• Feature Story: Exit Interview Process Improvement
• Get-to-Know a Broncho: Erin Logan, Title IX Coordinator and Director of Student Conduct
• Employee Referral Winners and Process Updates
• Policy Changes
• UCO Young Professionals Faculty and Staff Association Upcoming Events
• Tech Corner: Tech Tips for Completing Your Annual Required Trainings
• Faculty Senate Update
• Staff Senate Update
• August New Faculty and Staff
• September Birthdays
• September Years of Service

Sydney Wood, Employee Relations Specialist

It’s been said by many, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be where you’ve always been.” A motto that consistently makes me reflect on how I can improve, whether that be in my personal life or at work. I’m lucky enough to work in an environment full of people who have that same dedication to improvement. A constant question sits in the back of our minds: what can we do today to make a better future for ourselves and the university as a whole? The same sentiment extends beyond the departments of Talent Management and Human Resources. I see it in the participants of LUCO, MDP, 21CPI and the various other professional development programs on campus. I see it in the addition of the Inclusive Community office and our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. I see it in the various committees that push the campus towards positive change. Having been surrounded by this innovation, I’ve been looking inward over the past year. How can I contribute to the university’s success? What processes can I improve or make more efficient? How can I better benefit the HR team and the university as a whole? Out of many potential ideas that came to mind, one stuck out to me more than others: the exit and transfer interview process. 

This project started as a labor of love towards the end of 2020. After managing the exit interview process for a few months, I noticed that we received a lot of useful feedback from separating employees, but it was difficult to track and relied on humans to pinpoint trends that could span over years. While we always passed this feedback on to supervisors and tracked what we could, I knew there was a better, more data-driven approach we could take.

As a university, we conduct exit interviews to gain insight on what we do well and what can be improved. Additionally, we look at them to find trends as to why people are leaving the university or a specific department. The first stop in revamping this process was looking at what questions we asked and comparing them to the information we wanted to gather. I wanted to make sure the results lined up with the “why.” I started off with identifying the major stakeholders: supervisors, cabinet members and People and Culture. Taking this into consideration, I investigated how other organizations and universities conduct exit interviews. Through this research, I came up with a questionnaire that will not only provide beneficial information but makes it far easier to track trends across various aspects.

In this new format, separating employees will complete an online survey rather than a paper copy. In addition to the survey, we will still meet individuals in-person to give them an opportunity to share any other feedback that the form may not capture. This new format will allow us to address gaps that exist in the current process and personalize the questionnaire to the various types of separation—faculty versus staff, involuntary and voluntary, etc.

Alongside a monthly report, where we track monthly turnover and reasons for leaving, we will also be creating annual reports for both Human Resources and cabinet members. Now with the ability to use Power BI, these annual reports will make tracking this valuable feedback easier and gives us more information in which to make data driven decisions.

I look forward to rolling out the new process and format in the coming months. If you have any feedback over the current process or the proposed new process, please feel free to provide it to me.

Erin Logan, Title IX Coordinator and Director of Student Conduct

What is your background?

Growing up, my dad worked for the airlines, so I had the opportunity to live in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Florida. Finally settling into life in my early 20s, I found the University of West Florida in Pensacola, where I earned my undergraduate degree in public relations and a graduate degree in educational leadership. After completing my Masters, I started my higher education career in housing and residence life at the University of Arkansas in 2005. In 2006, I accepted a new residence life opportunity at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, GA.

During my time at VSU, I started dating Brett Logan. In May of 2008, we got married and moved to Oklahoma so he could attend law school. Our original plan was to move after he graduated, but we ended up loving the area and people so much we decided to stay and make the OKC metro our forever home. My first position in Oklahoma was as the assistant director of overseas programs for Oklahoma City University. This position allowed me the opportunity to work with a student base in Singapore, as well as the chance of a lifetime to visit Singapore. In 2009, however, I realized that something was missing, and I wanted to get to serving students through positive and educational conduct processes.

