Guest Blog from Melissa Ashburn

Melissa represents IPS on the UT Exempt Staff Council. This is an update from Melissa:

The Exempt Staff Council met with Mark Smith, Director of Environmental Health and Safety, on March 23 and received information about the automated external defibrillators (AEDs) located in UT buildings on the Knoxville campus. There are 24 AEDs in campus buildings, including in all athletic buildings and recreational facilities. UT Police are in the process of installing 10 AEDs in campus police vehicles. The list of campus AED locations will be posted soon on the UT Environmental Health and Safety website. The Department plans to train two or three persons in each building on the proper use of the defibrillators. Mark Smith stated departments may purchase AEDs for $500 to $1,000 per unit.

As a side note, during the IPS Employee Relations Committee meeting in April, Dr. Mary Jinks asked if IPS employees would be interested in CPR training and/or AED use training. The committee learned that CPR training will require about a half day, and if AED use training is added, a full day of training will be required. There are persons employed in our agencies who are certified to deliver such training. If there is enough interest, a training date may be scheduled for IPS employees.

The Exempt Staff Council further discussed the UT procedure for layoffs. The Reduction in Force guidelines followed by the University are located here: The Council was informed that UT provides no less than 30 days notice to any employee facing lay off. Dr. Jinks informed the IPS ERC members that IPS provides 90 days notice in such circumstances (when possible).

Following the lead of IPS, the Exempt Staff Council is developing a supervisor survey for consideration by UT administration. It is the goal to have all supervisors at UT evaluated by their staff, and the Council intends to present a supervisor survey to the Human Resources Department in the near future. The Exempt Staff Council has also been updated on the development of UTK’s strategic plan. The “Vol Vision” weblink where you can view the draft plan and timeline for the strategic planning process is
here:

Thanks to Melissa for submitting this blog post!

The Top Ten List - Performance

I cut this piece from a newspaper many years ago and didn't keep the source. I believe it was from the American Society for Public Administration. If anyone recognizes it, let me know. It relates to performance measurement.

The Top Ten List

1. Gain top leadership support; it helps if there is a 'burning platform' for change.
2. Measure the right things - things that customers, stakeholders and employees find value in - not everything.
3. Create a governance process that engages key stakeholders.
4. Design the system to follow the actual work of the organization.
5. Start development of measures at both the top and the bottom of the organization and cascade them in both directions.
6. Create a communications campaign that explains how a scorecard both reflects and drives a focus on mission.
7. Align systems: tie them to the organization's planning, measurement, and budget cycles.
8. Insure the credibility of the process and honesty in reporting.
9. Create transparency of information that is as real-time as possible; this is key to its credibility and usefulness to both senior and front line managers.
10. Align incentives: link rewards to performance through effective evaluation and performance appraisals.

Through our advisory committees, strategic planning process, implementation teams, and performance measures, we are using these strategies to make IPS a stronger organization. These strategies also work for our customers, don't you think?

IPS Org Chart

I've already written two blogs about the various duties and responsibilities of the IPS Leadership Team. Here are the organizational charts for reporting relationships between IPS and the UT system and among the IPS organizations.

A Week In the Life of...

I've blogged about the duties of the VP, but thought you might be interested to hear more about a typical week.

Monday included a president's staff meeting (we meet the first and third Monday's of every month from 8:00 - 9:00) and a budget hearing for the central office budget.

Tuesday was my annual performance review with the president (yes, we all really do have one!), a drive to Nashville and Edna Holland's (TML) retirement celebration.

Wednesday was UT Day on the Hill. It started with a 7:30 ham breakfast in the legislative plaza. Then the president's staff visited with the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house. Every campus and institute had a booth in the plaza. At 11:45 UT hosted legislators for a light lunch with guest speakers Women's Athletics Director Joan Cronan, Head Basketball Coach Pat Summit, Men's Athletics Director Mike Hamilton and Head Coaches Derek Dooley and Bruce Pearl.

Thursday was orientation for this year's Tennessee Government Management Institute. It was held at the TBI headquarters training room in Nashville. Thirty-four mid-level state managers will spend one week in Knoxville and one week at Montgomery Bell State Park with the Naifeh Center staff. This is our 10th year conducting this institute.

