By Kelli Sederavicius

SAC’s annual Staff Development Conference will be held on June 13^th in the Bluebonnet Ballroom at the University Center.

This year’s theme is Building a Better Work You. The sessions will focus on soft skills, including work-life balance, having difficult conversations, and time management. Callum Knitowski, a Staff Development Conference committee member, says that these were topics that staff had expressed interest in.

The size of the conference allows for the training in these workshops to reach many people. “The committee worked hard to keep the conference on campus this year so that it would be easier to attend,” said Knitowski.  Nearly 200 people attended the conference last year. La’Kisha Fredericks, also a conference committee member, hopes that momentum will continue and there will be even more participation this year.  “So many training opportunities focus on faculty, staff can feel overlooked. This conference allows staff to be seen,” Fredericks said.

The conference is open to any UTA staff member. The event lasts all day, finishing around 4:30. Knitowski says the sessions flow—each one building on the previous ones, so he suggests attending for the full day.

Registration information and more details will be sent out in an email closer to the date of the conference. The cost, which includes breakfast and lunch, will be covered by the departments.