President's Address 

This letter is a little bittersweet for me as it is my final one as Staff Senate president. It has been an honor, and I have thoroughly enjoyed serving my colleagues in this position. I am also excited to move into the role of past-president and support President-Elect Josh Duplechain, as he leads Staff Senate next year. I cannot wait to see all that he, his executive committee, and our senators accomplish in 2023-2024.

There are so many things we accomplished this year that I’m proud of, but there’s still important work to be done.

LSU Staff Senate Resolution 22-01 – Calling for the review and elimination of fees for staff enrolled in the Tuition Exemption program. This resolution is near and dear to my heart. We’ve been working to advance this resolution for a few years, and I hope the Staff Senate will continue to work with the administration to make this happen. We also need LSU Online to be an option for those in the Tuition Exemption Program at 100% paid tuition with no payback penalty if the employee leaves the university.  

Staff Senate Scholarships – Each year, we fundraise to award scholarships to staff members and the dependents of staff members pursuing degrees at LSU. I am excited to announce that thanks to an incredibly generous donation on Giving Day from Dr. Gaines Foster, we will be able to increase the amount and number of scholarships we award. Dr. Foster said he was glad that as he retired, he could acknowledge his long-held respect and appreciation for all our staff does for the university and, especially, for our students. We are so grateful to him for his amazing generosity. I can assure you that it will be life-changing for many staff and their children.

Flag Presentations – Staff Senate worked with the Office of Academic Affairs a couple of years ago to update Policy Statement 63 (Regarding Death of a Student or Employee) and add a notification and business process, but most importantly, a process to honor the service of employees with 10 or more years of service who pass away while still an LSU employee. 

We had some incredibly beautiful and heart-rending moments at our meetings, as I presented families with flags that flew over the Parade Ground in honor of Sandra Kirby, Ricky Jackson, and Jennifer Smith. Those flags were in display cases built by the talented carpenters at Facility Services. We greatly appreciate the President’s Office for providing funding for flags, display cases, and plaques.

LSU Foundation Staff & Faculty Career Excellence Fund – Staff Senate collaborated with the Foundation, Faculty Senate, and the Office of Human Resource Management to create a process and application form for employees to apply for funding for professional development and training. Staff and instructors will soon be able to apply for this funding to reduce the cost of attending conferences, trainings, and other professional development opportunities. 

Holiday on Campus – More than 300 students, staff, and faculty members brought their children and grandchildren to celebrate the holidays with us at HOC. They enjoyed free food, arts and crafts, cookies, raffle prizes, and pictures with Santa and other holiday characters. 

Staff Appreciation Week – Staff Senate held its largest and best-attended Staff Appreciation Week this year. From PAWS@Work comfort dogs, college/department appreciation events, a crawfish boil, Happy Hour at the Club, and a tailgate at Tiger Park with jambalaya from Campus Federal Credit Union and t-shirts and cookie cake from Staff Senate, we showered our well-deserving colleagues with appreciation and gratitude. I hope next year is even bigger!  

New Staff Receptions – We welcomed new employees to the LSU family with breakfast, dinner, raffle prizes, speakers, and resource tables. Even Mike the Tiger showed up to celebrate our new colleagues!  

Lactation Rooms – The first lactation room, located in the Student Union, was the result of a Staff Senate resolution. This effort led to the creation of the Pregnancy and Parenting Committee, which has worked with campus partners to add 18 more lactation rooms, with more coming in the future! 

Critical Hire Search Committees – Staff Senate Executive Committee members are currently serving on searches for the Associate Vice President for Facility & Property Oversight and Police Chief positions. We appreciate Kimberly Lewis, executive vice president & chief administrative officer, for including us on these searches as staff representatives.   

Partnerships – We are able to do all that we do for staff because of our many partners. I want to thank and share my gratitude to the President’s Office, Tiger Athletic Foundation, Alumni Association, HRM, Auxiliary Services, LSU Dining, Campus Federal Credit Union, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and the Louisiana Seafood Board for all of their support and contributions this year. They provided much needed resources, and many of them worked alongside us as volunteers at our events. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I also greatly appreciate the collaboration and support from Faculty Senate President Inessa Bazayev. It was a wonderful experience to work with you on issues that affect both staff and faculty, and I hope that our organizations continue to work together to make LSU the best workplace in Louisiana.

Thank you to the LSU Foundation for the incredible support and new resources they will begin providing to Staff Senate this year. This will help us greatly increase our advocacy, appreciation, and awareness efforts for staff.   

Staff Senate Executive Committee – I served alongside an extremely supportive and talented group of people this year. They are friends, so it has been wonderful to see the incredible changes in their professional and personal lives this year. They are simply the BEST! Thank you, Josh, Amber, Valori, Henri, and Quinneka. 

Senators – Thank you to our amazing senators who chaired and served on committees, provided amazing ideas and feedback, and planned and executed our events. Each one of you brought gifts and talents that ensured our success this year. 

Thank you to our administrative coordinator, Melonie Milton. You are the glue that holds it all together. I appreciate all of your hard work.   

In closing, I have loved LSU and its mission since I arrived on campus 25 years ago, and that will never change. I have found many ways to serve our students, faculty, and staff throughout the years, and that will continue. Thank you for the honor of serving as your Staff Senate president three times. Geaux Tigers!

Thank you.

Tammy Millican

Staff Senate President