Submitted photo
The Staff Council at Lorain County Community College volunteered to repaint a gazebo on Bainbridge Rd. in North Ridgeville during the fall of 2016.

Rebecca Marion

Managing Editor

The Staff Counsel at Lorain County Community College works behind the scenes looking to enrich the lives of the community and better the campus environment with little regard in receiving accolades for their good work.  The Staff Counsel was founded in Sept of 1992 after a campus community survey ascertained that the staff at LCCC felt the least involved when it came to making decisions concerning the campus. In an effort to remedy the situation, interested staff members and the college administration worked in tandem to create a body of staff representatives at LCCC, establishing The Staff Counsel (SC).

Seeking to support the SC is the Staff Council Executive Committee (SCEC) comprised of elected staff who speak on behalf of LCCCs staff at large. “A lot of times people will think of the word advocating in a negative connotation and it really isn’t, it’s to continue to uplift all aspects of the college,” said the vice president of SCEC, Kionna McIntosh.

As the governing body and voice for the staff the SCEC works with the administration to advocate and improve working conditions. Recently,  they’ve increased tuition reimbursement for staff and are working to enhance other policies and procedures.

One of the SCEC main objectives has been improving communication amongst the staff by creating a podcast to help them stay updated on developments. “For those who might not be able to come to the events, we provided them with what we’re doing currently like what we might have talked about at Operations Counsel,” said McIntosh.

Another goal of the SC is to serve the community by taking part in volunteering for various events like the Thanksgiving dinner held at LCCC and repainting a gazebo in North Ridgeville. “We understand  that we uphold the philosophy of the new president, Dr. Ballinger, which states the community is our middle name,” said McIntosh.  “It’s important that if we are representatives that we also take it outside of our walls and show and set examples.”

Keeping with the tradition of good work, the SC has causal “Talk to me Tuesday” in CC 115 from 10-11 AM on the first Tuesday of every month. The venue is open to staff who may have quandaries. “There’s always a case of anonymity, so when people come to us with concerns that they don’t want their name attached to those concerns, we are very respectful of that when we take it forward to our administration,” said Janice Lapina, the president of SCEC.

If any member of the LCCC staff is interested in joining or has any concerns pertaining to the staff counsel, they are welcomed to contact Janice Lapina at (440) 366-7521, or Kionna McIntosh at (440) 366-4192.