Nomination Information
The UNL Staff Senate is accepting nominations to serve on the Staff Senate, a body that represents and advocates for all staff employees. The senate is tasked with providing input and guidance on relevant issues to university leaders. The staff senate includes 53 voting members, representing specific areas of the campus community, and four ex-officio, non-voting members from the NU system.
The senators represent one of seven “districts” defined by the university’s overall organization. Those districts are: Academic Colleges; Business and Finance; Chancellor; Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Other Executive Vice Chancellor; Research; and Student Affairs. The number of senators is determined by the size of each district — starting with two representatives for the first 100 employees, then adding one for each subsequent 100 employees.
Senators will serve three-year terms. This differs from the initial group of senators who are serving staggered terms of one, two, or three years. This arrangement ensures continuity moving forward, as each year one-third of senate seats will be up for reelection. For 2024, there are 19 seats up for election with each district having between one and four openings.
Nominations will be accepted through 5:00 p.m. on February 9, 2024. Each district's members will receive a ballot to vote for their representatives in March 2024. Elected senators begin their three-year term in July 2024.
Eligibilty
Candidates for election to the UNL Staff Senate must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Be an employee of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who is not explicitly represented by the UNL Faculty Senate, the graduate student assembly, or the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. (ASUN)
- Be a member of the district/constituency they wish to represent at the time of the election.
- Have an appointment of .25 FTE or greater and not have on-call or temporary status.
- Any individual with less than .5 FTE must have written approval from their supervisor in order to be nominated.
- Have at least six months of service to UNL at the time of nomination.
Staff who wish to nominate themselves are expected to work with their supervisors to seek permission to participate.
Staff participating will not be compensated monetarily. Service on behalf of the Staff Senate would be considered as being performed at the request of the Chancellor, and according to UNL Human Resources Compensable Work Time for Hourly Paid Employees Policy, would be considered time worked.
Time Commitment
Senate meetings are held for 1.5 hours every other month, in person and via zoom. Each senator also serves on a subcommittee that meets outside the full senate meetings. Frequency of committee meetings varies and is determined by the committee. Senators should expect some additional time commitment outside of meetings depending on senate and committee needs.
Complete details about the Staff Senate, including current senator information, and meeting times, are available online.
Staff Senate Election Committee
Stephanie Bonnema | COMMITTEE CHAIR
HR Specialist
IANR Finance & Personnel Office
Terri Pieper
Marketing/Communications Director
College of Arts & Sciences
Joan Kunzman
Admin Support Assoc
Nutrition & Health Sciences
Kim Rauscher
Exec Administrator to the Chancellor
Office of the Chancellor
Brent Morgan
Facilities Coordinator
University Libraries
Rhonda Zugmier
Admin Asst
University Services Business Center