P&S COUNCIL: STUDENT RETENTION PROJECTS RETURN TO PRIORITY LIST by Anne Dolan Incoming President Darlene Gluck says the Professional and Scientific (P&S) Council this year will try to tackle issues of special concern to P&S staff as well as broader university-wide issues such as recruitment and retention of students. High on the list of P&S staff concerns, she said, are issues such as progression through the pay matrix, opportunities and funding for professional development and advancement, and regular performance reviews. The council may propose policy changes for things such as internal job searches and improvement leaves for P&S employees. Other P&S proposals may include a reduction-in-force process that increases efforts to help employees find new work or a grandfather clause for degree requirements for P&S positions. The council also will get involved in broader university issues, particularly student recruitment and retention and improving Iowa State's image with external audiences, she said. For the second year, President Martin Jischke has provided funding for student recruitment and retention projects proposed and carried out by P&S employees. "I hope we can do something that makes a big difference in recruitment and retention, though I suspect it's going to take a whole lot of little things to address the problem," Gluck said. "If the university doesn't address this issue successfully, its future, and our future, is at stake." Noting that the P&S Council is limited to an advisory role, Gluck said "the reality is that we really do care about ISU." She said she hopes the council this year works more proactively with the Faculty Senate, rather than each body responding to policies developed by the other. Gluck volunteered for one of four faculty-P&S teams that completed community visits last year in the pilot year of "Project Iowa," an outreach effort that demonstrates to Iowans what their land-grant university is doing for them. In addition to offering a great opportunity for P&S staff to work one-on-one with faculty members, Gluck said the visits also helped chip away at a general lack of knowledge around the state about the roles P&S staff fill at the regents universities. Gluck, who is in charge of facility safety and engineering for the Institute for Physical Research and Technology, calls her leadership style "participative." She said she also plans to call on Government of the Student Body leaders for a student perspective, particularly on topics such as student recruitment and retention. Gluck said she would like the council to focus on achievements, not merely discuss issues. In the past, the 28- plus council members have coordinated many P&S activities among themselves. Gluck hopes to involve non-council P&S employees on ad hoc committees, both for the experience and to speed up the deliberation process by spreading out the workload. Still, she expects productivity out of council members. "I've challenged all council representatives to have one thing next June that they personally can feel responsible for, that they have put a personal touch on," she said. _____ contact: Anne Dolan, Internal Communications, (515) 294-7065 updated: 9-1-95