UCL Employee committees provide an opportunity for you to get involved in something you’re passionate about. Some committees have specific goals in mind and thus disband once those are achieved and others are ongoing. Each committee is run by a chair (or co-chairs) and sponsored by a member of the leadership team. The leadership member works to ease the communication between staff and leadership.

If you’re interested in joining any of the committees, please contact the current chair.

Employee Engagement Advisory Committee

The employee engagement committee acts as a resource, advocate, and representative for the employees of UCL. This committee’s role is to identify staff needs through informal and formal channels, brainstorm ideas on how to best address these needs, and make recommendations to UCL Leadership on how to implement these ideas.

The goal is to provide staff an opportunity to engage in open conversations that fosters positive relationships between staff, encourages a productive workplace, and recognizes the great work we all do every day. This will help ensure that UCL is a workplace that lives up to its mission, values, and commitment to employees.

There is a private channel on Teams for members of the Employee Engagement Advisory Committee to communicate with each other outside of regularly scheduled meetings.

Committee Chair: Allie McClaskey

Leadership Sponsor: Anya Petersen-Frey

Function of the Members

• Chair: The chair serves as the primary liaison between the committee and the leadership team. The chair also sets meetings and meeting agendas to keep the committee moving towards its stated goals.
• Human Resources Representative: The HR representative for UCL is available to this committee as a resource to help determine when our recommendations may intersect with HR policies. Thus, this is an advisor role and not a contributor role.
• Executive Assistant: The Executive Assistant to the Dean serves on this committee as they generally know what’s going on at all levels of UCL. The Executive Assistant is also the chair of the Party Planning Committee, allowing these two committees to collaborate where it makes sense.
• Members: This committee seeks members from all of the UCL units for full representation. Members are responsible for creating space for positive conversations, contemplating new ideas, and bringing forth information and opinions that can help make decisions.

Meeting Frequency

• This committee has regularly scheduled meetings of at least once per month. When time-sensitive projects require attention, more meetings will be scheduled.

Equity Diversity and Inclusion

The UCL EDI Committee advocates for equity and justice for historically marginalized, disenfranchised, and oppressed peoples in Utah. We develop practices and policies to protect against unconscious bias in our hiring and programming, with the goals of creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all peoples and better serving and representing the communities we serve.

Committee Co-Chairs: Christine Baczek 

Function of the Members

• Chair/Co-Chair: The chair serves as the primary liaison between the committee and the leadership team. The chair also sets meetings and meeting agendas to keep the committee moving towards its stated goals.

• The committee consists of seven members:

  • one from Digital Learning Experiences & Digital Learning Technologies
  • one from Programs
  • one from Administration and Operations
  • three at large
  • one ad hoc from HR

  Committee members serve three-year terms on a staggered basis beginning January 1. Two members (one from Digital Learning, Programs, or Admin & Ops and one at large) will rotate off the committee each year.

  Each committee member dedicates 5% of their employment effort to research and learning, meeting and collaborating, and taking action toward the charge. This is to be reflected on the committee members’ performance evaluation in UUPM with tactical and strategic goals. A representative from University Human Resources serves as an ad hoc member for purposes of acting as a subject matter expert on university policies and processes.

Meeting Frequency

• This committee has regularly scheduled meetings of at least every other week.

EDI Resources

• Learn more about EDI and find resources at this page.

Emergency Response Committee

This committee discusses issues related to UCL’s preparation for all emergency events. It works on processes to ensure the welfare of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors during disasters. The committee members will act as UCL’s representatives to the U’s Emergency Management Team.

Committee Chair: Cindy Hanson

Function of the Members

• Chair: The chair serves as the primary liaison between the committee, UCL’s leadership team, and the U’s Emergency Management Team. The chair also sets meetings and meeting agendas to keep the committee moving towards its stated goals.
• Members: This committee seeks members from all of the UCL units for full representation. Members will serve as UCL’s emergency response coordinators and assist with plans to evacuate our building and account for people during a crisis.

