Inaugural Town Hall Gathers BUSM Staff Together

Nearly 80 staff attended the inaugural BUSM All Staff Town Hall meeting held in Keefer Auditorium on Tuesday, March 8. Designed to provide attendees with an overview of three offices and services of which they might not be aware, each presentation was followed immediately by lively Q&A. Francine Montemurro spoke about the Office of the Ombuds, Karen Brouhard shared the services provided by the Faculty & Staff Assistance Office (FSAO) and Majella Keane provided an overview of the HR Service Center.   View copies of the presentations Majella Keane HR Service Center, Karen Brouhard FSAO, Francine Montemurro OMBUDS.

After the final presentation Dean Karen Antman, who also served as moderator of the meeting, invited the presenters and three other administrators, Executive Director of Facilities John Barton, Human Resources Director Boris Lazic and Ad Interim Associate Finance Dean Tony Rizzo to participate in a general Q&A session.  Questions from the audience ranged from specific issues regarding heat, elevators and hot water in Medical Campus buildings to more general questions about room fees and measuring the frequency and effectiveness of the services and programs highlighted in the presentations.

Dean Antman closed the meeting by asking staff if they would be interested in having more meetings like the inaugural town hall.  The vote, taken by a show of hands, overwhelmingly indicated the desire to hold staff town hall meetings twice a year with one combined faculty-staff meeting annually.  Suggested topics for future meetings included an financial overview that discusses past-year performance and the outlook for the year ahead along with how philanthropy and fund raising fits into that landscape.  Human Resources offered to create a survey that will be sent to BUSM staff to solicit additional ideas.  Eight attendees also volunteered to work on the planning committee for the next meeting.  If you are interested in joining this group or have ideas, please email busmdean@bu.edu