Editor’s note: Sandee Bybee, Director of Internal Communications, is a guest contributor sharing her thoughts and ideas about the connection between employees and the university’s mission as a new academic year approaches.

Labor Day, that point on the calendar when things seem to shift from summer to fall. No place is that more evident than on a college campus. Although students will not be back in droves for a few more weeks, IntroDucktions are officially over, and campuses have a new buzz in anticipation of what lies ahead. You can feel the shift in the air as we prepare for a new academic year and accept our assignment on our mission to foster the next generation of leaders.

Some find that assignment written in their job description with roles and responsibilities that include direct interaction with students and clear contributions to the student experience. Others have to look a little closer to see the intersections between their work and University of Oregon students, but they exist for each and every one of us.

Take me, for example. I work in University Communications with a focus on employee communications. I work to get employees the news and information they need to know to do their jobs and engage in the UO community. In my job, I rarely interact with a student and my contributions do not immediately extend to a classroom or a lab. However, I still have an impact indirectly on our mission by serving and supporting those who directly advance teaching and learning.

I see more examples as I move about campus and interact with colleagues in every unit, school and college. We are all here because there are students seeking an education at the UO and researchers striving to innovate and impact the world we live in. Our work, whether directly or indirectly, contributes to our common purpose rooted in scholarship and research.

The Teaching Engagement Program develops tools and provides resources for instructors charged with delivering course content. Undergraduate Education and Student Success builds programs to support students’ educational journeys through advising, the accessible education center and other initiatives.

Employees working at University Health Services, the Rec Center, and in dining halls see day-to-day interactions with UO students assisting them with ailments, contributing to their health journey, or keeping them fed. It is easy to see the connections between the jobs in these areas and service to students.

While the degree of separation between the work and students might be greater in other programs, places and offices, it still exists. Human resources professionals are feverishly working to complete new hire paperwork and kick off the onboarding process for a new cohort of UO faculty members and instructors during what is the largest hiring season of the year.

The Campus Planning and Facilities Management teams complete work orders, conduct maintenance and finish repairs to ready buildings and greenspaces for use throughout the academic year.

Information Services employees perform network maintenance and provide user services in support of teaching and learning.

These are just a few examples of units and UO employees who make key contributions to the operations and maintenance of the institution. Their work may not be at the forefront of the student experience, but, in many ways, they serve as the backbone of the university providing crucial support and infrastructure for teaching and learning to occur and research to be conducted.

Before every corner of our campuses is filled with students and the fall term begins, take this mission moment to consider your own contributions to the UO purpose and find the connection. Your work touches our students regardless of the degree of separation. Their successes are built on the work we each do every day.

Fall term will be here before we know it. Take the time to move through the changes in the calendar with presence and newfound connection between you and our shared mission.  

Care to share how your job connects to the UO mission? Send your mission moment to Workplace@uoregon.edu for a chance to share with others in a future edition of Workplace.