Don’t Read This . . .
. . . if you’re one of the more than 170 staff
members who currently receive the Chronicle as
a PDF e-mail attachment. If, however, you are
receiving the Chronicle in printed form, but would
prefer to receive each new issue as an e-mail
attachment, read on.
All you have to do is return this issue of the
Chronicle to Staff Council via campus mail. You
will receive future issues (in full color) as an email attachment. Electronic versions of all issues
of the Chronicle (dating back to 1993) are also
available on the Staff Council Web site at
www.smith.edu/staffcouncil/chronicle.
While not every Smith staff member has daily
access to the Internet, those who do should consider opting out of receiving a printed copy of the
newsletter to help save paper.
Spotlight on
The Activities Committee
Recently, the Staff Council Activities
Committee met at the Campus Center to plan upcoming events and
programs for employees. For anyone involved in events planning, you
can imagine the effort and energy it
takes to plan events for a diverse staff like Smith’s. The committee, chaired by Wendy Martinez, has done a wonderful
job—she enjoys the challenge! Members have developed a
great lineup of recent and upcoming activities, which include
sponsoring a food drive to benefit the Easthampton Community Center, hosting a reception for the staff and faculty Pet
Portraits Exhibition, organizing a bus trip to New York City,
screening family movies, and planning a “Winter Wonderland” celebration with cookies and brownies.
The committee’s mission is to plan opportunities for staff
to come together. During last month’s second annual Ciderand-Doughnut event, nearly 500 delicious cider doughnuts
were served. Laura MacEwan, a committee member, commented on the success of the event: “I think it was great.”
We’re Having a Food Drive!
The Staff Council Activities Committee is sponsoring a
food drive to benefit the Easthampton Community Center.
The Center currently services over five hundred families
weekly. When the Center opened its doors four years ago,
only fifty families were receiving services. Additionally, the
Center is the only agency in Hampshire County that offers
supplemental food throughout the school year to children
who are part of the free lunch program.
From November 29 through December 10 Staff Council will be collecting non-perishable, non-expired food items
in drop boxes at the following locations on campus: SGA
Office in the Campus Center; First Floor of College Hall;
Facilities Management (126 West Street); Helen Hills Hills
Chapel; Office of Admission. You can also bring your donations to the “Winter Wonderland” celebration on December
9 (drop-off between11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in the Carroll
Room).
Suggested items to donate include peanut butter, jelly,
low-sugar cereals, canned soup, pasta, spaghetti sauce,
tuna fish, and canned vegetables.
At The Pet Portraits Exhibition Opening
Check the Staff Council Web site for more details on these
and other upcoming events.
December 9 (Thursday) Winter Wonderland Cookie Event
Campus Center Carroll Room, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
January 8 (Saturday) Winter Family Movie: Toy Story 3
Stoddard Hall Auditorium, 12:30 p.m.
GET INVOLVED WITH STAFF COUNCIL
All staff are welcome to attend meetings or serve as nonvoting members on committees. Check the Staff Council
Web site for more information on meeting times, locations,
and minutes from past Council meetings www.smith.edu/
staffcouncil.
photo by Chris Gentes
March 22 (Tuesday) Book and Media Exchange
After talking to Deirdre Manning, Smith’s Office of Environmental Sustainability director, in her office at Facilities Management, one comes away with a quick lesson on the importance of responsible energy use. In the job for just two
months, Manning, who has a staff of two part-timers, is passionate about her work and is no-nonsense when it comes to
saving energy. Her role is “to raise awareness about the impact of energy use and to advocate for changes to reduce
energy use and other waste,” on campus. An energy expert,
who previously worked at Boston College as its director of
Sustainability and Energy Management and as a commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities,
she manages to balance her energy hat while being sympathetic to students, faculty, and staff.
“Consumers are getting hit from all sides,” she says, as
she thinks about how busy people’s lives have become and
the impact of the recession on pocketbooks. She advocates
for people to actively change some behavior as a way to reduce green house gases. A simple suggestion is to conserve
energy as much as possible by turning off lights when leaving
a room. Another is putting one’s computer on standby when
going to a meeting. A small change of switching incandescent
light bulbs to compact florescent lights can reap tremendous
rewards like reducing one’s electric costs for lighting by 75
percent.
Her philosophy revolves around the idea that people can
make better, informed choices. One behavior change that
can do a lot of good is cutting down on “phantom” power use
from TVs, microwave ovens, cable boxes and battery chargers. Another is composting food so that it does not end up
producing unwanted and poisonous methane gases in landfills. Buying food locally is a way to cut down on transportation emissions. So far, Manning has taken her campaign to
the SGA Senate, Staff Council, and the HR Fair. She welcomes invitations to departmental staff meetings to remind
people about sustainability issues. “Sometimes it’s hard to do
some of the things . . . but when you think about a lot of people making small changes, it adds up to a lot,” says Manning.
Vision for the Future for Smith
 Become carbon neutral (limit burning of fossil fuels,
which contributes to greenhouse gases)
 Aggressively adopt new energy technology
 Get as close as possible to using only energy the college can produce itself, such as solar energy
 Increase renewable energy credits
 Become more aggressive about energy conservation
(use energy wisely)
 Invest in renewable energy technologies
Photo by Eric Sergel: “Cricket”
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle at Smith
Eric Sergel (Public Safety) has contributed several photographs to
the Online Creative Gallery. For more information and to view all
of the work in the gallery, visit www.smith.edu/staffcouncil/10.
New Elder Care Web Resource
Many in the Smith community will need to provide care at
some point for an aging parent, in-law, spouse, partner, or loved
one. A 2009 survey conducted by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
showed that twelve percent of Smith faculty members already
spend more than three hours per week on elder care, and that
nearly half of the faculty are struggling to balance their workloads with the responsibilities of caring for elderly parents.
With a grant from the Sloan Foundation, the Center for Work
and Life has developed a guide to support members of the Smith
community as they face the challenges of providing or procuring
care for their elders.
The Center for Work and Life does not advocate for any one
type of care, nor for any facility or organization mentioned in this
guide. Instead, we aim to introduce you to the range and diversity of what is available in terms of elder care, focusing primarily
on government and nonprofit organizations and resources.
The Center for Work and Life has launched a new comprehensive Web site designed to help staff and faculty with the challenges of providing all levels of care for an elder. This information can be found at www.smith.edu/eldercare.
Please deliver to:
The Chronicle Monthly is funded by the Smith College
Staff Council and is published by and for Smith College
staff. Staff Council encourages submission of photos,
announcements, and event listings for publication in
this newsletter and/or online. Staff Council and the
editorial staff reserve the right to edit submitted material for purposes of clarity or length. All rights reserved.
Managing Editor: Chris Gentes cgentes@smith.edu ext. 2600
Contributing Editor: Kim Alston kalston@smith.edu ext. 2753
Creative Advisor: Ken Molnar
Proofreaders: Carla Cooke, Marti Hobbes, Mimi Lempart
Elliot Offner sculpture illustration by Chris Gentes.
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