Office of Business and Finance

WORKING AT THE SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT

Welcome to the School of Government. This orientation information is designed to provide you with an overview of the School, including its mission, values, culture, and basic structure. Information about School facilities and operations will be a part of your face-to-face orientation process. In addition, you can find most of what you need to know about the School’s employees and policies on the intranet site, which we encourage you to visit for more detailed information. You can access the intranet from sog.unc.edu.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

You will learn much about the culture of the School by working here. If you have questions about how we do things, feel free to consult with your supervisor, colleagues, other employees, or any member of the School’s management team. The School of Government values a non-discriminatory and diverse workplace. Consistent with the University, within the School we are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our community and ensuring that educational and employment decisions are based on individuals’ abilities and qualifications. Educational materials that we provide to our clients reflect this policy. We value the contributions of all employees and have embraced a philosophy of transparency, support, and inclusiveness in our interactions with coworkers. Although each of us plays a different role in the School’s work, we recognize the expertise and effort that each person contributes. We place great emphasis on open and effective communication among employees, regardless of status or seniority. 

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The School of Government advances its mission through teaching, advising, and research and publication. Our work is practical and applied, focusing on skills, knowledge, and resources for public officials. Our work is also scholarly, focusing on the advancement of knowledge in our fields of expertise and the training of graduate students, reflecting our place as a school within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The work is carried out by faculty (tenure track, lecturers, adjuncts, and visiting), EHRA professionals, and staff members, all of whom bring their expertise to the mission of the School. Our work is often carried out in partnership with individuals and organizations from inside and outside the University. The School is not organized into formal academic departments. All faculty members report directly to the dean. Beginning in 2018, School faculty and EHRA employees who advise, teach, and do research/ scholarship were organized into faculty divisions:

• Law and Finance (includes subdivisions of law; budget, finance, and taxation; and community and economic development)
• Management, Administration, and Leadership (includes leadership and governance and areas related to policy and evaluation)
• Courts (with the Judicial College Director as chair)
• MPA Program (with the MPA Director as chair; every faculty member of this division is also a member of another division).

Each division has a chair appointed by the dean. Individual faculty still report directly to the dean. We hope that divisions will help faculty create and work on common goals that in turn will help the School make strategic, relevant, and efficient decisions.

Programmatic structures exist in selected areas of the School’s work, including entrepreneurial initiatives such as the Center for Public Technology, the Environmental Finance Center, the Judicial College, the Community and Economic Development program. The only University degree-granting program within the School is the Master of Public Administration program, which is focused on preparing leaders in public service and is offered in two formats: on campus and online (MPA@UNC). Administrative functions are organized into operational divisions, which include Business and Finance, Development, Facilities and Distribution Services, Human Resources, Information Technology, Library, Marketing and Communications, Program Management, Publications, and Registration and Support Services. 

STRATEGIC PLANNING

The School is committed to strategic planning on an ongoing basis and has undertaken periodic concentrated efforts to align and organize our work and service delivery with the needs and emerging trends that affect our mission. The School created a Strategic Management Committee in 2018 to advise the dean and faculty. Additional information about the committee, including membership, can be found on the SOG intranet under the Strategic Planning 2018-19 link.

SMC responsibilities include:

• Strategic Direction and Planning. The Committee is responsible for helping “the Dean and the faculty determine strategic direction for the School in its teaching, advising, and scholarship.”
• Long-Term Planning. The Committee will take the lead in facilitating the development of long-term strategic priorities for the School. There will be extensive involvement by all faculty. We conducted a strategic foresight process in the summer of 2015, which was a new approach to setting long-term priorities. Three strategic foresight subcommittees made their final recommendations in June 2016. One task for the Strategic Management Committee will be to assess our progress in implementing those recommendations and to identify any next steps. The Committee also will make recommendations about the timing of future long-term planning for the School, as well as the most appropriate process for that planning.
• Allocation of Faculty Resources. The Committee will develop an internal process for how the School makes decisions about filling vacant or new faculty positions. As a starting point, the Committee should look at how our earlier program planning committees have addressed the allocation of resources, including funding for things other than faculty positions.
• Guidance on Strategic Decisions. New programmatic opportunities regularly arise in the course of the School’s work. A recent example was the invitation to partner with Lead for America in launching Lead for North Carolina. The Committee will serve as a source of analysis and guidance on programmatic issues that arise in the regular course of our engagement with public officials.
• Faculty Planning Divisions and Chairs. The Committee will request information periodically from the divisions in order to make recommendations about long-term planning, the allocation of faculty resources, and other strategic issues. The division chairs are to coordinate the planning work of their divisions, and they are expected to work collaboratively with other chairs to identify areas of common interest for possible collaboration. Faculty members may belong to more than one planning division, and everyone is expected to participate in the work of the divisions. 

