About the Staff Advisors

Initially introduced in January 2005 under a Presidential pilot program, the positions of Staff Advisor were made permanent by the Board of Regents on January 18, 2007. The Staff Advisors are selected from all staff and non-Senate academic employees, and are appointed by the President in consultation with the Chairman of the Board. Serving as non-voting advisors to designated Regents' committees, the Staff Advisors have direct input into the Board's deliberations and decisions.

Each year's newly appointed Staff Advisor is called the Staff Advisor Designate. The Staff Advisor and Staff Advisor Designate participate on assigned committees to allow cross-coverage and mentorship by the more experienced Staff Advisor.

The Staff Advisor and Staff Advisor Designate serve as non-voting advisors to six Regents' Committees: Academic and Student Affairs, Compliance and Audit, Finance and Capital Strategies, Public Engagement and Development, Investments, and National Laboratories. The Staff Advisors will participate in all meetings of the Regental committees (with the exception of Closed or Regents Only sessions) and will be invited to stay and observe all open sessions of The Regents' meetings and certain other Regents' events.

To ensure continuity of experience, the staff advisors serve two-year staggered terms.

Applications for the Staff Advisor Designate position will be available at the beginning of each calendar year on this web site.

Questions about the program should be directed to the Staff Advisor or Staff Advisor Designate. The key contact for the Staff Advisors at the Office of the President is the Director of Employee Relations, Systemwide Human Resources.

 

What are the essential skill sets the Staff Advisor should possess?
Kim Wilcox, Chancellor at UC Riverside

The role of Staff Advisor to the Regents is immensely important to the University of California. Advisors are the primary, and oftentimes only, face of the staff in Board discussions. That responsibility implies the need for several skills. First, advisors must be effective communicators. There are many voices wanting to be heard by the Board, and a Staff Advisor must be clear and succinct in their messages to ensure that their perspective is heard. They must also have the ability to frame their comments in a way best-suited for addressing the issue at hand. Generally, this implies a lot more listening than speaking. Second, Advisors must have a broad perspective on the University and the issues that it faces. Effectively representing nearly 150,000 staff members requires one to release from their own agenda and take a system-wide view, sometimes to the relative disadvantage of own’s home campus. Third, Staff Advisors should be good partners; whether that’s partnering with campuses, with the faculty senate, with the President’s staff, with the Regents themselves, or with others inside and outside the University. In an organization as large as the UC, things only get done by working together.