A Note from the Dean

COLLEGE STAFF:THE BACKBONE OF OUR SUCCESS

As I complete myfirst year with the College, the thing that has struck me as the biggest positive is the qualityof the College’s staff. Their dedication, loyalty, and abilities are both gratifying and amazing. Before arriving, I knewthat CNR boasts excellent faculty and students. NowI knowthat the staff members who support their activities are equallyimportant to our College.

While it is often the facultyof the College who receive the fanfare, and deservedlyso, it is the activityof the staff that makes the miracles possible. The College is fortunate to have so manydedicated, long-term staff members who look after the administrative needs of our students, care for the College’s facilities and field plots, and provide support for our programs.

Behind each of the stories in this issue are staff members who make the programs possible, from field support for Sudden Oak Death treatment trials, to administrative support for the summer Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program and the newCalifornian Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit.

CNR undoubtedlyhas the most diverse set of job titles of anycollege at Berkeley. Included in our familyare not onlythe administrative assistants, academic coordinators, and student affairs officers found in other colleges, but also librarians, computer specialists, cooks, editors, farm maintenance workers, food service managers, laboratoryassistants, and a spectroscopist.

Protecting these staff is critical in the current budgetaryenvironment. Approximately 90 percent of the College’s budget is used to paythe salaries of facultyand staff of the College. When massive budget cuts such as those currentlybeing imposed on the College are dealt with, it is important to keep sight of the fact that those dollars represent people’s jobs and positions. The knowledge and experience of our staff are not commodities that can be put in storage or rehired when times are better. We have committed to maintaining the excellence of our staff through this crisis.

One component of that commitment is the subcommittee on staff climate and experience chaired byAssociate Dean Lew Feldman. This subcommittee is a component of the College’s strategic planning committee and is attempting to discover and define the issues most important to our staff. A number of the College’s staff are participating on this committee. It is our hope that we can not onlyprotect the positions of our staff but also improve their working environment and their job satisfaction. While it is a small step, we have just announced a program of staff awards to recognize the excellence in our staff.

So, to those who serve as building managers, thank you. To those who serve as the departmental management services officers, thank you. To those who maintain the greenhouse facilities, thank you. To all the student affairs officers, thank you. To those who work in the College business offices, thank you. To you and all of your colleagues in the CNR staff, thank you.

The College would not survive for a minute without your dedication and service.