A seat at the table

Lynda Brewer, assistant director of capital planning, has been named Staff Advisor to the UC Board of Regents – the first employee in the university system to be chosen for the role under a formal selection process.

“I’m delighted that Lynda Brewer has accepted appointment as the new Staff Advisor,” said UC President Robert Dynes, who chose Brewer from among the UC staff who applied for the post. “With almost 30 years of service to UC, she brings to the position a wealth of knowledge and experience that will greatly enhance the board’s discussions of the vital issues facing the university in the 21st century.”

As Staff Advisor, Brewer will attend open sessions of the regents meetings, committee meetings and special regents events. Although this is a non-voting position, she can, in her words, “serve as a conduit” between staff and the regents.

“My responsibility will be to give a staff perspective on the issues,” said Brewer, who begins her two-year appointment July 1. “It’s important to put a face and a name on the UC staff – a committed and talented workforce.”

In January 2005, the regents launched a two-year pilot program to give UC staff a non-voting presence on two committees: educational policy, and grounds and buildings. Dave Miller of UCLA and David Bell of UC San Francisco – both past chairs of the Council of University of California Staff Assemblies – were appointed as Staff Advisors for one-year terms starting July 1, 2005. (To provide continuity, Miller will serve a second term with Brewer in 2006-07.) Should the regents decide to make the Staff Advisor role permanent, Brewer will serve her full term, ending in 2008.

“So far the program has been well received, and we’re hopeful it will become permanent,” Brewer said. “We want to have meaningful input on decisions that impact staff. We also want to let staff know what the regents are doing, because they make policy decisions that affect our lives and our jobs on a daily basis.”

Brewer started working at UCI in 1976, tackling progressively more responsible positions in planning and budget. She’s been active in UCI’s Staff Assembly for more than a decade. Each UC campus has its own assembly, which promotes employee interests. Brewer will give up her current duties as a UCI delegate to the staff assemblies council – CUCSA – to focus on her Staff Advisor role.

She has a personal reason for making sure “UC remains an exciting, stimulating place to work for the next generation.” Her daughter, Danielle Brewer, business manager in the Office of the Ombudsman, has worked at UCI for nearly 10 years.

“As staff members, we’re all building our careers at the university,” Brewer said. “The continued success of the institution is vitally important to us.”