First time at Los Alamos for UC group

CUCSA meeting at Laboratory Thursday

For the first time in its history, the Council of University of California Staff Assemblies will meet at a campus location outside California. On Thursday and Friday (March 7-8) the council meets at the Laboratory and in Santa Fe.

Richard Marquez, the Lab's associate director for administration, is slated to give welcoming remarks and provide an overview of the Laboratory.

The Council of University of California Staff Assemblies comprises delegates from each UC campus, Los Alamos and Berkeley national laboratories and the UC Office of the President.

According to its mission statement, CUCSA endeavors to promote communication among staff and with the UC administration and other members of the university community on matters of interest to staff employees, in accordance with California laws and UC Regent policies. It provides a forum where employees from the campuses may discuss university-related issues and voice opinions and recommendations to the UC administration or others on policies and processes of mutual interest and works to foster respect, communication and collaboration among staff and other members of the UC community.

The body combines a working schedule with informational talks and often a tour during each of its quarterly meetings, but because this is first-time experience for many of the delegates, the meeting will include a number of speakers including an address by Allen Hartford, Science and Technology Base Programs (STB) Office leader, a national security talk by Ed Heighway, Weapons Physics Directorate principal deputy, an overview by Chuck Pacheo on the role of the Northern New Mexico UC Office of the President; Christine Armijo, director of the Community Relations (CRO) Office; Joe Garcia, tribal team leader in CRO; and Lisa Gutierrez, Diversity (DVO) Office director.

Paul Schwartz of the UC Office of the President, and UC Regent Velma Montoya also are scheduled to address the group. The group also will tour the Bradbury Science Museum downtown. On Friday, the meeting shifts to the Eldorado Hotel in Santa Fe.

The Lab has had a delegate to CUCSA since 1997, when Mary Cassidy of the Human Resources (HR) Division became a delegate. Los Alamos was the first of UC's three national laboratories to have a voting delegate. Lab delegates are chosen by vote from the Employee Advisory Council membership. On the campuses, delegates come from the staff association groups.

The council's constituency is staff employees of the University; it is involved in matters of interest or concern to those not exclusively represented and may advise on matters not within the scope of representation for those who are exclusively represented.

For more information about CUCSA, go to http://www.ucop.edu/cucsa/ online.

--Judy Goldie

Other headlines

Mars Odyssey’s neutron spectrometer maps water-ice

First time at Los Alamos for UC group

Lab policy allows time off to vote in Tuesday's local government election

NNSA newsletter highlights research, technologies at Los Alamos, other labs