Email to faculty & staff
From Judith Burstyn, Chair <chair@chem.wisc.edu>
Subject: ReOrg Update: Listening Session & Badger Chemist News Alert
To keep everyone in the department up to date on the progress of our reorganization efforts, in addition to my email updates, we will be holding regular listening sessions for faculty and staff. These sessions will be opportunities for you to engage in person with the ReOrg Leadership Team. You are welcome to submit suggestions or questions to the team members or through the anonymous suggestion box: https://suggestions.chem.wisc.edu/.
Our first listening session will be held Wed. July 24, noon – 1:00 pm, in room 9341. Feel free to bring your lunch. Kayla and I will provide coffee, tea and dessert.
We will periodically invite individuals from our 20-person Leading Change team to tell you about their work and answer questions. The Leading Change team is presently engaged in their job analysis activity, which was designed by Pat, Char and Kathy Sanders, our consultant. The team will have completed this project by the time of the first listening session, and team members will share their experience.
Tatum has created an email news brief for monthly internal communications. This visually-oriented message will provide short updates on the ReOrg process, highlight critical upcoming issues in the building (of the type that can be anticipated with a month’s notice), and safety. There will be links to department resources, including the department calendar. This brief is intended to supplement our email newsletter and enhance our internal communications. Expect the first edition this week.
I will be inviting a cohort associated with our undergraduate program to participate in a self-paced, on-line professional development program called Be Aware. A number of individuals from our ReOrg Leadership and Leading Change teams participated in Kathy Sanders’ BeEffective Series programs (Be Aware, Be Healthy, Be Change) in preparation for this reorganization process. The department is also offering programs geared toward health and wellness through the Wellness and Professional Development Committee. If you are interested in participating in such programs, please reach out to Kayla.
Why launch health-promoting programs in tandem with the reorganization efforts? As we undergo these changes, we want to be sure the department’s new and existing positions and structures are designed to promote the health and wellbeing (and, thus, sustainability) of everyone in the department. Instead of ‘driving change’ we are going to co-create change while increasing our leadership capacities.
Judith