Classified Senate in the forefront
Visibility, communication top new president Barb Nagel's list of priorities
Speaking to a state commission and helping lead K-State's fundraising campaign are examples of how Classified Senate can increase visibility on and off campus, according to the new president. * Barb Nagel, a public service administrator in the registrar's office, oversaw her first meeting as president July 11.
Nagel said visibility is her primary goal for the Senate during the coming year, followed closely by increasing communication. Nagel touts the Senate's president-elect, Jennyfer Owensby, and her co-chairing the Changing Lives campaign and her presentation to the state employee compensation oversight commission as examples of visibility.
"The fact that the representative from the Regents schools at the oversight commission was from K-State speaks volumes about the Senate's commitment to being involved not only on a local level, but at the state level as well," Nagel said.
She recognizes that in order to reach its constituents, Senate needs to fine tune old means of communication and find new ways. Getting information to every classified employee is not as easy as it seems, she said, because not every classified employee has access to a computer or gets campus mail.
Nagel praises an e-mail summary of Senate meetings started by the previous president, Richard Herrman. She said the Senate's Web site now also includes numerous links to information that is important to classified employees.
Nagel came to K-State in 2001 as an administrative officer for the music department before being promoted to her position in the registrar's office. This marks her third year on the Senate. She became involved by filling a vacant arts and sciences position. Nagel said it was then that she had her eyes opened to the amount of time and work it takes to serve.
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"I truly believe the Classified Senate is as effective and productive as the Senators who are serving," she said. "For the time that I have served on Senate there has been a group of very dedicated classified employees serving as Senators. They are involved in issues and working hard to make a difference for classified employees at K-State."
Classified Senate is preparing to deal with issues like pay, which Nagel said fortunately is an important issue for the governor and legislators. She said the legislature is reviewing the classified pay plan and will make recommendations for change during the 2008 session.
This fall, she said the Kansas Board of Regents plans to consider increasing leave for classified employees so that it would match that of unclassified employees.
Nagel also said the K-State Alternative Service Committee is researching and compiling a plan for the possibility that classified employees become university support staff.
Nagel said the Senate welcomes any comments, suggestions, or ideas to improve classified service at K-State.
Contact Nagel at bnagel@k-state.edu, 532-6254 or at 118 Anderson Hall. The Web site at
http://www.k-state.edu/class-senate/ includes Senator contact information and an opportunity to submit comments.
Editor's note: A profile of the new Faculty Senate president will appear in a coming issue of K-Statement.
Photo: Barb Nagel, registrar's office public service administrator, is Classified Senate president.