September 14, 2018

CSSAC chair Q&A: Mandy Smith

Mandy Smith Mandy Smith, 2018-19 chair of the Clerical and Service Staff Advisory Committee. (Purdue University photo/John Underwood) Download image

Mandy Smith took office Sept. 1 as the 2018-19 chair of the Clerical and Service Staff Advisory Committee. She is the administrative business assistant to the vice provost for student life. Here, she answers questions from Purdue Today about her plans in leading CSSAC.

How long, and in what positions, have you worked at Purdue?

In 2008, I worked for the Undergraduate Admissions office as a credentials analyst. In March of 2015, I accepted a position with the Office of the Dean of Students as an account clerk V. In February of 2018, I began working as the administrative business assistant to the vice provost for student life.

Why did you decide to become involved in CSSAC? In what capacity/on which committees have you served?

I am passionate about professional development opportunities, and as a 2015 graduate of the Accomplished Clerical Excellence program and 2016 graduate of the Student Life Leadership Academy at Purdue, I wanted to take a deeper dive into the wonderful opportunities at Purdue. I thought CSSAC would be a great way to explore more avenues to network and give back to the campus community.

While in CSSAC, I have served on the following committees:

Healthy Boiler Initiative.
Spring Fling.
Business Process Reengineering Advisory.
Purdue University Discounts Committee, as vice chair.
CSSAC Executive Committee served as vice chair.
Various campus search committees.

What did you learn as vice chair or as a committee member that will assist you as chair this year?

Communication is a very important key to success. The outgoing chair, Allen Bol, did a fantastic job promoting the Bridge form and being an advocate for several concerns that were brought to our attention and resolved by many of the officials at Purdue. I know and understand it is important to keep that communication going between the clerical and service staff and the administration here at Purdue moving forward.

What will CSSAC be working on during the upcoming academic year?

We currently are forming a committee within CSSAC that will work with the Communications and Professional Development subcommittees to address the struggles/concerns of the service staff regarding professional development opportunities. We want to be able to communicate with them about the resources and professional development opportunities Purdue has to offer. We are also considering providing CSSAC information sessions to departments across campus to inform staff exactly what it is we do as an advisory committee and how we can support the staff members.

The Communications subcommittee will continue to provide our monthly newsletters and they will be promoting the newly created Facebook page. Several of the service staff do not have access to computers to stay informed, but anyone with a smartphone or tablet can look at the Facebook page and catch up on current news and events that are happening with CSSAC.

The Purdue Employees Activity Program will continue to sponsor trips/events to various places that would be of interest to the clerical and service staff. This committee has worked extremely hard to incorporate special offers on single-game tickets for the Colts, discounted rates to Kentucky Kingdom and Hurricane Bay and currently Exploration Acres.

The Professional Development subcommittee will continue to offer our annual grant awards for employees and their dependents.

What are your own goals as the chair of CSSAC? What do you hope to have contributed as chair to CSSAC and the University once your term ends?

To continue the momentum Allen Bol created during his term, while hitting my main goals as chair of CSSAC of engaging further with the 2,700 clerical and service staff members across the campus, to be more than just another acronym at Purdue, and as committee members and we will volunteer our time to help better serve you.

What would you like faculty and staff to know about CSSAC?

Even though we are an advisory committee representing the clerical and service staff, anyone can submit a Bridge form located on our website with questions or concerns and we would be happy to address them.

In addition, members of CSSAC are separated into districts. I encourage you to visit our website and find out who represents your area and encourage your clerical and service staff members to connect with them.

How can faculty/staff get involved with CSSAC?

If you know of a clerical or service staff member that would like to gain a better understanding of the role and functions of CSSAC, we encourage them to attend a monthly meeting. Feel free to contact me at mandysmith@purdue.edu directly for further information.


Faculty-Staff News

More News

Purdue University, 610 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, IN 47907, (765) 494-4600

© 2015-20 Purdue University | An equal access/equal opportunity university | Copyright Complaints | Maintained by Office of Strategic Communications

Trouble with this page? Disability-related accessibility issue? Please contact News Service at purduenews@purdue.edu.