University President Dr. Beth Stroble addresses members of the Webster Staff Alliance

University President Dr. Beth Stroble attended her first open meeting of the Webster Staff Alliance on Thursday, fielding questions and addressing a number of staff concerns from the use of technology to the potential for staff raises.

“It will always be my intention when communicating with people to be as transparent, candid and honest as possible,” Stroble said. “A lot of work has begun in the 112 days [since I started at Webster University] … but I plan to be here a while and I don’t think I’ll run out of things to do.”

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University President Dr. Beth Stroble and the WSA Board

Here’s a sample of some of the /.25topics covered:

1. Staff Raises: Although the final budget figures have yet to be hammered out, University administrators remain hopeful they will be able to reinstitute staff raises in the upcoming year, Stroble said. “We have just started putting the numbers together,” she told the audience, “but it is my hope that that is where we will be.”
2. Enrollment Management: Stroble highlighted the recent hiring of Paul Carney, vice president for enrollment management and student affairs. Administrators in the upcoming year will be attempting to answer difficult questions about enrollement, such as “What is our optimal enrollment?” and “What kind of enrollment do we want?” Determining the answers to such questions will help determine the direction of the University, she said.
3. Use of Technology: In an effort to be a better communicator herself, Stroble announced she has plunged headfirst into such social media initiatives as Facebook and Twitter. “What I’m really trying to do is communicate with a broader audience,” she said. Stroble now has a published fan page in Facebook and maintains a Twitter account @websterpres.
4. Internal Communications: One of the areas where Webster needs work, Stroble said, is in the area of internal communications. “We don’t communicate internally really as well as we need to,” she said. Stroble added that she hoped technology could help close the communication gap in some arenas. “If we wait for face-to-face communication, it will be a long wait … We have to use technology.”
5. Vacation/Sick Leave Information on Paychecks: Several staff members expressed concern about the lack of information currently provided on paychecks. Associate Vice President Betsy Schmutz, Human Resources, said her department has a number of people working of the issue in hopes of putting remaining vacation and sick leave back on employee’s paychecks.

The next meeting of the Webster Staff Alliance will be at noon on Dec. 17 in the Sunnen Lounge.

Photo courtesy of Donna Franquemont.