APSAC chair aiming to gather, offer substantive input
Nicholas Howell, chair of APSAC and HR compensation specialist. (Purdue University photo/Mark Simons)
Purdue staff members have a voice, and Nicholas Howell is confident that it will be heard.
As the new chair of the Administrative and Professional Staff Advisory Committee, Howell represents nearly 5,000 University staff members in communication with central administration.
"With so many staff members at the University, we should have a voice," says Howell, a compensation specialist for Human Resources. "Being the voice of so many people can be stressful at times, but I look at it as an opportunity to advance the staff and make things better all around."
This year, APSAC will focus most of its efforts on the University's proposed benefit modifications and budget concerns.
"There are so many changes coming forward with benefits. They've been looking at redoing medical plans and offering retirement incentives," Howell says. "There is also a lot of uncertainty about job security and how appropriations will be handled during this fiscal year."
Howell, who began his role as APSAC chair in June and will serve through May 2011, joined the volunteer organization in 2008 to become more familiar with operations across campus. Now into his third year, Howell hopes his Purdue degree in organizational leadership and supervision and a year as APSAC vice chair will help him fulfill his new role.
"Leadership has been a general path for me. I enjoy being a leader and communicating and working with people," he says. "It will be interesting to work with administration and see what our leaders are doing every day to help the tough situations we're in."
Although APSAC is an advisory board, Howell is hopeful that the committee's participation will make a difference in the decisionmaking process.
"We don't have any particular power as far as the changes that are made, but those changes affect us directly, so our input should be taken into consideration," he says.
Howell works closely with APSAC executive committee members to present the administration with matters of staff concern.
"When people take on a leadership role in a volunteer organization, they are obviously people with a willingness to help and a desire to improve things," he says. "Everyone within the group is very dedicated. It really does take the whole group to accomplish what we do."
Howell maintains a positive attitude in these times of uncertainty.
"The types of changes they're talking about making are scary for people," he says. "So I'm trying to help them find some hope as these difficult decisions are made."
