Lewis provided an overview of the current state of the University of Louisville Police Department. Despite a rise in violent crimes reported to the Louisville Metro Police Department, Lewis informed senators that the university community has seen a decrease in violent crimes. Lewis stated, “I credit that decrease to the men and women of the ULPD, who create a barrier of stopping and deterring potential crime as it’s happening.”

Senators were informed about the success of several programs including the ULPD and Criminal Justice Internship Program. A former participant from the program that started as an intern has now graduated and will be hired on to become an officer within the department. Lewis highlighted this successful program as an important alignment with the Department of Criminal Justice and a worthy investment in students.

ULPD also reported community-wide upgrades to security and surveillance technology. Additional cameras have been placed around the Cardinal Towne apartments to eliminate a low visibility zone around the building. Similar improvements will continue to be implemented across all three university campuses.

Lewis also addressed concerns raised after an incident at University of Louisville Hospital that was not identified to the university community through the RAVE alert system. The incident was handled internally by the hospital’s security staff rather than ULPD forces. Lewis also provided clarification on the Clery Act, the federal law requiring colleges and universities to disclose information about crime on campus. After meeting with risk management and legal advisors, the determination was made that the incident in question fell outside of the geographical scope of the Clery Act. Lewis cited that this is due to the University of Louisville Hospital retaining private security and the Louisville Metro Police Department serving as the primary responding agency.

Staff Senate Chair John Smith followed up by announcing the launch of a new Comprehensive Emergency Response Center. The center will handle a wide range of emergencies on a university-wide scale. The center will be housed on the Health Science Campus on the first floor of the Nursing School building.

Bendapudi provided senators with highlights from the past semester. She reported that enrollment reached 23,000 in the fall 2020 semester, the highest it has been in the past 20 years. Research funding was at an all-time high at $170 million, and Bendapudi reported that it will continue to increase. She also highlighted the positive effects of last year’s university healthcare enterprise expansion.

“I am so grateful that so many people came together to allow us to back the acquisition of the Louisville-based assets of Kentucky One, It’s been a little over a year since we took over all of the assets. Imagine where we would have all been with COVID-19 without Jewish hospital, without Mary and Elizabeth. It’s a scary thought so I’m very grateful that continues to go well,” Bendapudi said.

The Staff Senate Grievance Committee reported one grievance filed in the last month. A small hearing committee met with the grievant, a first line supervisor, and a witness in the case. The recommendation was submitted to all parties, the grievant authority agreed with the grievance committee’s recommendation, and the disciplinary action was upheld.

Committee reports and a full video recording of the virtual meeting can be found on the . The Staff Senate will not meet in the month of January. The next Staff Senate meeting will be held on Feb. 9 via Teams.

The past 31 years have given the assistant director of Intramural and Recreational Sports quite a perspective, allowing him to witness the evolution from commuter school to vibrant campus community, the opening of the Student Recreation Center in 2013 and, most recently, the appointment of the first female president with the hiring of Dr. Neeli Bendapudi.

Through all of those years and all of those changes one thing has remained constant – the students have always been at the center of what drives Smith.

“It’s unusual to be in one position for so long. My duties have changed, but I’ve always been involved with the students and that has been very motivational and refreshing,” Smith said. “The students are why we’re here and I’m lucky to be involved with them at a very fundamental level.”

Smith estimates that he interacts with hundreds of students every day. In fact, when the SRC first opened, data showed that 17,700 different student IDs were swiped to enter.

“That is a vast majority of the student body. We’re not just working with the Greeks or this group of students or that group of students. Every type of student comes to the rec center and it gives us a really good pulse on who they are and what they want,” he said.

Having such a firm pulse on UofL’s student body is the biggest reason Smith threw his hat into the ring to be the next Staff Senate chair after having served as a senator for seven years. Smith was elected to the one-year term in June, succeeding Will Armstrong.

His biggest goal as chair is to restore trust and integrity at UofL. He believes the pieces are in place and the timing is right.

“We have the right people now – not only with Bendapudi, but with our senior leadership team that is on the same page and wants this same thing. I was on the presidential search committee and that is why I was so impressed with Dr. Bendapudi. Every question we asked her circled back to integrity. Integrity has to be the key to restoring trust on campus,” Smith said. “I am closer to the end of my career than the start of my career, but things are lined up right now to really make some positive changes, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

Smith also wants to facilitate more involvement from senators, encouraging committee participation among other efforts.

“The more people are involved, the more invested they become and the more successful the group is,” he said. “I believe in servant leadership. The best thing a leader can do is empower other people and get them involved with decision-making.”

Specific initiatives under his watch will be identified at the Staff Senate retreat in September.

Getting to know Staff Senate Chair John Smith

UofL News: Where are you from?

Smith: I grew up in the south end. I went to Stuart High School when it was still a high school. It’s a middle school now. I went to EKU for college.

