What We Do

The PAT Council serves as both a sounding board for PAT staff to bring issues of concern to the Council so they can research things or potentially take action; and is an advisory board to the UNH President. So sometimes the Council makes recommendations or is asked to weigh in on things coming from the President’s Office. Sometimes new policies come out of the work of the Council, such as the Family Sick Leave policy that was put into effect a few years ago.

Council members commit to a 2 year term. They can run for another term but cannot serve more than 2 consecutive terms. The commitment involves a monthly Council meeting with the other reps on the first Wednesday of the month. At monthly meetings, there are updates on items of interest to PAT staff, updates from the subcommittees, someone from the HR office gives updates and answers questions, there’s an open forum for questions or issues.

Beyond attending meetings, reps will answer questions from constituents, or bring an constituent's concern to a Council mtg. Also each rep serves on a subcommittee. The subcommittees are: Nominations; Benefits & Compensation; Communications; & Professional Development. Council members can be elected to a Council office (Chair, Vice Chair, or Secretary). There is also an annual day-long retreat in January where all councils (PAT/OS/EE) meet and make yearly goals and have speakers on timely topics.

Council meetings are open to the public; anyone can attend a meeting to find out how they are run and the kinds of items that are discussed.

The Council is a good way to become more involved and knowledgable on what underlies issues at hand at UNH, and meet folks from other areas of the university. It is a good learning experience on how administrative processes work at UNH, and what the main concerns of staff are.