OAC Members and Representation

The Officers of Administration Council (OAC) is an eight-member elected body of Officers of Administration (OAs) that brings together the UO’s diverse managerial, supervisory, administrative, and other professionals to promote and facilitate communication among OAs, and between the UO’s executive leadership.

The FY23 OAC consisted of eight members responsible for promoting the interest of the OA community in its activities. FY23 members and advocacy roles were:

Executive Committee (2022-23)

  • Spencer Smith, Co-Chair (2023-24 co-chair)
  • Maureen Procopio, Co-Chair (outgoing OAC member)
  • Marcus Langford, Vice-Chair (incoming 2023-24 co-chair)
  • Angie Peatow, Secretary (continuing)

Professional Development Coordinators

  • Melissa Bowers
  • Rachel Hall

Health and Wellness Liaisons

  • Carol Hardy
  • Julia Cohalan

 

Six Boxes reading, Advancement, General Counsel, College of Art & Sciences, Student Services & Enrollment Management, Communications, Student Life

The FY23 OAC members are comprised of OAs from six divisions across the UO’s campus. Council members are charged with advocating for all OAs across all divisions and campuses.  Because the council represents a diverse set of units, we contemplate the opportunities and challenges of OAs through a lens of varied lived experiences.

 

Executive Overview

FY23 was a rebuilding year for the OAC, focusing on onboarding five out of eight members. This included comprehensive member education and orientation. Based on early conversations with campus senior leadership, they identified the importance for OAC to focus on creating in-person engagement opportunities for OAs, including professional development.

The OAC hears from OAs through one-on-one conversations, surveys, and listening sessions. The recurring issues and growth areas the council focused on in FY23 and will inform FY24 planning included:

  1. Compensation: salaries are not reflective of industry standards or current market state.
  2. Recruitment and retention: persistent shortage of staffing across areas impacts OAs and increases burnout.
  3. Professional development: OAs continue to seek more opportunities to grow.
  4. Consistent and cohesive policies: OAs want uniform and equitable practices to guide our decisions as leaders.

 

OA Stars

Recognition of the effort, accomplishments and contributions of our OA colleagues is an important part of the OAC’s portfolio. The OA Stars program has been celebrating and recognizing OAs for many years, and in October 2022 we recognized five OA Star recipients for their outstanding work in FY22. Behind the scenes, the OAC works diligently to ensure a seamless, equitable process and implementation, reviewing 73 deserved nominations, resulting in five recipient stars. The FY22 OA Stars received certificates, were honored at the Fall Open Meeting, and were invited to attend an Oregon football game in the President’s Suite. The FY23 nomination process has kicked off so please nominate deserving, hardworking colleagues!

 

Engagement & Professional Development

Fall Open Meeting

FY23 experienced several executive leadership transitions, beginning with President Schill’s departure. OAC recognized this as an important moment for connection with leadership. On November 10, 2022, the OAC hosted an open meeting with Interim President Phillips, Senior VP for Finance and Administration Jamie Moffitt, and VP and Chief Human Resources Officer Mark Schmelz. Leading up to this meeting, we surveyed OAs about their concerns and questions, which created space to discuss the following:

  • Recruitment and Retention
  • Salaries and Compensation
  • Administrative Processes and Systems
  • Professional Development

The hybrid meeting took place at the EMU and was attended by over 140 OAs, with over 80 in person attendees.

Winter Social

In the spirit of building shared connections and promoting friendships the OAC hosted an end-of-winter social on March 16, 2023, at the Ford Alumni Center. Attended by 70 OAs. New and tenured OAs met up to socialize over lemonade and cookies. The event took place on one of the first sunny and warm days in months, inspiring OAs to walk across campus together to share in this experience.

OA Council Leadership Symposium: Engaged Leaders

On May 24, 2023, the OAC reintroduced the formal conference tradition since before the pandemic with a half day symposium focused on engaged leaders. Over 100 OAs attended to learn from:

  • OA Council members about the advocacy of the council;
  • VP Yvette Alex-Assensoh about the campus climate survey and the role of OAs;
  • A panel of campus leaders with resources on OAs as engaged leaders; and
  • A facilitated training on the Strengths Based Leadership and a Campus of Belonging.

The OAC was pleased to provide funding for the Clifton Strengths tool to all registered OAs in this training.

 

Health, Wellness and Belonging

OA Survey on Work Arrangements

In February 2022, the council distributed a survey to all OAs about their work arrangements and what matters to them in terms of benefits and retention. More than 260 responses highlighted several areas of concern, and opportunities for engagement. OAC’s survey outcomes report identified several recommendations for leaders and managers. The council’s continued work includes communicating these findings and associated recommendations to new and established campus senior leaders and executives, crafting professional development and social experiences to meet the expressed needs.

Ongoing Advocacy and Connections

The OAC has an “open-door” policy to receive questions and concerns from OAs in a confidential and safe space. During FY23, the OAC received dozens of emails through the year with questions and personal concerns that the council resolved in various ways. Themes include personnel and policy related questions, career path and professional development, mode of work questions and concerns, and work life balance concerns, as well as encouragement about the OAC’s work.

Regular meetings:

  • OAC co-chairs met with HR Partners monthly to discuss policy questions, issues, and opportunities. Additionally, the CHRO met with co-chairs quarterly or as needed to share updates or address concerns.
  • OAC executive team met with Senior VP of Finance and Administration once to plan the FY and hear about ideas, goals, concerns, and updates. The second meeting was placed on hold as the VPFA became the Interim President.

 

Budget

Budget Priorities

The OAC is provided a small budget to further our mission of identifying and addressing pertinent issues, facilitating communication, creating opportunities for professional development and collegiality.

In this academic year, these funds were spent primarily on catering and room and audio-visual expenses at the in-person events we hosted (fall listening session, winter social event, and spring leadership symposium), as well as on the training expenses associated with offering the strengths training at the symposium.

This expense distribution is very similar to previous years, especially disregarding the academic years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, when the pandemic created a lull in much of the council’s activity.

This year we had an emphasis on in-person programming, which is reflected in the largest expense being for refreshments and food. In the future, this may shift back to rentals and av expenses if we attempt more hybrid programming.

Finally, it’s worth noting that by far, the majority of the OAC’s expenses are paid to on-campus partners in the above categories.