Meeting Frequency

• This committee meets twice annually with potential for more meetings as needed.

Party Planning Committee

This committee is responsible for planning, coordinating, and facilitating all UCL activities and events. This includes social BBQs, holiday parties, and the All Hands meeting, among others. Activities and events that the Party Planning Committee come up with most often need to be approved by the leadership team before moving forward. They also work within a given budget from the employee morale funds.

There is a private channel on Teams for members of the Party Planning Committee to communicate with each other outside of regularly scheduled meetings.

Committee Chair: Chelsea Cannon

Function of the Members

• Chair: The chair serves as the primary liaison between the committee and the leadership team. The chair also sets meetings and meeting agendas to keep the committee moving towards its stated goals.
• Members: This committee is open to all UCL staff members. Members bring their ideas to the table for all UCL events and work together to formulate a plan. They are responsible for obtaining all event-related supplies as well as setting up and tearing down events as their schedules permit.

Meeting Frequency

• This committee meets multiple times per year as needed. As events get closer, the party planning committee meets more often to ensure everything is ready to go.

The Green Team (currently inactive)

This committee works towards ways for UCL to better align with the U’s Sustainability Office and their vision to “create a culture of responsibility by integrating the values of sustainability in all facets of the University of Utah.” The Office of Sustainability has three levels of Green Office Certification (bronze, silver, and gold). This committee is committed to helping UCL become gold office certified.

Committee Chair: N/A

Function of the Members

• Chair: The chair serves as the primary liaison between the committee and the leadership team. The chair also sets meetings and meeting agendas to keep the committee moving towards its stated goals.
• Members: This committee is open to all UCL staff members. Members are responsible for creating space for positive conversations, contemplating new ideas, and bringing forth information and opinions that can help make decisions. They will also personally implement any new policies enacted by the committee and serve as an example for others within UCL.

Meeting Frequency

• This committee meets monthly.

Data Governance Committee

This committee discusses best practices for data usage and management within UCL to ensure we are following University rules, regulations, and policies as well as all relevant state and federal laws.

Committee Chair: Arainna Forth

Function of the Members

• Chair: The chair serves as the primary liaison between the group and the leadership team. The chair also sets meetings and meeting agendas to keep the committee moving towards its stated goals.
• Members: Members are responsible for creating space for positive conversations, contemplating new ideas, and bringing forth information and opinions that can help make decisions.

Meeting Frequency

• This committee meets monthly.

The Art Committee (currently inactive)

This committee discusses options and opportunities for us to obtain and display art in the 540 Arapeen CE Building.

Committee Chair: 

Leadership Sponsor: Jodi Emery

Function of the Members

• Chair: The chair serves as the primary liaison between the committee and the dean. The chair also sets meetings and meeting agendas to keep the committee moving towards its stated goals.
• Members: This committee seeks members from all of the units for full representation. Group members will serve as UCL’s team to choose art and display options for the building based on budget limitations.

Meeting Frequency

• This committee meets monthly (or twice a month) depending on project timelines and budget.

The Volunteer Committee (currently inactive)

This committee seeks opportunities for UCL employees to engage in volunteer activities throughout the year. Employees will use this information and select how they want to participate based on their available hours (UCL offers full-time employees 8 hours per calendar year; part-time employees at .495 FTE or less are offered 4 hours per year).  They will also seek activities for one UCL-wide volunteer experience. Activities will be presented to the leadership team for the final decision.

For more information on volunteer hours, see Volunteer Pay.

Committee Co-Chairs: N/A

Leadership Sponsor: Nate Friedman

Function of the Members

• Chair: The chair serves as the primary liaison between the group and the leadership team. The chair also sets meetings and meeting agendas to keep the committee moving towards its stated goals.
• Members: Members will work with the chair to identify and coordinate one volunteer experience a year for all UCL employees to participate in. They will also help raise awareness around other volunteering opportunities that employees may wish to use for their annual volunteer hours.

Meeting Frequency

• This committee meets once per month and may meet more frequently in advance of the annual UCL volunteer event if it warrants further planning/coordination.