Friday morning Jimmy Cheek spoke at the East TN Economic Council meeting at 7:30 in Oak Ridge. I signed a number of Elected Official Academy certificates for MTAS and certificates for the upcoming TN Basic Economic Development Course. One more budget hearing for the Naifeh Center will round out the week.

As you can see, there are many exciting things going on throughout the institute.

Recognize and Reward!

It's time to make nominations for the IPS annual awards. We will distribute awards at the summer meeting July 29. We have two awards (Ballard and Hutchison) that pay $1500 each and a number of other awards. Please take a few minutes to make a nomination of a deserving colleague. And remember, the committee members reading your nomination may not know the person, so be sure to include enough information so that a fair assessment can occur.

Click here to nominate someone for an award or apply for a scholarship.

In addition to awards, the application process is open for the two scholarships (Jinks and Murphy). The Jinks scholarship is open to employees, spouses and children for undergraduate or graduate work at a UT campus. The Murhpy scholarship is for COAT and CTAS employees.

We want to give away money - so please take advantage of these opportunities!

Mark Your Calendar for July 29-30!

July 29-30 are the dates for this year's IPS annual conference, sort of. As we continue to make decisions regarding budget savings, we have changed the format again this year.

You will recall that last year we conducted two half-day sessions, one in Knoxville and one in Nashville, rather than our traditional two-day, overnight conference. The sessions were generally well received, but staff missed the opportunity to see everyone from across the state.

This year we are combining traditional agency summer staff meetings with the IPS-wide meeting simply by asking all the agencies to schedule their meetings at the same location. During the day (July 29 and 30) the agencies will have their staff meetings. On the evening of July 29 we will have dinner together as a group and our awards program. Using this strategy, we are spending no additional money for an annual meeting, but everyone gets the opportunity to interact with colleagues from across the state.

See you in July!

Guest Blog from Chuck Shoopman - The Relevance of Public Service

At the recent meeting of the Southern Consortium of University Public Service Organizations (SCUPSO) there was a significant amount of discussion about how much universities value public service work these days. With major emphasis around the country on university graduation rates, the job skills of college graduates and the declining number of American graduates in STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), and with fiscal constraints facing the private and public sector alike, many universities are questioning how important it is that their faculty and students invest time on public service projects and activities. As universities examine how to manage their fiscal challenges and where to focus their resources, it seems there are many institutions evaluating how public service education and work experiences are beneficial to students, faculty and the institution itself. In fact, most SCUPSO member organizations have recently experienced budget reductions that are greater than the average reduction shared across their universities.

I was EXTREMELY proud to represent an institution that is experiencing financial difficulty, is thoroughly reviewing all of its programs and organizational structure and has concluded that public service is too valuable to ignore. While UT’s Institute for Public Service is not immune from the challenges and difficulties facing our institution, our customers and our citizens, the leadership of The University of Tennessee has affirmed that serving the businesses, governments and communities of our state and enriching the experiences of our faculty and staff by engaging them in public service is a value-added opportunity for The University of Tennessee.

As we have the opportunity to represent our institution as we serve our customers, let’s be reminded that everyone doesn’t always value our work the way we do. It is important for us to do work that matters to our customers, to our institution and to us. If we don’t believe in the value of our work and we can’t effectively explain it to others, there is no guarantee that we will have unlimited opportunities to continue to provide our services. The experiences of our SCUPSO colleagues in other states remind me that the competition for resources doesn’t begin at budget time; rather, budgets often reflect the relevance that decision-makers believe the expenditures have to the mission of the organization. Let’s be sure to continue our tradition of assuring that investments in public service at The University of Tennessee produce results that are recognized benefits to our customers, our institution and our state.

Who ya gonna call?

We have two help lines available to all IPS employees staffed by professionals and the best part is it doesn't cost us any additional money to use them!

The HR help desk is staffed 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. eastern time Monday - Friday. They can answer any question regarding policies, procedures, benefits, etc. If they can't answer the question right away, they will get back with you.

