Staff Recruitment, Mentoring & Advancement Subcommittee

Committee Charge

The President’s Advisory Council on Race was established to help guide the university's progress in realizing the ideals of equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice in its educational, research, and engagement missions.  A central component of this effort is the need to increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) staff at UB and ensure that staff are provided with the mentorship and support needed to succeed. This subcommittee is being charged with recommending steps for implementing the Council’s recommendations regarding Staff Recruitment, Mentoring & Advancement.

Recognizing that a diverse, equitable and inclusive community is an essential foundation for achieving excellence and success, UB is committed to addressing the hiring and retention of staff members from underrepresented minority backgrounds. UB has a responsibility to provide mentorship and development opportunities for all of our staff members that enable their advancement and success while removing any barriers to their success. This subcommittee will:

  • Review the hiring processes for professional and classified staff to create a system of accountability for ensuring diversity and following best practices for searches, including considering:
    • Requiring anti-bias education and establishing clear expectations for search committees
    • Creating a transparent recruitment process
    • Expanding recruitment to non-traditional locations
    • Requiring review points along the search timeline
  • Review advancement and permanent appointment processes and policies for staff to ensure that they foster the advancement of racial equity and follow best practices for inclusive excellence.
  • Review mentoring practices for staff and assess their efficacy.
  • Examine the procedures at UB used to recognize staff to identify biases and establish consistent practices across the university.
  • Develop specific recommendations that would have widespread support across the university and could begin to be implemented immediately.
  • Frame recommendations within requirements stemming from applicable curriculum, state, SUNY, accreditation, and similar policies and guidelines.
  • Recommend roles and responsibilities for each recommendation.

Committee Membership

  • Mark Coldren, Co-Chair, Associate Vice President for Human Resources
  • Jacqueline Hollins, Co-Chair, Associate Vice Provost/Senior Executive Director, Student Success and Academic Support; Unit Diversity Officer, Academic Affairs
  • Freda Benton, Assistant Director for Internal Audit
  • Ramelli Choates, President of the Minority Faculty Staff Association; ACE Program coordinator in Cora P. Maloney Center
  • Heather Cooper, Director of Human Resources, Athletics
  • Kesha Foster, Associate Director; Deputy Title IX Coordinator, Office of Equity Diversity and Inclusion
  • Nicole Hayden, HR Staff Specialist, College of Arts and Sciences
  • Christina Hernandez, Senior Associate Vice President, Student Life
  • Shannon Phillips, Senior Administrative Associate, Director of Operations, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
  • Christopher Putrino, Director of Employee Relations, Human Resources
  • Chitra Rajan, Associate Vice President for Research Advancement, Research and Economic Development
  • Letitia Thomas, Assistant Dean for Diversity, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
  • Brendan James Tom, Workforce Recruitment and Position Specialist, Human Resources
  • Timothy Tryjankowski, Director of Honors College Research and Co-Curricular Activities;  Chair, Professional Staff Senate