Q&A

H. William Coles is chair of the Professional Staff Senate and associate director of the Educational Opportunity Program at UB.

Why did you seek the job as chair of PSS?

I've been at the university for quite a while, entering as a freshman in 1965. As a graduate assistant to Bud Kuntz in the early 1970s, I had the good fortune to work for him and Helen Wyant as they and others established the Professional Staff Senate. Interestingly, we were called NTPs, or non-teaching professionals, at the time.

Recently while working with PSS past chair Michael Stokes, I became impressed again with the importance of PSS at UB and the opportunities it offered all professional staff to have an active role in what happens at the university. With the encouragement of Michael and Henry J. Durand, director of the Center for Academic Development Services/Educational Opportunity Program, I decided that it was my turn to contribute to PSS and UB.

What are your priorities for PSS?

Increased information flow to professional staff, better communication among staff and more visibility for the Professional Staff Senate (PSS). Within any organization or, for that matter, within any family, there are usually problems with communication among members. What is intended to be expressed is frequently not the message received. Even under optimal circumstances and with the best intentions, information intended to be delivered is frequently not done so accurately, completely or in a timely manner. The results can range from confusion and resentment to alienation and anger.

To increase the flow of information to professional staff and promote communication among staff, PSS has expanded its Web site and is in the process of establishing a listserv of its 1,600-plus members. The Web site will contain: the names and addresses of all officers and senators; the dates, times and locations of meetings (general membership, senators', areas and committees); minutes from past meetings, and the charges, members and minutes of all committees. The listserv will allow all interested members to receive and to respond to messages from fellow staff, senators and officers.

I am very interested in continuing PSS efforts to establish and promote professional development opportunities for staff. This has been very successful in University Services, thanks to the efforts of Senior Vice President Robert J. Wagner. Plans to extend it to the vice presidential and the provostial areas are well under way. We also would like to work on less formal and structured arrangements where professional staff are able to work and train in offices other than their own for specific projects. The Professional Staff Senate and Faculty Senate are working closely to establish training programs for administrators and mentors.

What issues, topics present the greatest concern to members of the professional staff?

Professional staff are concerned about the proportionally few numbers of professional staff relative to faculty and to total numbers of employees and students. UB ranks very close to the bottom in professional staffing relative to other public AAU institutions. This has potentially serious implications for workload, opportunities for professional development and stress.

What message would you like to get out to the university community about the senate?

PSS was SUNY's first professional-staff governance organization and is one of only a few such organizations in the nation. It provides an excellent opportunity for professional staff to play an active role in the policy decisions at UB. PSS is a forum for exchange of information and ideas.

Professional-staff input and involvement is vital to the community. As staff, we have to take the time and make an effort to express our opinions and concerns. What professional staff think and say are important. We have a responsibility to the university and ourselves to get more involved, and to participate, even if it's on a limited basis.

What would you like to see changed about UB?

We hope to promote more of a caring and appreciative atmosphere at UB.

We plan to enhance our efforts to welcome new staff and to provide them with supportive contacts or mentors. Also, more should be done to acknowledge staff when they leave the university. It would be nice, when possible, to publicize, as appropriate, the names of those planning to leave so that the university community can express its appreciation and say good-bye. UB is such a big part of our lives, staff arrivals and departures are noteworthy events and the interval in-between, short or long, should be as productive and rewarding as possible.