It is time to elect staff senators across campus. As our constitution indicates, Staff Senate is comprised of 1 senator for every 20 employees.
All staff will receive a ballot via email this year (thanks Nomination committee!). Please vote for 5 people you would like to represent your area on Staff Senate. It would be beneficial to ask around for who is interested in serving before casting your ballot. Voting is open until May 31, 2013.
Congratulations to our 2013 Achievement Award winners!
Tony Rose - Personal Growth
Jennifer Godwin - Service to Community
Marie Sandusky - Service to UALR
Also, a special thanks goes to our keynote speaker Tonya Oaks Smith. Watch Tonya’s presentation from the 2013 Staff Senate Awards.
You can also view a slideshow of staff recognized at the ceremony. Thanks to Alveno Smith for the photos and slideshow.
The annual Staff Awards Ceremony will take place on April 17, 2013 at 10:30 AM in the DSC Ledbetter Rooms A,B,C. Staff members will be recognized for years of service, 
recent graduation, staff achievement and retirement. Tonya Oaks Smith, Director of Communication at UALR Bowen School of Law, will address the staff. Tonya has served UALR on both the main campus and at the Law School during her tenure. She provides an interesting and unique perspective of life as a staff member at UALR to which we all can relate.
Following the ceremony, staff can enjoy the reception in the DSC Upper Concourse. Live music will be performed by two UALR students–Korey Fells and Spencer Lloyd. Join us in celebrating the hard work, dedication and accomplishments of our co-workers!
The Helping Hands committee and CLC has done a FANTASTIC job this year. All non-perishable items were donated to the Arkansas Foodbank and to UALR Staff Senate Helping Hands. CLC met their goal of reaching 13,000 (they actually reached 14,000!) and helped Staff Senate fill remaining items needed for Helping Hands baskets. In the end, we provided food to 150 families in the UALR community.
This year, we were lucky to have students from Bale Elementary help sort and pack food boxes on December 17th.
The American Red Cross Blood Services and UALR have an alliance that spans decades, but for the last several years, the UALR Staff Senate has played host to the campus’ blood drives. The last three drives yielded over 150 productive units of blood.
The Spring blood drive held March 12 at the Student Housing Commons collected 40 units of blood, which exceeded the goal of 35 units. Special thanks go to the many student volunteers who were on hand to facilitate the donation process, and who did such great work in promoting the event. And thanks to Senators Rikki Turner, Allen Houston, Chuck Werninger, Frances Frazier, Michael Yang, Jamie Jilka, and Leanna Payton for volunteering to work the drive.
To those of you who “rolled up your sleeves”, you really are heroes! Your donation can help up to three patients. You support is greatly appreciated. We hope to see you again in approximately 56 days!
-Dan Shelton, Staff Senate Blood Drive Committee Chairman
ARC Staffer, Josh with “Buddy Blood Drop”
Do you know a coworker at UALR who you think deserves an award for doing what they do? The Staff Achievement Awards are presented to individuals who display exceptional personal growth, service to UALR, or service to the community.
Please take time from your busy schedule to nominate a coworker who is deserving of this recognition.
Nomination deadline is March 1, 2013, and winners will be announced at the Staff Achievement Awards Ceremony on April 17, 2013 at 10:30 am.
Check out ualr.edu/itservices/training for upcoming training events and available online courses.
Available classes include: campus applications (Astra Schedule, Argos, Banner, ImageNow/Webnow, Google Apps, Smart Board), Microsoft Office Suite, iPad Basics, and Project Management.
For more information, download the info sheet, email itservices-training@ualr.edu or call 501.916.3010.
The Reach 13,000 Campaign is a success! Congrats to Nicholas Steele and the rest of the UALR Chancellor’s Leadership Corps, Staff Senate and UALR campus community!
They raised 13,954 items for the Arkansas Foodback and Staff Senate Helping Hands. The food going to many families for holiday meals weighed over 6,000 pounds!
You have probably heard talk around campus about the Campus Campaign, but do you know what it really is? The Campus Campaign is a yearly effort to highlight the percentage of faculty and staff members that give back to UALR in a show of support. The focus of the Campus Campaign is on the participation rate, not the total amount raised.
As a donor, you can give to anything on campus. This might be your department, athletics, your favorite project on campus, or even to STAFF SENATE! For more information on how to give, visit the Campus Campaign website or contact Sarah Lindsey Harrison at slharrison1@ualr.edu or 501-683-7502.
The Fall 2012 Open House will be held on Thursday, October 25th from 1 pm till 4 pm in the DSC Upper Concourse. This event is a time for staff to fellowship, enjoy some entertainment and have a few refreshments. It is also the kick off for UALR Staff Senate annual Helping Hands Project. This project raises funds and non-perishable food items to help UALR staff families in need during the holiday season. A food basket is provided along with a Kroger gift card to purchase meat for a holiday meal.
The online auction is going on now. It will close at 3 pm at the Fall Open House. Bid on an item and help with the Helping Hands Projects. Check out the online auction at www.32auctions.com/ualrhelpinghands.
Items currently available:
…and more! Go check out the online auction or see a full listing here.