Who We Are

Our History

The University of Texas Staff Council was developed in 2001 as the result of efforts by Human Resources (HR), with widespread support from President Larry Faulkner and the University Leadership Council.

In a fall 2000 letter to university staff, HR discussed the establishment of a Staff Council which would represent the interests of all staff on a variety of workplace-related issues and have elected representatives from across the campus. The Associate Vice President for Human Resources, Kyle Cavanaugh, indicated that in his prior positions at Rice and Vanderbilt Universities, he had worked closely with staff councils to ensure communication between staff and the university.

Goals & Purpose

The goal of Staff Council is to promote a positive, collaborative work environment. Its purpose is to:

• Serve as a representative advisory council;
• Provide a vehicle for communication of interests, concerns, and issues that affect staff;
• Present recommendations to university leadership; and
• Provide nominations to university standing committees.

Organizational Structure

Staff Council Representatives are nominated and elected by eligible staff members at the university into one of approximately 70 Staff Council districts. These districts follow the general UT Austin organizational structure, first by Vice-President portfolio, then by Dean. The districts are designed so there will be a Staff Council Representative for roughly every 100 employees.

A full-term for a Staff Council Representative is 2-years. Odd-numbered districts elect representatives in odd-numbered years, and even districts in even years. In districts with multiple seats, the final decimal numbers indicate election years (i.e. the representative for district seat 160.1 is elected in odd years, 160.2 in even years). Vacant seats are up for election in the upcoming election cycle regardless of whether they are odd or even numbered seats.

The Staff Council Representatives serve on at least one committee and elect officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Parliamentarian) and committee chairs annually.

Please see the UT Staff Council Bylaws and Standard Operating Procedures for more details.