Priority for New CSC Chair: Representing Staff in Strategic Plan, UCAP Efforts

Priority for New CSC Chair: Representing Staff in Strategic Plan, UCAP Efforts

By Kyle MittanUniversity Communications
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Jeffrey Jones
Jeffrey Jones

When Jeffrey Jones went to the Classified Staff Council's Crossroads Conference three years ago, he wasn't quite sure what the council's role even was.

But once he found out that it exists to serve the needs of UA classified staff, he knew he wanted in.

"I liked the people and I liked being part of something that represented a larger community and being able to be in a position to advocate for that," he said.

Jones joined CSC after the conference and now is preparing to become the group's chair. His official start date is July 1. Joining him in leadership positions are:

  • Administrative Vice-Chair: Margaret Carrazco, accountant, University Information Technology Services
  • Parliamentarian/Historian: Matt Grogan, general maintenance mechanic, Residential Facilities
  • Treasurer: Jennifer Chamblee, executive assistant, Office of the President
  • Recording Secretary: Amanda Dominguez, information technology support analyst, Student Affairs Systems Group

The council also has a spot for an executive vice-chair, which is expected to be filled at the council's July 20 retreat.

Jones, a senior information technology support analyst, works in University Information Technology Services' Academic Technologies unit, helping faculty who use online tools in their courses.

An Illinois native, Jones graduated from Flowing Wells High School in 1990 and served in the U.S. Army from 1992 to 1996. He spent many years working for the Arizona Children's Association, helping children with emotional and behavioral disorders.

Jones received his formal IT training when he entered the Army Reserve and was deployed to Iraq as an intelligence analyst. In 2013, he began working at the UA.

As Jones looks ahead to his new role, he said he sees major initiatives like the strategic plan and the University Career Architecture Project as opportunities to engage UA administrators on behalf of classified staff. Jones, who sits on UCAP's advisory council, said one of his top priorities as CSC chair will be representing the interests of classified staff as job titles and career paths are clarified and restructured as part of UCAP.

He also hopes to use his new role to support diversity and inclusion on campus.

"It seems like there are a lot of really positive movements happening, and I would just like to see them continue – and spread the word on them even more and get more people involved and participating," Jones said.

CSC's outgoing chair, Christina Rocha, led the group for nearly four years. During that time, several changes happened. The council changed its name from the Staff Advisory Council, overhauled the council's mission statement, and secured a voting seat on the Faculty Senate.

Rocha, a senior accountant with Research, Discovery and Innovation Business Services, credited Jones with "single-handedly" setting up Panopto video-streaming capabilities at the council's general meetings, which allows classified staff who aren't in Tucson – such as those who work at Cooperative Extension offices around the state – to watch.

Rocha, as immediate past chair, will mentor new executive board members as outlined in the council's bylaws.

"I'm so confident that he's going to do a great job," she said, noting that he has been part of CSC amid important changes, which gives him the experience needed to lead the council.

Jones said Rocha will be tough to follow.

"Christina's done an amazing job, and she's a dynamic presence," Jones said. "So, her shoes are going to be hard to fill, and I just want to make sure that I do that justice."

The Classified Staff Council meets on the first Tuesday of each month in the Student Union Memorial Center. Its next meeting will be held during the council's annual ice cream social on Aug. 7 (time and location to be determined). For more information, visit the council's website.

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