Adrian Goodwin came to work for the University five years ago from a California branch of the Hughes Aircraft Company. A supervisor in Yale's Office of Environmental Health and Safety, she finds that the campus environment is "so diverse" that "sometimes you feel the need to learn a little bit more than what goes on within your own department." After she became an active member of the Management Issues Forum MIF Ms. Goodwin discovered that, among other benefits, the organization could help her better understand the inner-workings of the University and "find out the Yale way of doing things."
Ms. Goodwin's experience is similar to that of other management and professional employees -- the group of Yale affiliates MIF is geared towards, says Brenda Naegel, co-convener of the organization. "We try to put our finger on the pulse of what's most needed for management and professional employees at the University at any given time," she says.
Described as "the single largest managerial voice on campus," MIF was formed about 20 years ago in response to the desire expressed by many M&P employees to communicate with their colleagues across campus, says Ms. Naegel. The physics department assistant administrator became involved with MIF in 1993, after working at the University for two years. "At the time MIF got started, there was no place information could be shared about common management issues," she says. "MIF provides that opportunity to discuss and resolve management issues, and at the same time it helps build personal and professional partnerships at Yale."
The primary way MIF creates such ties is through regular monthly meetings held at various campus locations, notes co- convener Lisa Wohlert, an administrator in the department of pediatrics. These meetings are centered on a specific topic and usually are conducted by a guest lecturer or panel of experts.
"Our monthly MIF meetings are probably the best way to plug into Yale's M&P network," says Ms. Naegel. "We want to have topics that Yale's diverse M&P community can relate to. Last year, for example, [Yale faculty member] Dr. Joseph Warshaw discussed changes in health care, which affects everyone." Among the topics that have been discussed this academic year are how the World Wide Web can be used for financial and administrative applications at Yale; changes to the Local 34 labor agreement; and perceptual differences between men and women in the workplace.
While all 2,600 of Yale's M&P employees are considered potential MIF members, the organization's active membership -- defined by Ms. Naegel as those M&P employees who have attended at least one meeting over the past two years -- numbers around 750. Attendance at meetings, which usually are held the third Thursday of each month, averages around 50, says Ms. Wohlert.
Most of the meetings are held at the Peabody Museum of Natural History "because the biomed shuttle goes there," says Ms. Naegel. "But we do try to schedule at least a couple of meetings a year in the medical area because we don't want anyone to feel left out." The February meeting -- during which Brian Tunney, director of labor relations, discussed the Local 34 agreement -- actually was held at two sites, via videoconferencing. MIF is open to similarly creative and inclusive forms of communication, including newsletters, e-mail and a Web page, says Ms. Naegel.
One of the more popular meetings, held last November, centered on Project X. "That meeting was very well attended," says Ms. Naegel. The degree of interest was so great that this year's January meeting also focused on aspects of Project X, which is "going to change the way everybody does business throughout the University," Ms. Wohlert says. The MIF meeting served to address employee concerns about the changes Project X will bring to the University, she adds.
A popular -- and rapidly expanding -- MIF activity is its annual expo, "MIF-YES" Management Issues Forum-Yale Exposition of Services . Through the event, which is organized by Steve Favreau, manager of support services, Yale departments can present information about their goods and services to University colleagues. In excess of two dozen departments participated in the fourth expo, held last October in Woolsey Hall. About 600 people attended. "It's an opportunity for people to get out and meet the people they deal with on the phone," Ms. Wohlert says. "It's nice to be able to put a face with the name."
Among the exhibitors are regular supporters of MIF, which has no operational budget, says Ms. Naegel. "Anything we do, someone donates," she notes. "George Page, for instance, has helped with campus mail services, and Joe Cinquino [manager of ITS Reprographic Imaging Services] has been a big help with all of our flyers. People use their talents to benefit all of us."
Not only does MIF offer its members the prospect of learning and sharing new information, it also affords them the opportunity to acquire and/or utilize skills. "MIF gives management and professional employees somewhere to learn and grow," says Ms. Naegel, who notes that she has had "the chance to gain leadership skills" through the organization. "I've heard a number of people say MIF has been tremendous in helping them learn skills you can't learn anywhere else."
Chirstiana Starkbaum, a junior industrial hygienist at OEHS, agrees that MIF is "a good opportunity to share with other departments and learn what kinds of things they do." But she wishes that she had been aware of the organization when she first started working at the University last September, she says. "MIF is excellent," says Ms. Starkbaum, "but new employees should know about it at orientation, instead of just randomly learning about it."
That is just the kind of information MIF wants to hear from its members, says Ms. Naegel, who notes that steps have been taken to include information about MIF during the routine orientation for new management and professional employees.
"My hope is that in the future we can communicate more and more," Ms. Naegel says. "As long as there's a need for new information and to network with one another, MIF will remain a strong force."
The next MIF meeting will take place Thursday, May 22, at 2:45 p.m. at the Peabody Museum auditorium, 170 Whitney Ave. The speaker will be Peter Vallone, assoicate vice president for administation, who will discuss the topic "If It Ain't Broke Break It! Human Resource Services: A Strategy of New Human Resource Models to Position Us For the Future." The meeting is open to all M&P employees. Parking is available in Lot #18, next to the Peabody. Those who work at the medical school and surrounding areas may prefer to take the Yale shuttle, which leaves 333 Cedar St. at 2:30 p.m. For more information, call Ms. Naegel at 432-3393 or Ms. Wohlert at 785-3347.
-- By Felicia Hunter