Staff Council

The Staff Council, serving in an advisory role to the President, will examine issues related to staff members and encourage a balanced perspective and the open exchange of information. Its primary charge is to support the professional well-being of Grinnell College staff members while contributing to the College's mission of educating students for the different professions and for the honorable discharge of the duties of life.

The members of the Staff Council will meet a minimum of once per month. Generally, there will be two meetings per month, with one scheduled to include the President and his/her designee for the purposes of guidance, information sharing, and open communication. 

 Send your ideas, comments, suggestions to the Staff Council at staffcouncil@grinnell.edu

  STAFF COUNCIL – FIRST FOUR MONTHS PROGRESS REPORT

(Staff Council minutes are located in PioneerWeb, under the Organization ~For Staff.)

Committee Members:

Mary Phipps, Chair

Mary Phipps has worked at the College since March of 1987 when she relocated to Grinnell from Tacoma, Washington. She has worked in the Office of Admission for the entire time, initially as a member of the support staff and since October of 2007 as Operations Manager. She came to Grinnell with an AA degree from Tacoma Community College and has recently returned to William Penn University’s College for Working Adults to complete her Bachelor’s degree. Mary served previously on the Support Staff Relations Committee and the Affirmative Action Committee. She prides herself on being able to view issues from different perspectives and is excited to be serving her peers as a member of Staff Council.

Kim Stevenson, Co-Chair

Sondi Burnell, Communications

Sondi Burnell has worked for Grinnell College for thirteen years and currently works in Goodnow Hall, under the Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, During Burnell’s term she has worked for the Office of the Registrar and Office of Admission. Burnell appreciates the very diverse climate that exists among the different departments and how each department is successful and have their own unique challenges. Training and experiences in these departments have given her the knowledge to understand the processes and goals of the different segments of the college, and how we all strive for the common mission of the college. Burnell has served on multiple ad-hoc committees: Ombuds, SSRC, Information Technology Assessment, Campus Climate Assessment and Community Space. Serving on these committees has given her the opportunity to represent staff from many different perspectives. Solving challenges and issues that arise in a progressive environment must have representation from all who are impacted to obtain success. Burnell believes open communication and the move toward a more collaborative working environment at all levels of the institution is one of the key components to making Grinnell College the best liberal arts college and the most desired employer.

Kate Flowers

Kate Flowers has worked for the College for almost five years.  She works in dining services as a “Heart of the House” presentation cook. Kate has a degree in culinary arts and is working on her chef certification. Her role on Staff Council represents her first time serving on a campus committee. She views the council as a group of representatives from different departments working to help staff with their concerns.  Kate is very excited to be a member of the staff council!

Tim Hammond, Secretary

Tim Hammond is in his fourth year as Grinnell’s assistant coach. He is a native of Grinnell, having graduated from Grinnell-Newburg High School and Luther College in Decorah with a bachelor's degree in health and minors in K-12 Health Education, Spanish and Environmental Studies. While competing at Luther, Hammond was named most inspirational performer on the swim team. His coaching experience includes head coach at Decorah High School, coaching club swimming in Grinnell and serving as an assistant at Luther. In addition to his coaching duties at Grinnell, Hammond is the recruiting coordinator and director of the strength and conditioning program for swimming and diving, as well as the College’s director of intramurals. He’s also serving as aquatics director for the new natatorium. Tim chose to participate in staff council to be sure that there were interested parties who would represent all those employed at the college in a fair manner.

Sue Kolbe

Sue Kolbe began working for the college’s Department of Biology in 1991. She graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelors of Science in Distributed Studies in Microbiology, Zoology, and Chemistry. After working for six years as a Medical Technologist in hospital laboratories she did post-graduate work in Science Education at the University of Iowa. In her job as a biology laboratory assistant she works closely with students, faculty and staff as a lab instructor and departmental resource. Sue is new to committee work at the college and is excited about the formation of staff council and serving on it. She sees staff council as a bona fide venue for incorporating the unique perspectives, concerns, skills, and vision of staff into the fabric of Grinnell College as a whole.

Beth Meldrem

Beth Meldrem has worked at Grinnell College for 21 years. She worked 15 years in the Communication office and is currently serving as assistant to the Vice-President for Development. Beth grew up in Brooklyn and graduated from BGM community schools. She attended the American Institute of Business and graduated in 1989 with an AA degree in Business Administration. Beth has served several times on the Support Staff Relations Committee and now serves on the Staff Council and Process Analysis Committees. She is dedicated to her work at Grinnell College and committed also to the support and enhancement of communication among staff.

Barb Shell

Barb Shell has been a member of Grinnell College’s staff for 35 years, joining the college shortly after receiving a bachelor’s degree in home economics from the University of Iowa. Barb has worked in different areas of the Dining Services department over the years, including eighteen years as associate director and manager of the (now closed) Cowles Dining Hall. Her current duties include the oversight of the department’s office functions, and the operation and maintenance of the campus ID system, the Pioneer One-Card. Through her work on the Staff Council, she is particularly interested in maintaining focus on how college programs, policies, and benefits are administered across the campus and how they affect different segments of the staff. She looks forward to the new opportunities for the open exchange of information across campus that the Staff Council will be involved in.

Carlie VanWilligen

Carlie has been with the college since July 1996, 15 years if you are doing the math. She spent the first 11 years working for Information Technology Services, and since 2007 has been in the Office of Institutional Research, renamed in 2011 to the Office of Analytic Support and Institutional Research (that is a mouthful!). Carlie has lived in Poweshiek County for most of her life - except the decade from age 18-28 when she was out "discovering herself!" She didn't get very far, only to western Illinois, and returned to her roots when she started at the college. Carlie has a degree in Mathematics and Secondary Education from Simpson College, and a Master's in Business Administration from St. Ambrose University. She has served on the Benefits Committee and is a member of the Staff Council and Assessment Task Force. Carlie participates in Staff Council to help the college develop action plans that signal not only do we care about our employees, but that we respond to concerns that resonate with the staff. She also wants to encourage more transparency in campus operations, and facilitate the development of a formal avenue for sharing of information and activities across offices.