2005 Summer All-Staff Celebrates
the End of a Good Year

by Dennis Lyday

Vice Chancellor Montero set the tone for our 2005 Summer All-Staff when she
told our assembled staff, “After a hard but very productive year, there is nothing better than being able to relax and play together, to renew connections, to laugh and have fun, and look ahead at the somewhat less pressured time of the summer.”

The Vice Chancellor went on to note that “staff engagement” and staff recognition have been a central focus for Student Affairs’ Directors and the Executive Management Group. “Staff recognition is a major issue for [Student Affairs management]”, she said. “It is not easy to do, and it is certainly not easy to do it well. A single approach does not work well in every unit or circumstance and can actually can be counter-productive. That is why it cannot be a one-shot-deal: it has to be a sustained effort; it has to be on our radar screen all the time; it has to be evaluated and renewed all the time. It requires a lot of creativity, a lot sensitivity, a lot of attention to what is going on. We all need to continue to work on new ways of doing this as well as we possibly can.”

She also urged Student Affairs staff to be active in this area. “We need your ideas, input and reflection on this issue as well,” she told the group. “Don’t hold back. Take the time to shoot an email or make a call to the Staff Development Advisory Group. Explore ideas with your supervisor, with your director, or with the Executive Management Group.”

While on the topic, the Vice Chancellor thanked the Staff Development Advisory Group for both its collective work on the all-staff event and, more generally, for helping Student Affairs to keep the issue of recognition in prominent focus. Advisory Group members include George Auletta (OSD), Hugo Garcia (ORL), Cynthia Hall (Career Center), Angela Michael (CRA), Brenda Moore (Registrar), Alan Nagamoto (SPS), and Nick Valdivia (Financial Aid Office).

Vice Chancellor Montero spoke next about a recent presentation she’d made to the Chancellor’s Executive Committee on Student Affairs. She said, “The Committee’s Student Affairs agenda for the past two years included eleven areas, and they were amazed at how much was accomplished and how well it was all done in such a short period of time.”

She concluded, “I told the Committee that Student Affairs at UCLA is a strong, mature organization, and our task is to build on our strengths. Excellence is really within our reach in virtually every area, in virtually every function. And that is a credit to all of you. It is a credit to your work, to your careful and loving attention to the needs of students, to your loyalty and love for UCLA and all the constituencies we serve.”

Lunch was cook-out style, catered and served by our friends at ASUCLA. Lessons learned from last year’s all-staff produced enhancements that included more vegetarian options, a very efficient serving set-up, and a large canopy for those who found the 82-degree day a little too intense.

The event again featured fitness demonstrations for those who were suffering guilt pangs about excessive indulgence. The Student Health Education unit brought back sample sessions of Tai Ji and Qi Gong, two Chinese martial arts that are intended for both fitness and relaxation. Lunchtime sessions of Tai Ji and Qi Gong are held just north of the Ashe Health and Wellness Center, and all staff are welcome. Contact Pam Viele for more information.

Cultural and Recreational Affairs offered additional demonstrations of various fitness activities as well as information about their wide range of programs. If you wanted to find out what to do with one of those oversized exercise balls, this was your chance. Recreation also joined the formal part of the program as Maureen Wadleigh of CRA announced that the “Student Affairs Get Active!” program, which was launched by Recreation last year, would be available to Student Affairs staff again for 2005-06. She followed this by introducing Karen Minero of the Center for Women and Men as the “Get Active!” participant of the year. Call UCLA Recreation at ext. 53701 for more information about Get Active!. Recreation also provided its “Spin To Win” wheel, which was a major draw following lunch. Student Affairs staff members lined up for a chance to win T-shirts, sweatshirts, and assorted other prizes donated by Student Affairs and UCLA Recreation.

Once again, a good day, good food, and good companionship added up to a special event. Vice Chancellor Montero summed it up: “This event really is a great way to wrap up the year and to thank our staff – all of you – for your great work in our many, widely diverse functions. [It’s] a wonderful, down to earth, informal, and fun way to acknowledge your good hard work of the year and a way to say thank you for all you do and for all you have done specifically this past year.”