Michael Ginsburg becomes Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources

By Susan S. Stevens

THE NEW Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources is Dr. Michael Ginsburg, a long-time UIC employee. He assumed the role in July 2015.

“I HAVE worked at UIC for the past 37 years in Student Affairs,” Ginsburg said. “Prior to joining UIC Human Resources (UIC HR), I served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (VCSA), a position I held for 31 years. My primary responsibilities involved financial and human resources management and oversight for the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, which has a budget of over $100 million and more than 500 employees.”

HE HAS a deep understanding of Academic Professional jobs being converted to Civil Service, having overseen the analysis of each position under Student Affairs and the resulting conversions of 90 positions to Civil Service.

“WHEN THE Job Analysis Project began in 2010, my former units were some of the first to participate in the Job Analysis Project,” he said. “I understand job analysis, having lived through the process, experiencing it as an employee and member of the senior leadership team. I took this task very seriously and worked closely with UIC HR throughout each step in the process.”

THE VCSA LEADERSHIP team kept employees informed at each stage of the process, and explained to each individual employee details about the decision on their classification.

THE JOB Analysis Project initially arose in response to audit findings from the State Universities Civil Service System (SUCSS). “We are now moving toward a more comprehensive, ongoing approach to job analysis. I believe the campus will find these ongoing efforts to be more flexible and collaborative. We will be working toward the establishment of an appeals process with appropriate input from APAC and other campus partners.”

MORE CONVERSIONS might be coming. “We are in the process of completing the Job Analysis Project for a few remaining colleges and finalizing some additional conversions in other colleges,” Ginsburg said. “But at this point it would be difficult to say how the final phase will turn out.” Over 2,300 jobs have been analyzed to date.

SENIORITY WAS a concern for many employees, which is understandable to Ginsburg.

“CIVIL SERVICE has a prescribed method of determining seniority for converting employees,” he said. “Seniority is accrued from the date that it can reasonably be determined that a position description meets the criteria of a Civil Service classification. UIC follows this method for calculating seniority based on the information available within UIC HR.”

EMPLOYEES CAN submit supporting documents related to their seniority. “There are occurrences when a department or an employee may have records that can supplement the HR information used to determine Civil Service seniority. In these instances, employees can submit additional documentation to UIC HR Compensation for review.”

GINSBURG IS committed to maintaining an open line of communication with employees, Academic Professional or Civil Service. “Anyone who knows me or has worked with me can tell you that I try to be transparent with those I work with,” he said. “I hope this will be a hallmark of my leadership in UIC HR. I believe in open and ongoing communication with all members of the campus. If UIC HR has to make a difficult or unpopular decision, we will explain fully why this is the case. For situations where there is a ‘gray area,’ we will work with the campus to find collaborative ways to work together and focus on ongoing process improvement measures.”

APAC CAN help him. “I look forward to working closely and in partnership with APAC,” Ginsburg said. “I want there to be an open line of communication. I bring a unique perspective to UIC HR. I understand HR from the unit level and can use my experience to help initiate positive change within UIC HR and for the good of the campus. My goal is to make UIC HR a more transparent and customer-focused unit, providing partnership and support to the campus. I hope APAC will support me in this endeavor by continuing to provide feedback and support.”

GINSBURG CAN be reached at Ginsburg@uic.edu or (312) 413-9416.