CAPA News—September 2007

Next CAPA Meeting:

• Friday, October 19th
• 8:30 am - 12:00 pm
• Walter Library 101
• U of M Twin Cities Campus

CAPA meetings are open to the public - interested P&A staff are encouraged to attend!

CAPA's Focus on Governance

The Council of Academic and Professional Administrators (CAPA) is a governance body, elected by constituents within our respective units and colleges. As such, we are obligated to tie our activities and decisions to our governing role on behalf of P&A’s at the University of Minnesota. So what does governance really mean, you ask? According to the Institute on Governance (IOG) based in Ontario, Canada:

Governance comprises the traditions, institutions and processes that determine how power is exercised, how citizens are given a voice, and how decisions are made on issues of public concern.

Good governance is about:

• achieving desired results
• achieving them in the right way

According to IOG, the "right way“is primarily shaped by an organization or group’s cultural norms and values. There is no universal template for good governance and the way that governance is implemented depends on the norms, needs, and values of the organization or group.

The main component of governance is decision making. Decisions are made by gathering input from constituents, factoring this feedback into the decision making process, and then ensuring accountability to constituents regarding the resulting outcomes.

CAPA's governance duty is to make decisions and take action regarding critical issues affecting P&A employees. This action may include advocacy, advising key players, collaborating with other groups, sharing information, writing letters, making resolutions, and more.

Included in our governance work this year will be the development of a mission statement, governing values, and action plans that will guide our work. Activities developed and implemented within CAPA committees will also include a clear connection to our governance role.

We encourage you as P&A employees to contact your representative or alternate and to share your ideas and thoughts about critical issues affecting P&A employees. Visit the CAPA Web site to identify your P&A representatives and alternates or contact David Bernstein at berns009@umn.edu for assistance.

P&As Lead U’s Community Fund Drive Again

The UofM launches its 2007 Community Fund Drive on October 1 and has set a goal of 40 percent participation and $1.25 million total contributions. Last year, as in 2005, Professional and Administrative staff employees led the way with 38.4% of us contributing to the CFD. We also gave the largest dollar amount of any employee class with $410,098.

There is no reason to be complacent about these numbers. Our participation rate has varied over time, actually dropping in 2005 before recovering last year. In 2004 the faculty gave more total dollars than us and they are close at our heels. Our average gift of $298 is well behind the average faculty gift of $438. Our average gift in 2006 had increased only 0.7% over 2005 – well below that rate of inflation.

The Community Fund Drive is your chance to give to organizations that make Minnesota a great place to live for all of us. You’ve got choices and can focus your gift on the organization that matches your own priorities. Giving on-line is easy and paycheck deductions are painless. You’ve also got a chance to win some great prizes. For details, go to www1.umn.edu/cfd.

Spotlight on Toni Smith

During her thirty years of service in University of Minnesota Extension, Toni Smith, the Assistant Director of Government and Constituent Relations and the Liaison to the Association of Minnesota Counties, has spent a lot of time working with communities around the state of Minnesota.

In her present role, which Smith has held for the past six years, she works in collaboration with Extension Regional Directors to maintain relationships with counties around Minnesota. Smith notes that the University has Extension Committees in all 87 counties around the state and that 22% of Extension funding comes from the counties.

As the Liaison to the Association of Minnesota Counties, Smith is part of the Minnesota County Futures Project, which is working to answer the question, "What should county government look like in the future?" The Minnesota Counties Project web site states, "County Futures works under the assumption that local government can be improved through collaboration and partnership."

A former Humphrey Fellow, Smith recently took on a new role at the University; this year she is a coach for the President’s Emerging Leaders Program.

For many years Smith’s work at the U revolved around the Mississippi River—she worked in tourism education along the river and helped to create the Mississippi Valley Partners, which works to promote tourism along a 100-mile stretch of the Mississippi while maintaining a commitment to preserving the environment and historical sites in the affiliated communities.

Smith commutes between her home in Wabasha and the Twin Cities. During the week, she lives and works in the Twin Cities, then returns to Wabasha on weekends to be with her family. The parent of a daughter who recently became a Kindergarten teacher, Smith says her life revolves around the Mississippi River, her husband works in the boating industry and she says, "I have the beauty of the river on and the joy of living in a small rural community on weekends."

Send e-mail submissions for the CAPA News to doer0012@umn.edu.  Due to limited space, we may not be able to include all submissions. CAPA welcomes your ideas, feedback, and involvement. Find out more about CAPA at www.capa.umn.edu

CAPA News is developed and sponsored by the Communications Committee of the Council of Academic and Professional Administrators (CAPA).