For the next eight years, I would do just that, as well as campus programming, service learning, new student orientation, student clubs and career services, while serving as the director of Student Life at Oklahoma City Community College. In 2017, I was ready for a change and accepted the position of director of Student Conduct and Service Learning at Rose State College. In my four years at Rose State, I completed a second master’s degree in strategic public relations from George Washington University and my doctorate in public administration from West Chester University. But most importantly in 2017, Brett and I adopted our amazing son, Henry, who will be four-years-old in November.  

Tell me how you first got involved at UCO.

My first day as the title IX coordinator and director of student conduct was Aug. 16. While not yet fully involved at UCO, I am excited to meet people, collaborate and find my place within the UCO team. Being here is a dream and I am looking forward to making the most out of this experience.

What would you say your strongest beliefs are about your contributions to the university?

I have served colleges and universities within the field of student conduct administration for over 15 years and Title IX administration for nearly ten years. I have a wealth of experience, training and knowledge in this area, but more importantly is how I view these processes. For me, these crucial processes are a piece of the overall educational process. They are not punitive, but rather an opportunity for all participants to learn how to be better, more adjusted humans while at UCO and when they venture outside of our walls. This cannot be accomplished in a silo, though. Therefore, with a collaborative and community-focused approached, I will work with our campus community to educate and assist those we serve.

What do you do when you are not working?

My amazing husband and 3.5-year-old son keep me on my toes, but I make sure to also find time to care for my community. I love volunteering and have a passion for our local nonprofit organizations who care so much for those within our community who need it most.

Paige Buchanan, Recruitment Specialist

We are excited to announce this year’s Employee Referral Winner. Congratulations to Crimson Mason, administrative assistant in the Modern Languages department, on winning a reserved parking space for one year. Thank you for referring Kressley Werth, our new administrative assistant in the History and Geography department, to UCO. We are incredibly lucky to have the both of you!

We are also excited to announce changes to our Employee Referral Program. These changes include an update to the referral process as well as the changes to the prizes. 

New process:

1. Refer someone you know and trust will be a great addition to UCO
2. Ensure they add your name (the referring UCO employee) on their application
3. After they’ve been employed for one year, submit the employee referral form to jobs@uco.edu
4. You receive a $250 bonus and the chance to win a $1,000 or a parking spot for one year.

One parking space will be awarded in July and one in December. The parking space is a reserved space in close proximity to the winner’s work station and is reserved for a full year. The parking space awarded in July will be for the full fiscal year and the parking space awarded in December will be reserved for the full calendar year. The $1,000 bonus will be announced at fall convocation and the winner will be drawn from any referral from the previous year. 

We would like to thank Campus Enterprise Services for being a great partner by providing us with two reserved parking spaces. Please reach out to jobs@uco.edu if you have any questions about the employee referral program.

Mary Deter-Billings, Manager of Employee Relations

Each year, Employee Relations conducts a review of current UCO policies and updates as necessary in partnership with those who manage the policy. In an effort for these policy changes and modifications to be more accessible to the campus community, a page has been set up on The Hub to showcase exactly what changes took place during the policy review. Visit the Policy Changes page on The Hub to see this year’s changes and modifications.

If you have additional questions regarding policy changes, email Employee Relations. 

The UCO Young Professionals Faculty and Staff Association (UCOYP) serves as a resource group to connect and support professionals in their careers at UCO through networking, professional development and community engagement opportunities. UCOYP is open to any employee at UCO, no matter their age or experience level. See upcoming events below:

Leading through Adversity Q&A

Join us for our September event, “Leading through Adversity,” Friday, Sept. 24 from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Robert S. Kerr Room on the third floor of the Nigh University Center. Hear from President Patti Neuhold-Ravikumar as she answers questions submitted by UCO Young Professionals and discusses her challenges, victories and lessons learned while leading through a global pandemic. To help President Neuhold-Ravikumar prepare, we ask you to submit your questions via this Qualtrics form by Friday, Sept. 17. You can RSVP now by sending an email to Jakey Dobbs.

