P&A: Professional Academic and Administrative Employees CAPA: The Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators I’m (name here) and on behalf of CAPA, let me add my welcome to the University! I have been involved with CAPA for (number of years) and currently serve as a representative of (name of unit). I sit on the (committee). Before we get started I just want to express my hope that you come to love working here at the U as much as I have. (Personal comments on what you believe to be the biggest advantages and pleasures you have had as a U employee.)

A few factoids to get us started . . . The P&A classification was created in 1980 by the Board of Regents. Currently over 5,000 University employees are part of the P&A class. Our work falls into at least 130 different job code classifications. After the huge influx on students following World War Two, the University began to recognize a need for employees whose work went beyond support positions but did not fall into a faculty classification. So in 1980, they formally recognized the growing number of employees here who didn’t fit well into the civil service classification, but who weren’t part of the faculty either. The class originally began with just over 400 employees, but has grown to over 5,000 today. We are a hugely diverse lot, but all of the things we do build, directly, the University’s mission of teaching, research, and public outreach.

Can you be a little more specific? P&A employees are University professionals who: Teach Conduct research Coach teams Advise students Handle administrative leadership Run the libraries (are librarians) As you can see, P&A employees often do work very similar to faculty as well as provide leadership, policy and procedure management, and other vital services. One criterion often used to describe P&A roles is to say that we “exercise independent professional judgment” that requires specific preparation and specialized knowledge.

What is CAPA? CAPA is the Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators. CAPA works to represent the interests of all P&A employees at the University. The Council consists of 45 representatives elected from almost every organizational unit within the University. (Review slide info) An important aspect of CAPA is its ability to bring together groups within the University whose concerns match our own. We work with faculty, civil service, bargaining units, and students to identify common concerns and then to act together to bring about positive change.

CAPA and U Governance CAPA has 25 members who represent P&A employees on the University Senate, and two on the Senate Consultative Committee. The University of Minnesota is the only University in the U.S. that includes staff in its governance system. The University Senate is the main governance body for the University and acts in a direct advisory capacity with the president of the University, currently Bob Bruininks. The Senate also includes faculty, civil service staff, and students. The Senate Consultative Committee sets the agenda for the full Senate so it’s vital for us to be represented there as well.

Where the CAPA work gets done… CAPA has five standing committees. Benefits and Compensation Representation and Governance Professional Development and Recognition Communications Executive While CAPA meets monthly and has very productive sessions—we invite you to attend any time!—the nuts and bolts of our work is done in five committees. Besides the executive committee which is involved in keeping the overall organization running and often represents CAPA in University leadership meetings, four other committees provide vital support in research, policy development, and representation on P&A issues: benefits and compensation, professional development opportunities, and representation and governance issues. The communications committee works to make sure that all of the work of CAPA, its committees, and individual members is known to all University P&A employees and to the University as a whole.

The Value of CAPA We are the go-to group to contact with any issues you may be having in doing your work effectively. We aren’t a union, but we represent your interests at the highest level of University governance. It’s important that P&A employees have an influential group to advocate for our rights and responsibilities and professional standing within the University. We have built a cooperative yet strong voice within the University that is respected and included in all policy and strategic discussions where our perspective is vital.

CAPA Accomplishments CAPA members are actively involved in current University discussions concerning job classification and compensation. We also have members representing P&A interests on a University committee looking at patent, trademark, and copyright issues. Yes, but what have we done for you lately? We are working steadily to make sure we are present wherever needed to advocate for the P&A perspective. The University is almost constantly convening working groups and committees to examine various issues and policies that affect the way we do business every day. Because of the respect for CAPA and the recognition of the unique perspective of P&A employees, CAPA members are included in these groups and provide input of value to all P&A employees in the University system. Two groups that have been convened recently are looking at job classification and compensation and with patents and copyright rules.

CAPA Accomplishments CAPA meets regularly with similar employee groups at other Big 10 institutions to compare our governing policies and benefits compared to our colleagues in other states. We work to make sure P&A benefits at the University are comparable to other institutions. CAPA meets regularly with our counterparts within an academically-based organization, CIC, the Committee for Institutional Cooperation, that includes 12 major teaching and research universities in the Midwest. By sharing information and ideas with professional employees at other similar institutions, we help to assure that P&A employees at the U are working under the most progressive and beneficial conditions possible.

CAPA Accomplishments We have regular conversations with University leadership concerning wide-ranging issues such as possible tuition reimbursement for children of University employees, additional vacation days, and extended-year contracts. We maintain ongoing relationships among key University leaders to make sure that members’ concerns and desires are heard with regularity and are not forgotten. Some of these issues, including tuition reimbursement for our children, vacation allowances, and contract conditions, will always be on our agenda because we believe there is always room for improvement and advancement.

