Communications Committee

Chair:   Melanie Linn Gutowski, Computing Services 

Members:

Ellen Conser	Lindie Droulia
Shushan Klein	Tara Reinoehl
Tanya Ross	Audrey Portis
Thomas Witholt

The Communications Committee provides vehicles and venues to communicate staff council and Carnegie Mellon staff ideas, concerns and recognition to the entire Carnegie Mellon community. Some of our major projects include writing/editing the Staff Council contributions to FOCUS (a publication that is issued several times a year to staff and faculty). The column generally focuses on the issues that concern Carnegie Mellon staff or Staff Council and often highlights various staff. It serves not only as a forum for idea exchange but also as a place to post general information that is helpful to staff. The Communications Committee is also responsible for preparing the Staff Council Annual Report in the each year. The report highlights what Staff Council has accomplished during the year.

A major initiative has been the creation of the Open Forum series, where various university officials answer questions about topics of vital interest to life at Carnegie Mellon. The Forums have been well received both by staff and by university administrators who have participated. The Open Forums will be an ongoing conduit of information between staff and administration. Another major project is coordinating President's Open Forum series, which gives the campus community an opportunity to engage the President directly with questions or concerns that they may have.