COMMITTEES AND MEETINGS

Several internal groups meet regularly, and other committees meet as needed. Attending these meetings and joining committees, where relevant to your work, will help you keep up with current issues affecting the School and provide you with opportunities to interact with your coworkers. Faculty Meetings (monthly, as scheduled by dean): These meetings provide an opportunity to focus on issues that are more closely related to our substantive work—what we do rather than how we do it. These meetings are for faculty members and EHRA professionals who do faculty-type work (in contrast with those who work primarily in an administrative capacity). Topics include how to respond to client inquiries; ethical issues and confidentiality; faculty recruitment; which programs and substantive areas of work we should continue, expand, or decrease; and best practices in teaching, advising, and publishing. These meetings occasionally focus on issues that apply only to faculty members, such as faculty committee structure and processes or the School’s appointment, promotion, and tenure (APT) policy. In those situations, EHRA professionals may choose not to attend the meeting. Special Faculty Meetings on Promotion and Tenure Matters: These meetings are scheduled as necessary for faculty members to advise the dean on promotion and tenure matters. Attendance at these meetings is governed by our APT policy and University rules. The dean consults only the full professors in matters of appointment to tenure-track positions, reappointment to those positions, and appointment and reappointment to fixed-term positions; the dean consults with all tenured faculty members on any promotion to associate professor conferring tenure. Other Committees: The School has numerous committees organized to address specific functions within the School. You can find a list of these committees on the School intranet site. Examples include the Faculty Recruitment Committee and Teaching Development Committee. 

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AND OTHER SOCIAL EVENTS

The School has a variety of annual events designed to bring us together for food and informal interaction. These include our annual recognition of outstanding employees, events for retiring employees, as well as the annual winter holiday party. Please come to these events and consider volunteering to serve on a planning committee. These are valuable opportunities for faculty and staff to get together and socialize. We are always interested in new ideas for events; please talk with a Human Resources team member if you have ideas for events that will bring us together. Held annually on October 12, University Day is a celebration of the history of UNC-Chapel Hill. School faculty and staff members are invited to participate; it is an opportunity to connect to the larger campus community and learn more about the University. 

INTERNAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES WORK HOURS AND THE DAILY LIST

Traditionally, we try to be at work when public officials are at work. Staff work hours are set based on the demands of the position as determined by the supervisor. Faculty members and most EHRA professionals set their own work hours. If you know that you will be out of the office or otherwise unavailable on a particular day, please e-mail the receptionist (reception@sog.unc.edu) the day before. Each day at 9:30 a.m., the receptionist posts the Daily List by email sends it to employees who have subscribed to the e-mail distribution list. This information provides other School employees and clients with information about your availability. 

LEAVE REPORTING

The University utilizes the Time Information Management (TIM) system to maintain leave balances. School of Government employees record work time and/or leave in the TIM system. Documenting leave in the system in a timely fashion will ensure an accurate and current total of your leave accruals. E-mail reminders will be sent by the School’s Human Resources division to remind you of the approval deadline. More information about TIM, including log-in information, can be found at finance.unc.edu/controller/payroll-services/tim. Detailed information about leave can be found at hr.unc.edu/benefits/leave-and-holidays. Questions about leave should be directed to hr@sog.unc.edu. 

UNIVERSITY POLICIES

All University employees are responsible for abiding by University policies. You can access these policies at ethicspolicy.unc.edu. TRAVEL State Car: A state car may be reserved for School business through the Facilities and Distribution Services division via the employee intranet. Travel to Conferences for Professional Development: You must receive advance approval from your supervisor for reimbursement for travel and registration expenses associated with professional development. The senior associate dean approves professional development for faculty. Your request should include a list of anticipated expenses, including airfare, hotel, meals, and registration fees. Travel for Regular School Business: The School covers the cost of in-state travel to conduct regular School business. There are reimbursement limits for meals and mileage; generally, we cover hotel expenses fully. Travel advances are not provided, except for registration fees. For prompt reimbursement, provide travel information and original receipts for lodging or air travel to the Business and Finance division after travel. University Travel Policies can be found at financepolicy.unc.edu/section/travel. Current reimbursement rates can be found atfinancepolicy.unc.edu/policy-procedure/1302-statutory-provisions-and- maximum rates-for-travel.

WELCOME TO THE SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT

Like most organizations, we are learning and growing. If you think something is missing from either the orientation process or your work-life at the school, we encourage you to contact a Human Resources staff member, who would be happy to talk to you. Welcome to the School of Government. We are glad you are here!