Interested in getting involved? You don’t need to be an elected representative to be involved in CAPA. Attend monthly CAPA meetings Join a CAPA committee Attend your unit-level P&A meetings Meet with your unit representative While units within the U are always looking for individuals willing to run for membership on CAPA, you don’t have to be an elected representative to be involved. Anyone is welcome to attend our council meetings and to attend P&A meetings that might be scheduled within your particular unit. You don’t have to be an elected representative to serve on any of the CAPA committee other than the executive committee. We’re always looking for volunteers to help with the many tasks involved in serving the University’s P&A employees. The committees are very productive but also a lot of fun and a great way to get to know folks from across the University community. We also can help you find out who your current CAPA rep is so that you can e-mail, call, or meet with him or her to find out more about P&A issues and about CAPA’s work on campus.

Why become involved? CAPA provides direct access to University leadership. Senior leadership at the University meets regularly with the full council and with the executive committee We provide a voice for P&A employees in the University Senate You are now working in a very large institution with almost 50,000 people on this campus on any given day. Just as students are encouraged to find one or more key activities in order to feel more at home in such a big place, employees can use involvement in groups such as CAPA to become more engaged and connected while working here at the U. Certainly you will find a home base in whatever unit you are working in, but if you want to stretch out beyond the boundaries of that unit, you would find CAPA a very rewarding way to become involved in both leadership and advocacy for your peers and colleagues.

What this means for you! An opportunity to directly voice your concerns about the University work environment, policies, procedures, benefits, compensation, and more. A chance for direct involvement in creating University priorities. A great chance to network! Involvement in CAPA activities will offer you the chance to influence the direction of the University in areas directly related to issues both large and small. And it’s a great way to meet people—not just from the Twin Cities campus but from throughout the University system. We have members from each of the coordinate campuses in Duluth, Morris, Crookston, and Rochester as well as extension units throughout the state.

Feeling rushed? You: “Hey, I just started here! I don’t have time to be joining committees!” CAPA: “We know! We just want you to feel welcome and to get involved with CAPA whenever you feel you have the time. Why is it, on top of everything else the University is trying to pour into your brains today, we are here and encouraging your involvement in CAPA? Well, we know you’re new and probably feeling overwhelmed—both with the information you’re getting today and the new job that has brought you to the U. But we also know you’ll be hearing about CAPA in a variety of ways and maybe wondering what in the world it has to do with you. So we don’t want to rush you, but we want you to be familiar with us before you start getting our e-mails. And we definitely want you to know that we’re here to make sure that no matter how new you are, we are working to advocate for you. We want you to feel free to share your opinions and ideas with us as you progress through your employment here.

You always have time to speak up! Be sure to share your opinions and ideas with us at any time! University leaders value the perspective of CAPA members and take our opinions strongly into account when making decisions. These are decisions that will directly impact you and your quality of work life at the University. So when you see a survey in your e-mail queue from CAPA, please take time to respond. When you read about something involving compensation or contracts, let us know what you think. We take every piece of input we get from P&A employees very seriously and we are diligent in communicating your concerns to President Bruininks and many others in leadership roles at the U. We do have influence and we want your thoughts on how best to employ that influence on behalf of all P&As.

How to stay in touch To meet your unit’s CAPA representative, contact us at www.capa.umn.edu. Read about CAPA activities in the University e-newletter, Brief. Read the regular messages from the CAPA listserv, UMPA. Here are some ways to maintain contact with CAPA activities, some of which I have alluded to earlier in this presentation.

More about staying in touch Come to CAPA meetings on the third Friday of each month, 8:30 a.m.-noon, in 101 Walter Library. Read more about us on our Web site, www.capa.umn.edu. Look for CAPA and P&A event announcements on the CAPA Web site and JOIN US! I want to reiterate our invitation to come to meetings. We have social time from 8:30 to 9 a.m. with snacks, juice, and coffee. Our meetings move at a brisk pace and we often have senior leaders who attend the meetings to present new initiatives and get our reaction to University plans. In addition, representatives from the Civil Service Committee, the faculty consultative committee, and the student consultative committee often attend to fill us in on their activities. You can learn a lot at our meetings! The Web site provides a lot of information—minutes of committee meetings and the general council meetings, contact information, and information about upcoming events for P&A employees. Please come to these events! They are fun and a great way to join with P&A employees from your own unit as well as from across the University system.

www.capa.umn.edu Thank you! Questions? This has been a quick overview and I may have been talking too fast for some people. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have. QUESTIONS. Okay, thanks again, and we wish you all the best as you begin your careers here at the U!