USC Staff Assembly Elections are coming up! We held delayed elections in November 2020 due to the pandemic, but the upcoming elections will put us back on our normal election cycle.
The election of Staff Assembly members is a two-part process. First, we ask all staff to submit nominations. The staff members who receive the most nominations are added to a final ballot.
PART I – NOMINATION PERIOD
Between March 29 – April 7, 2021, you have the opportunity to submit nominations for Staff Assembly. During this process, you may nominate your peers as well as yourself. In order to be eligible to participate in Staff Assembly, a candidate must be a full–time, benefits–eligible, non–union staff member. The nomination portal will close at 5 pm on April 7, 2021. Beginning on April 9, 2021, the Rules and Elections Committee will begin to contact those receiving the most nominations to confirm their willingness to serve. All those who are nominated must confirm their willingness to serve no later than April 14, 2021, in order to be placed on the final ballot. Once the group of nominees is confirmed, the final ballot will be created.
PART II – VOTING FOR FINAL CANDIDATES
Voting is scheduled to take place between April 19 – April 28, 2021. The voting portal will close at 5 pm on April 28, 2021. Ballots will be tallied starting April 29, 2021. Staff members receiving the most votes will be contacted to reaffirm their willingness to serve between May 5, 2021, and May 16, 2021. We plan to have the new 2021– 2022 Staff Assembly confirmed in time for our last meeting of the fiscal year, tentatively scheduled for Friday, June 25, 2021. We want to thank all current Staff Assembly members for their service during these unprecedented times and we especially want to express our gratitude for our four members who are terming out.
Renee Almassizadeh, Parliamentarian
Tiffany Andalon
Kathleen Boeck, Immediate Past Secretary
Debbie Williams
With a total of 34 seats to fill this election cycle, we hope that you will consider nominating a colleague or even yourself. Service on Staff Assembly is a fulfilling way to become more involved and represent the interests of staff to university administration. The average time commitments for Staff Assembly members are 4 – 5 hours each month. This includes the monthly General Assembly meeting, typically held on the last Friday of each month from 9 am – 11 am. Committee meetings are held monthly and typically run for an hour. Some tasks may result from the committee meetings and some additional time is spent reviewing e-mails and reading meeting minutes, which accounts for the extra 1 – 2 hours per month listed above.
Service on Staff Assembly is official USC work and is considered paid time. The decision to serve on Staff Assembly should be taken seriously, and those who are unable to meet minimum attendance requirements will be removed and replaced by the next eligible alternate. It is up to each individual to ensure their ability to meet the minimum requirements.
Staff members who are interested in learning more about the nomination and election process are encouraged to join the information session “So, You Want to Run for a Seat on Staff Assembly” on Wednesday, March 24 at 12 pm. Click here to register. You are also encouraged to sign up for our newsletter to receive updates from Staff Assembly. If you have further questions, please email us at staff.assembly@usc.edu.
Thank you and Fight On!
January – June 2021 Executive Committee
Erika H. Chesley, President
Lou Nieto, Vice-President, Interim Transportation Chair
Linda Mizushima, Secretary
Renee Almassizadeh, Parliamentarian
Kristi Culpepper, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Co-Chair
Michael Gorse, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Co-Chair
Gloria Halfacre, Scholarship and Awards Chair
Jenny Hansen, Communications Chair
Shannon Hinojosa, Staff Engagement and Appreciation Chair
Nichelle Huizar, Environment and Safety Chair
Michelle Jones, Rights and Responsibilities Chair
Jackie Mardirossian, HSC Representative
Richard Schroth, Compensation and Benefits Chair
Phil Turner, Rules and Elections Chair