The Annual Meeting of All Appointed Professionals and Employee Fair, held Tuesday in the Student Union Memorial Center Grand Ballroom, included an employee fair for the first time in its history.
The employee fair comprised 25 tables that represented groups under the categories of Family Support, Personal and Professional Development, Become Involved and UA Recreation, and Fun and Enjoyment. UA President Eugene Sander also held a question and answer session with those in attendance.
Ron Wysocki, chairman of the Appointed Professionals Advisory Council and assistant staff scientist in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said that using the appointed professionals’ space to conduct the employee fair gave appointed professionals a chance to see what’s available, while simultaneously giving organizations on campus a chance to meet members.
“Our goal is to interact with other organizations on campus and this seemed to be the best way to do that,” Wysocki said. “This gives us a chance to meet with the president, ask questions, and it’s also a chance for people to come out and meet AP reps and spend time with each other.”
There are about 3,600 employees on campus classified as appointed professionals, and they represent the fastest growing employee group, according to the Appointed Professionals Advisory Council website.
Glenda Roark, a consultant at the Disability Resource Center, said she found the fair helpful and informative.
“It was good to hear the president talking about the specifics he’s trying to accomplish in his short time at the university,” Roark said, “and his answers to questions were so candid and so forward.”
During his speech, Sander said one his main goals for the UA is to create a campus atmosphere in which people feel they are being treated with dignity and respect. Sander said he wants people to be happy about coming to the UA. He also stressed the importance of employees’ involvement with local representatives, as well as the need to collectively communicate and work together to improve the university.
Kim Birmingham, chief pharmacist at Campus Health Service, said Campus Health hopes to inform employees of their resources that many UA employees aren’t utilizing, simply because they aren’t aware that they exist.
Kathryn Hawkes-Smith, director of university events in the Office of Community Relations, said that when she began working at the UA she attended an event similar to the Employee Fair, and that the goal of hosting the Employee Fair in conjunction with AP’s Annual Meeting was another way for AP to get involved with the UA’s employees.
