Staff Council announces plans for Excellence Awards

Susan Heinzeroth, director of SageRiver Consulting and a faculty member in the management division of CU Denver’s Business School, will be the keynote speaker at the Staff Council’s Staff Excellence Awards and Professional Development Day, scheduled for April 17 at the Hilton Denver Inverness.

Chair Ryan Untisz said Heinzeroth will discuss the skills needed to foster connection, partnership and positive change, even if you don’t have a formal title.

“This pertains to what we do as council members,” he said. “We all are peer leaders and must influence and work with many different types of people without having the authority to direct people and that requires a unique set of skills.”

The event honors staff who have made significant contributions to the university and also serves as a professional development day for council members of all campuses. The learning portion of the event will be focused on the interconnectedness of communication skills, emotional intelligence, navigation and trust perceptiveness, said Tara Dressler, council vice chair.

In other business:

• Untisz said discussions on revising the tuition benefit are continuing. He has met with several administration officials to inform them about concerns of staff members and to exchange ideas. He said President Mark Kennedy is interested in resolving some of the issues with the benefit. Currently, campuses administer the tuition benefit differently because of costs, class sizes and the number of people who use the benefit. Untisz said any changes to the benefit likely will be implemented incrementally.
• A committee is updating the council’s bylaws. Revisions will be voted on by the council when potential amendments are completed.
• Council appointed Missy Sernatinger to the position of secretary.