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Leadership Forum Notes 2015

My Dear A&S Colleagues,

Please, feel free to use or pass along my notes from the 2015 Leadership Forum talks that were streamed last week.  Many of you may have attended, but for those of you who were unable to attend or watch the live-streams, I hope this is helpful!  The talks were very interesting and relevant to the work we do.

Most kind regards,

Erin Norton Miller, Department Manager, Appalachian Studies, UK Appalachian Center, Arts & Sciences, erin.norton.miller@uky.edu, 859-257-4852

 

Meet Erin Norton Miller

 

Erin Norton Miller at the Baker Museum in Artis—Naples, FL

Hi there; I’m Erin Norton Miller.  I am a native of Lexington, and UK is my alma mater!  I was an English major here and received my BA in May of 2000.  Before working at UK, I had jobs doing everything from retail to working in a warehouse to banking.  I started my career at UK in 2010 in a STEPS position in the College of Pharmacy.  I joined the College of Arts & Sciences in 2011 and began my current position as the Department Manager at the UK Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies in June of 2013.  I really enjoy being a part of this College and getting to work on the Culture Committee.  I love being in a place that values learning and excellence but also encourages getting to know and having fun with colleagues.

What do you do in your spare time?  I like to be physically active—running, walking, kickboxing, weight training, yoga, and recently discovered kayaking.  I also like baking, reading, writing, playing music, movies, art, and spending time with my friends and family.  Tom, my husband and I like to travel and aspire to do a lot more of it.  We have started a tradition of going to an art museum each time we visit a new place.  The picture here is from the Baker Museum in Artis-Naples, Florida.  That was a really great trip last October and where we got engaged!

What is your favorite movie or book? That is really a tough question for me because I have so many!  If I had to choose one favorite (and couldn’t break my answers down into categories or genres of drama, comedy, historical, fiction, non-fiction, etc. and choose one for each), the movie would have to be Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind because it really affected me the first time I watched it and still does every time I see it.  The book would have to be To Kill a Mockingbird.  (Whew!  If you ask me again, I’ll probably come up with some different ones!)

Are you a cat person or a dog person (or do you like another species entirely)? I’m a dog person, though I do think cats are beautiful animals (I’m allergic!).  I had a Golden Retriever named Sienna for about 13 years.  She was an incredible companion, and I still miss her!  I like big, sweet, smart, goofy dogs.  I think they have the best dispositions. 

What is your favorite food?  Another difficult question…  I love fresh fruit.  Mango.  Apples.  Cantaloupe.  Grapes.  Blueberries.  Oh—and peanut or almond butter.  Oh—and frozen yogurt.

Have you ever had a brush with fame?  Well, once upon at time, long, long ago, I went to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert at Rupp Arena…the Foo Fighters opened…which was awesome.  Anyway, after the show, my friends and I went to hang out in the lobby/lounge in the hotel that connects to Rupp.  As we were standing in the open area, several members of the band walked through the crowd toward the elevators to go up to their rooms.  Flea walked right past me, looked me in the eye, and smiled back.  That was in 2000, I guess, so not only was he a musician, but he was in The Big Lebowski as Nihilist #2, Kieffer not too long before that.  It was nice to see this big star being a friendly human being!  

Take Advantage of UK Human Resources Career Development

At the great suggestion from a mentor, I made an appointment and met with Diane Kohler.  She is Manager of UK Human Resources Career Development.  It really was a fantastic meeting. 

Before the meeting, I made an appointment as directed on the website and, after instruction from the office, filled out the required online questionnaire found here: http://www.uky.edu/hr/forms/career-development.  This step was important, I found, because it made me think.  It does ask for brief background information about career and education, other employment at UK, where you are currently, and how long you’ve been in your position.  Then comes the real “meat”.  What are your career goals?  What outcomes do you hope to achieve as a result of career counseling and/or job search coaching?  Oddly enough, as someone who considers myself a definite “Planner”, I really had to put thought into these answers.  As simple as it sounds, it was a great exercise for me.

To be honest, included in my answers was the statement that I was unsure about many of these things.  UK is really the first place that has ever asked me or given me the freedom to explore these questions openly.  I quickly realized that I needed to start from the ground level here.  Read: I have a feeling that I know my strengths and weaknesses, what I like and what I don’t favor, but what does that mean?

From the minute I met Diane, she was very welcoming, friendly, professional, and patient as I worked through thoughts.  Appointments are scheduled for about an hour, and the conversations are confidential.  I won’t go into great detail about my conversation to save boring you to tears.  What I will say is that if you have questions and are unsure about what it is you want, what your strengths are, where you want to be, and where you see yourself in the future—it’s ok!  Diane has tools to help you figure these things out.  There are simple (and FREE) surveys/questionnaires you can take that will arm you with information about yourself if you are starting with the fundamental questions.  It is revealing and empowering.

This is a small picture of all that UK HR and Diane have to offer for you.  I feel quite valued knowing that there is a service here that will invest time and resources in me; my goals and aspirations are appreciated—even if I don’t have them laid out into a clear plan just yet.  The fact that there is someone on your side to help you and root for you is priceless.  As a colleague, I encourage you to make an appointment with Diane—no matter where you are in your career.

Visit the Career Development website at: http://www.uky.edu/hr/career-development

UK's Legal 101 Class

 Last week, I attended Legal 101: An Introduction to the University of Kentucky’s Office of Legal Counsel.  It was an interesting course, and I would recommend that, if you work here, you take it.

 The course matter covers everything from how Governance works at the University to how we are affected by State funding and laws.  Some more specific topics covered include: UK contracts and signature authorizations, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, ethics, copyrights, privacy, open records (FERPA and HIPAA), use of technology (including social media), and more.

 I was surprised at how much I learned and the amount of subject matter that touches areas we deal with on a daily basis—from making purchases, to using your UK email, to protecting our students’ information. 

 For instance, did you know that, due to UK policy and the Open Records law, information sent or received through your computer is subject to be reviewed or subpoenaed?  Or, how about the fact that including a favorite comic strip in presentation or handout could be a copyright violation (unless it falls under the doctrine of fair use—which it might for educational purposes)?  Ok, one more.  Did you know that the use of any UK logos (including trademarks and images) is prohibited on personal social media profiles?

 You can register for the course through MyUK, under the Employee Self Service tab, Training.  The title of the Course is Legal 101, and it runs from 3 to 4 hours.  If you are able to take the course, let me know what you think!

erin.norton@uky.edu