Dear USC Community:
My four-and-a-half year journey is sun setting. My first two years were filled by serving as Chair of the Compensation and Benefits Committee; the last two-and-a-half as President. I wanted to take this opportunity to share some parting thoughts, while celebrating the election of our 28th President, Erika Chesley, in our 39th year of existence.
Let me begin by thanking the Assembly as a whole. I thank all the members for their service, time sacrifice and commitment, and their tremendous ambassadorship for the staff community as a whole and specifically for the Staff Assembly itself. Particular among the members, I wish to thank those who went a step further and volunteered to serve as liaisons or university task-force and committee members.
Further, I wish to share my gratitude for those individuals who constituted the Executive Committee and who, as Committee Chairs, carried the hefty work of the Staff Assembly forward: Renee Almassizadeh (Rights & Responsibilities), Tiffany Andalon (HSC Representative), JaBari Brown (Scholarship & Awards), Erika Chesley (Communications), James Johnston (Compensation & Benefits), Paul Lee (Staff Appreciation), Ted Low (Transporation), Naomi Martinez (Environment & Safety), and Rosemarie Tellez (Rules & Elections).
I reserve very special thanks for those who served by my side as Officers and our Executive Board: Lisa Gallegos, Parliamentarian (one of the best spokespersons for the Assembly ever); Katie Boeck, Secretary (best minute-taker and one of the most reliable persons I have ever met); and Brian Mico, Vice President (a steady rock making all our meeting arrangements and financial management look easy).
Lastly, the Assembly was blessed with the opportunity to extend beyond its walls and its that context I wish to highlight in this next section:
To my fellow Trojan Council members, Presidents Lee, Yip, and Bar-Cohen, a hearty thank you for simultaneously listening and teaching.
To all the Senior Officers of the University, thank you for opening your calendars and consideration (special thanks to SVP Administration David Wright and Assoc VP Health Plans Prateek Bhatia).
To Chairman Caruso, his Chief of Staff Sam Garrison, and President Austin thank you for your transformative leadership and for providing unprecedented access and ear to the Staff Assembly.
I count among the accomplishments of these past years the impactful shift of our service window (taking us from a Jan-Dec to Jul-Jun service period), the increased connection to our community, and the access, voice, and influence we exercised and were granted through new leadership and the inspiration derived from the challenges facing the university these past two years.
For those carrying forward the mission of the Staff Assembly, and really for all of the community, I wish you calm seas and favorable winds ahead. I think we have an incredible opportunity to be part of a historic moment in the University’s history. I encourage the Assembly to remember its critical role sitting at the intersection of the administration, the faculty/clinicians, and the staff. This is a delicate three-legged stool, even in its healthiest state. From my perspective, the Assembly’s job is not to tumble the stool or simply to point out its flaws, but rather to always think of ways to improve and strengthen it. The stool carries the weight of the students, patients, parents, alumni, and community… some might even say the world when considering the research being conducted, and our influence in shaping the leaders and game-changers of the next generation.
It has been an honor serving in this role, and I look forward to the next iteration of this important entity within the University’s governance constellation.