Beneficial Benefits Banter with UCOYP

Join us from 2-3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1, via Zoom for a virtual discussion with the UCO Benefits team. The discussion will focus on the upcoming open enrollment period including new tools offered this year. They will also discuss enrollment plans and tips on how to choose a plan. Contact Jakey Dobbs to RSVP and receive the Zoom link.

Email Jakey Dobbs to join the email group, visit the UCOYP blog and connect with UCOYP on Facebook to stay up to date on upcoming virtual events.

Stephanie Edwards, Manager of Web Strategy and IT Communications

2021 is flying by and now is the time to make sure you are on track for completing your annual required training. Log into the UCO Learning Center to access your assigned learning, view/print your Learning Transcript and track personal learning.

For more information on how to access the UCO Learning Center and your required annual trainings, check out our Knowledge Base Article (KBA): Learning Center: A Guide to UCO’s Professional Development Platform.

Kristi Archuleta, Professor of Organizational Leadership, Adult Education and Safety Sciences

The UCO Faculty Senate typically holds meetings the second Thursday of each month at 2 p.m. The fall meetings for 2021 begin the second Thursday of September, Sept. 8. Due to fall break, the October meeting will be held Tuesday, Oct. 12 (pending Faculty Senate approval). The November meeting is Nov. 11 and in December we will meet Dec. 9.   

Faculty Senate elections will begin at the start of the fall semester for the following open seats for the 2021-2023 term: 

• College of Business (CB) (1 seat) 
• College of Fine Arts & Design (CFAD) (2 seats) 

To join meetings please send a request to Faculty Senate President Jennifer Barger-Johnson at jbarger4@uco.edu or ask any Faculty Senate representative. For detailed information regarding contacting Faculty Senators, meeting agendas and minutes, please visit the UCO Faculty Senate Blog.  

Dr. Amanda Putnam
Associate Professor & Chair
English

Dr. Chunghyeon Seo
Assistant Professor
Criminal Justice

Dr. David Rehfeld
Assistant Professor
Donna Nigh Department of Advanced Professional and Special Services

Dr. Erin Logan
Director of Student Conduct & Title IX Coordinator
Student Conduct

Milos Ajdinovic
Assistant Professor
Mass Communications

Melissa Katzenberger
Assistant Athletic Trainer
Athletics

Dr. Margaret Horner
Lecturer
Psychology

Dr. Yuyun Zhou
Assistant Professor
Accounting

Dr. John Walkup
Director of Sponsored Programs
College of Math & Science

Hannah Parker
Athletic Admin Intern
Athletics

Jimmy Francis
Assistant Rowing Coach
Athletics

Dr. Alicia Welch
Assistant Professor
Educational Sciences, Foundations, and Research

Kathleen Wilhite
Coordinator
Student Engagement

Jill Lynch Silva
Talent Development Specialist
Human Resources

Janelle Zabel
Financial Aid Counselor III
Financial Aid

Jewelle Scott
Instructor
Nursing

Mary Matlock
Development Officer
Advancement

Dr. Marcio Bezerra
Assistant Professor
Adult Education & Safety Sciences

Tyler Wallace
eSports Coach
Campus Enterprises

Chantel Wolff
Administrative Assistant II
Mass Communications

Morgan Walls
Student Success Advisor
College of Business

Not Pictured

Jacob Boggess
James Bowlin
Kait Burden
Cory Castoe
Dr. Kari Dyer
Donald Guy
Melissa Hartley
Matthew Jenkins
Kevin McCoy
Dr. Benjamin Pratt
Dr. Mark Reavis
Jamison Rhoads
Farmer Schaeffer
Kayla Thomas
Joseph Vann

If you are an employee who would prefer not to have your name included in the birthday section of the Broncho Beat, please email jrobertson13@uco.edu. 

If you are an employee who would prefer not to have your name included in the years of service section of the Broncho Beat, please email jrobertson13@uco.edu.