In Knoxville call 976-8847
Outside of Knoxville call 1-888-444-UTHR

The IT Help line is staffed 24 x 7, except holidays. So, when you're hard at work in the evening and have a computer crash, you have someone to call!

They can be reached at 865-974-9900 or you can request help on line .

Please take advantage of these resources. They are available to make your life easier!

Drug-Free Workplace

IPS Staff - you should have received this notice by email, but I decided to put it on the blog as well.

The University Of Tennessee Policy On A Drug-Free Campus And Workplace

In support of the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (41 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1989, the University of Tennessee is required to notify all students, faculty, and staff of the following university policy approved by the UT Board of Trustees on June 21, 1990:

It is the policy of the University of Tennessee to maintain a safe and healthful environment for its students and employees. Therefore, university policy prohibits the unlawful use, manufacture, possession, distribution, or dispensing of drugs ("controlled substances" as defined in the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 812) and alcohol on university property or during university activities.

Violation of this policy is grounds for disciplinary action-up to and including immediate discharge for an employee and permanent dismissal for a student. Federal and state laws provide additional penalties for such unlawful activities, including fines and imprisonment (21 U.S.C. 841 et seq.; T.C.A. 39-17-401 et seq.). Local ordinances also provide various penalties for drug- and alcohol-related offenses. The university is bound to take all appropriate actions against violators, which may include referral for legal prosecution or requiring the individual to participate satisfactorily in an approved drug use/alcohol abuse assistance or rehabilitation program.

Aside from any university policy considerations, the use of illicit drugs and/or the abuse of alcohol may be harmful to your health. Some of the health risks associated with such use/abuse are described on the back of this page.

As a condition of employment, individuals who are paid by the University of Tennessee from federal grants or contracts must abide by the terms of this policy and notify the university in writing of any criminal drug statute conviction, which includes a finding of guilt, a plea of nolo contendere, or imposition of a sentence by any state or federal judicial body for a violation occurring in the workplace within five (5) days after such conviction. The university is in turn required to inform the granting or contracting agency of the conviction within ten (10) days of the university's receipt of actual notice of the conviction.

Employees and their families needing treatment information should call their local Human Resources Office, Employee Assistance Program, or the State of Tennessee Employee Assistance Program (1-800-308-4934).

SCUPSO Wrap-up

I blogged earlier this week about IPS hosting the SCUPSO annual meeting this week. We had great attendance from a variety of universities. Scott Gordy and Mary Ann Moon conducted a session on web casting and pod casting. My colleague at UNC Chapel Hill's School of Government conducted one on social media focusing on Facebook, Twitter and blogging.

I thought you might enjoy reading Mike's blog about SCUPSO!


Click here to read Mike's Blog

Your ERC at work

Are you aware that IPS has an Employee Relations Committee?

This group of dedicated employees meets once per quarter to discuss issues and challenges and propose solutions and recommendations to help make IPS a better place to work. All meetings are open and you are welcome to attend. You need to RSVP to Judie Martin so that we can include you in the count for refreshments.

With busy schedules, most of you may not have time to make a trip to Cookeville. Not a problem - you can bring ANY issue to your agency representative or any other representative on the ERC. You can do it anonymously if it's an issue you just want raised. If you want a specific response, include your name and the representative will get back with you personally. You may ask that your name not be revealed at the ERC meeting.

We are working to make IPS an employee work place of choice. Please help us by providing input and asking questions. Don't stay in the dark or wonder about the rumors you've heard. Speak up and be involved. We want your input! The next meeting is April 12.

For more information on the ERC,
visit their website on the intranet

Who is a SCUPSOid?

SCUPSO - The Southern Consortium of University-based Public Service Organizations originated in the south, but is now a national organization. It is a group of IPS-like organizations whose mission is public service, mostly in the government sector.

This week IPS is hosting the annual meeting of SCUPSO in Knoxville. We will share new ideas and best practices among the university groups and hear from a number of individuals including President Jan Simek and President Emeritus Joe Johnson.

Several of our IPS colleagues are participating on panels regarding new social media techniques and we'll hear about leadership and economic development programs.

We are honored to host this year's conference. If you see us around the Knoxville area, stop and say hello!