Meeting the FacSci PAT: Fostering Attentive and Shared Governance
For several months now, the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Science has been organizing a series of meetings with the administrative and technical staff (PAT). These exchanges, held within the individual academic sections in collaboration with the University Huma Resources and the Faculty Committee of Diversity and Equality, reflect a clear commitment to building governance that is more grounded, inclusive, and transparent. They embody a key aspect of the current mandate: envisioning the Faculty as a collective body where every role, every experience, and every voice matters.
Meetings have already taken place with the teams from the sections of Physics, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Chemistry and Biochemistry, and with the Department of Astronomy. Every meeting began with a welcome from the section chair, followed by remarks from Dean Bonadonna presenting the Faculty’s strategic vision and emphasizing the importance of the role of PAT in the functioning and development of the Faculty.
The sessions also featured themed presentations from the Human Resources Division (on available support, working conditions, mental health) and the Equality and Diversity Committee (on their various initiatives that include harassment prevention and work-life balance).
Beyond the information shared, it is the act of listening that lies at the heart of these meetings. Through open discussions, spontaneous feedback, and shared suggestions, these encounters have helped bring to light aspects that are often left unseen. They help identify immediate needs that can be addressed in collaboration with the sections and the RH and, at the same time, they contribute to a broader initiative: the development of a PAT plan at the Faculty level, envisioned as a structural strategy for better integrating and supporting the work of PAT within the whole Faculty.
These meetings give tangible form to the values of responsibility, creativity, and inclusivity championed by the Dean’s Office. They reaffirm that PAT are a vital pillar of the academic community—holders of expertise, continuity, and the capacity for organizational innovation. Further steps are planned in the coming months, continuing a momentum built on openness, exchange, and collective commitment.
SHARE THIS STORY: