStaff Senate .The next Staff Senate meeting will be held October 13 via Microsoft Teams.
