From the Chair

Colegas,
Ray Acuna-Luna, Chair of APAC
Welcome back! On behalf of the Administrative Professional Council, I want to wish you all a Feliz Año Nuevo! I hope that you had an amazing time in company of your loved ones and that you got some much needed rest. Personally, I had the opportunity to travel to Texas to visit my family. Contrary to popular belief and although no snow, it was still pretty cold.

I want to provide a quick update on our APAC Forums. As you might recall, for the first time ever, APAC hosted town-hall meetings at all WSU campuses. While we still have one more left, we have observed some trends across all campuses that I would like to share:

  1. The need for more professional development
  2. The need for mentoring for Administrative Professionals
  3. Improving WSU communication efforts in consistency and delivery
  4. AP retention in correlation to benefits

In the next few weeks, APAC will examine each of the concerns presented at the forums and look into their feasibility and how best we can address them. Please be sure to contact any of your council representatives or send your input online if you have any other suggestions.

Vamos Cougs,

Ray Acuña-Luna
Chair

Changes to Employee Assistance Program

Effective now EAP services for all WSU locations is provided by the Washington State Department of Personnel Employee Assistance Program. The EAP helps employees and their family members resolve personal or work-related problems.

Toll Free: 1-877-313-4455
www.dop.wa.gov/eap
TDD/TYY users, please call via WA Relay at 711

More information at the HRS Employee Assistance Program.

APAC Professional Development mini-grants

The Administrative Professionals Advisory Council awarded six professional development mini-grants in the fall grant cycle. These awards totaled $828 and were used to assist WSU APs in their pursuit of further education. APAC awards mini-grants twice annually, and the next deadline is April 30.

The most recent recipients of the APAC mini-grants were:

Victoria Braun – $250 to attend the Internation Symposium for Contemplative Studies
Sisouvanh Keopanapay – $108 to attend the Fall Public Safety Career Fair
Linda McLean – $125 to attend the recent Federally Recognized Tribes Extension/Intertribal Ag Council
Mary Lou Shean – $65 to attend the recent Simulation User Network Conference
Brooke Whiting – $140 to attend the upcoming NACADA Conference
Josh Whiting – $140 to attend the upcoming NACADA Conference

Please check out eligibility and the application at the APAC website.

The next cycle of grants will be awarded after our April 30 deadline.

We want to hear from you!

APAC executives meet with President Schulz and Provost Bernardo on a regular basis. If you have concerns, ideas, or questions you’d like us to bring to their attention, please contact us.

We also want to hear your ideas for professional development and how to make WSU an even better place to work.

Contact APAC

Thank you to Kirk and Noel Schulz!

Kirk and Noel Schulz, WSU’s president and first lady, graciously invited APAC members to a reception at their home in early December. Thank you to the Schulzes for their hospitality!

Kirk and Noel Schulz with APAC at December reception
APAC members with Kirk and Noel Schulz at the December reception

Chinook Student Center Memberships Now on Sale

WSU is pleased to announce the opening of the first level of the Chinook Student Center on January 17! AP staff can purchase a Chinook annual membership and get access to new recreational facility, right in the heart of campus. Amenities at the Chinook include a Freshens Fresh Food Studio, a sauna, cardio and weight rooms, meeting spaces, a meditation room and more.

Chinook Student Center
Rendering of the Chinook Student Center

As construction nears completion, members can utilize the various parts of the Chinook as they become available throughout January and February. Chinook members can also utilize the Student Recreation Center until March 1, 2017. Current SRC members can contact the membership services team to bundle their current membership with a new Chinook membership at a discounted and prorated price. For more information about the Chinook, visit www.chinook.wsu.edu.

Save the dates: Demonstrations of business software systems

In response to the request for information for a unified, software-as-service finance and human resource management system, the following vendors have been identified and will conduct on-site demonstration. Please join us for these informational demonstrations.

Oracle
January 23-24, 2017
Introduction begins at 9:00 on the 23rd
First session begins at 8:00 on the 24th
Pullman: CUB Auditorium
Video conferencing will be provided to other WSU locations. Those rooms will be assigned shortly.

Workday
January 30-31, 2017
Pullman: CUB Auditorium
Video conferencing will be provided to other WSU locations. Those rooms will be assigned shortly.
Agenda for January 30 and 31 – TBD

Summary and Questions go until 5:00 on both days

Learn more on the WSU Modernization website.

Annual Reviews

With the beginning of the new year, it’s time to think about annual reviews, an essential part of career development for supervisors and all APs. AP personnel are evaluated annually on a calendar year (January 1 – December 31) or academic year basis, as determined by the senior executive for the area and in accordance with guidance found in the Administrative Professional Handbook (PDF).

SmartHealth

SmartHealth is Washington State’s voluntary and confidential wellness program. It is an interactive website that helps you take steps to improve your health and well-being, while having fun and connecting with others online. By participating in activities you can earn points, and points earned between January 1, 2017 and September 30, 2017 are used to establish eligibility for the wellness incentive in 2017.

Earn 2,000 points to be eligible for the incentive by completing a Well-being Assessment and then participating in and tracking wellness activities. Depending on your WSU/PEBB medical plan, you will receive a $125 reduction in the subscriber’s 2018 PEBB medical deductible (if enrolled in a PEBB classic and value health plan); or a one-time deposit of $125 into the subscriber’s health savings account (if enrolled in a PEBB consumer-directed health plan).

Learn more: www.smarthealth.hca.wa.gov
HRS SmartHealth Wellness Incentive

Upcoming APAC program

Our next APAC meeting is February 9, 2017, 9:00–10:30 a.m. The presentation will be “Purpose Driven Work” by Josh McPhatter.

Regular APAC meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of each month from 9:00-10:30 a.m. Meetings are broadcast via AMS. All AP Staff members are invited to attend. Can’t attend the meeting in person? Call in on the phone bridge at 509-335-9445, meeting ID is 02722. All meetings will be held in Lighty 405.