UofL News: How did you end up at UofL?

Smith: When Ellis Mendelsohn retired, this job opened up. At the time, I was working for the Lexington City Government, but my goal was always to be on a college campus. A college campus is where I became interested in sports administration and recreational sports in the first place. I knew that being on a campus is how I could best put that to practice.

UofL News: What is your favorite thing about UofL?

Smith: We’ve been through a real hard time, but the passion that people still have for this place is contagious. Despite all that we went through, people still did their jobs the best they could because they had pride in what they do and they didn’t want those distractions to take away from the students’ success.

UofL News: What is your favorite thing about the city of Louisville?

Smith: I’ve always liked the diversity of the city. We have a lot of white-collar stuff here, but the general attitude of this city is when the chips are down, we take care of each other. UofL fits into that really well.

UofL News: What are your hobbies?

Smith: I officiate with the Kentucky High School Athletic Association. I am currently an NCAA Volleyball official. I am active at my church (Southeast Christian Church), which might be where the servant leadership part comes in. I go to Sweden every summer to help do a youth golf camp through our church. We took our 17^th trip a couple of weeks ago. I’ve also volunteered for FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) since it came to campus and that is very important to me.

UofL News: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Smith: My grandfather, who was a really strong person, always used to tell me: ‘If you leave something better than you find it, you’ll always be invited to come back.’ It’s simple, but I think simple things are the most powerful.

He has also worked as a unit business manager intermediate in the VP for Business Affairs area, and in both the Executive VP for Health Affairs Office and Surgery.

Armstrong has undergraduate degrees in English and history from Bellarmine University. His graduate degree is in library science “from a certain school down the road,” in Lexington, where he claims to have been the only student wearing Cardinal red in class.

UofL News had the opportunity to get to know Armstrong a little better as he transitions into the two-year chairmanship role for the governance group.

UofL News: What is your job at UofL?

Armstrong: I usually get asked what my job title (personnel analyst) means, and the simple answer is that I ensure our faculty and staff are paid from the appropriate funding sources, grants or clinical trials.

UofL News: How long have you been a staff senator and what compelled you to take on such a role?

Armstrong: I’ve been a staff senator since 2007. For the first five years, I really was engrossed in my office and our role in helping high-achieving students. After that point, though, I wanted more, and the Senate seemed the best place to not only learn more about life outside of my office, but to connect in meaningful ways with my colleagues across campuses and disciplines.

UofL News: Why did you decide to take on a leadership role within the Senate?

Armstrong: My first foray into Senate leadership came following a chance phone call from (then) Vice Chair Dhiane Bradley. She encouraged me to put my name in for the running for our secretary/treasurer role. I’ve moved through that position into vice chair, and when the time came to consider running for chair, I took a deep breath and went for it. I am quiet, generally, but always listening and thinking. I know that I can use those skills, combined with my passion for advocacy, to make sure staff voices are heard. It’s a responsibility I approach with great sincerity.

UofL News: What are your goals as Senate chair?

Armstrong: I want to continue to pursue the Senate’s goals of transparency and advocacy, as our most recent past-chair, Angela Lewis-Klein, has. I also want to increase the ways in which we solicit feedback and input from our constituents. We’ve recently looked at increasing our maximum number of senators (to 99) so that we can ensure a smaller constituent base for each of them. My hope would be that senators would then be in the best position to foster stronger and more familiar connections with those they represent.

UofL News: What is your favorite thing about the University of Louisville?

Armstrong: I love the spirit here. I worked at UofL when my wife and I married and when my kids were born. Through ups and downs in my personal and professional lives, UofL has been a constant. I’ve benefited tremendously from my relationships with and mentorship by the many wonderful people employed here. And I love that I’ve created, with the help of understanding supervisors, a strong work-life balance.

UofL News: What are your non-work hobbies?

Armstrong: My wife, Kirsten, and I spent a lot of time laughing with our kids, Katy (7) and Rory (4). I’m very interested in genealogy, having researched my family tree since I was 12 years old. In the last couple of years, I’ve delved into learning about what DNA analyses can tell me about my very distant ancestors. It’s really fascinating. I’m also into video games, board games and marching band. You could say that I’m a lot of fun at parties.

UofL News: What is your favorite thing to do in Louisville outside of work?

Armstrong: The easy answer is eat! This city has everything for every palate. Right now, I’m particularly keen on Vietnam Kitchen’s pineapple curry. Otherwise, having married a Louisville native, we spend a lot of time with family.

UofL News: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Armstrong: I have two, really. As far as my work life goes, I remember something Melissa Long Shuter (former staff chair from 1999-2001 and current executive director of business operations) taught me: To always act from a place of information, from data, rather than let raw emotion guide otherwise impulsive reactions.

As far as my personal life goes, my father led by example: Never take yourself so seriously that you can’t laugh at yourself.