On a snowy day in February 2011, Trish St. Leger, vice provost for administration and planning, visited Administrative Coordinator Penny Mintel at her desk in the provost’s office.
“She asked me to help brainstorm ideas for a better way to provide AAs with the tools they need to help them perform their jobs effectively and efficiently,” Mintel recalled.
Mintel and St. Leger decided to build a website specific to AAs, and they formed a committee, made up of academic AAs and representatives from ITS and the registrar’s office, to do it — not long afterward, the was born.
Both the site and the committee that created it live on to this day. Co-chaired by Penny Mintel (provost’s office) and Karen Forni Austin sociology and anthropology) and made up of volunteer AAs from the dean of the faculty division, the committee’s ongoing mission is to create an environment for academic administrative assistants that promotes and builds community, and provides resources to perform their jobs effectively.
Since 2011, the committee has taken on numerous projects and initiatives including:
- Developing a robust onboarding checklist and mentor system for new academic AAs
- Serving as an advocate for all academic AAs
- Scheduling software training sessions throughout the year
- Offering opportunities for personal growth workshops and social gatherings
The committee’s efforts at improving the AA onboarding process have been particularly beneficial to newly hired AAs. “Having the onboarding checklist and a mentor was essential,” said Nicole Carvell, AA for Peace and Conflict Studies, Native American Studies, and Africana and Latin America Studies. Carvell was hired full time in 2015, she then went on to serve as a mentor for other newly hired AAs.
In 2016, the committee received the Staff Excellence Team Award in recognition of the great service they provide to their fellow staff members.
The group has been so successful in carrying out their mission that the Hamilton College AAs invited the committee to give a presentation on the committee’s procedures. “The presentation was very informative, personable, and right on with many of our AA issues here at Hamilton,” said Joan Kane, AA for economics and government, Hamilton College.
“The work of the Best Practices Committee is valued by the vlog community and strategically aligned with The Third-Century Plan,” said St. Leger. “Many of their initiatives focus on efforts to attract, retain, and support the talented staff in the PDOF division. I can’t say enough about the quality and value of the work they do on behalf of the Institution.”