MOREHEAD STATE UNIVERSITY
|
STAFF CONGRESS MINUTES
|
August 3, 2009
|
MEMBERS:
*Jeff Adkins
|
Craig Dennis
|
Margaret LaFontaine
|
*Tina McWain
|
William Salazar
|
Ed Beam
|
Shannon Harr
|
Rhonda Mackin
|
Brooke Mills
|
Todd Thacker
|
*Lauren Buck
|
Joe Hunsucker
|
Jill Mc Bride
|
Amy Moore
|
Barb Willoughby
|
*Lisa Caskey
|
*Phillip James
|
*Paige McDaniel
|
*April Nutter
|
|
| Rhonda Crisp |
Kevin Koett
|
Rebecca McGinnis
|
Joel Pace
|
|
*Denotes member was absent.
Guests:
|
Terry White, Staff Regent
Phil Gniot, Director of Human Resources
Mike Walters, Vice President of Administration & Fiscal Services/ Staff Congress Liaison
Dr. Royal Berglee, Faculty Senate Chair
|
Prior to the meeting being called to order, Tim Holbrook was in attendance and took a group picture of the Staff Congress members who were present as well as a picture of the Staff Congress Leadership Committee for an upcoming press release written by Jason Blanton.
Chair Pace called the meeting to order at 1:06 p.m. and began by introducing the guests. Dr. Bergelee indicated that Faculty Senate will be having their session shortly after fall classes start. He stated that he is interested in enhancing the connection between Faculty Senate and Staff Congress and plans on coming up with better ideas for these groups can collaborate more.
M. Walters stated that he looks forward to working with Staff Congress over the next year and improving communications between Staff Congress and Faculty Senate. He also wants to work with Staff Congress to become more involved with promoting campus activities. Both he and the President are interested in the creation of a Green Committee that will look at ways the campus community can become better stewards of our resources and our environment.
J. Pace thanked M. Walters for his support of Staff Congress this past year and his role in enabling the Staff Congress offices to be moved from Waterfield Hall to a more visible location next to Faculty Senate on the first floor of Allie Young Hall.
J. Pace asked members to look over the previous meeting’s minutes and called for a motion to approve the minutes.
Motion:
|
To approve the minutes from the July 6, 2009 meeting, with corrections.
|
|
Proposed: William Salazar
|
Seconded: Kevin Koett
|
Called for Vote:
|
A recommendation was made by K. Koett to remove the old members from the minutes and there was a call for a vote with the recommended changes.
|
Chair's Report
|
J. Pace reported that he has asked Lauren Buck to serve as Parliamentarian and she has accepted the chair’s request, but is out today.
He stated that he will bring this topic up in new business, but wants Staff Congress to look at areas in which the group needs to improve. He would like SC to look at sponsoring a day of Professional Development that would take place during Fall Break, 10/8 & 10/9. This would be an opportunity for SC to put on several sessions, partnering with Human Resources, to do something different to allow the staff persons on campus expand their professional development. Surveys will be done on campus to see what the university staff would like to see in these sessions. The President has stated that professional development is something that staff can improve on and this would be an excellent opportunity for SC to show that this group is doing things to make the University better and improve the lives of our staff. This body will be participating in this event in leadership positions. SC members should promote this event in our own offices. Deadline will be soon and surveys of campus staff will need to take place quickly. C. Dennis mentioned that Eric Jerde has a new title, and J. Pace indicated that Staff Congress would certainly welcome the opportunity to partner with E. Jerde in a professional development capacity. Additional partnership opportunities might include local industries in the region.
|
Vice-Chair’s Report
|
R. McGinnis reported the website has been updated and stated that all members have been placed on committees except C. Dennis. Rhonda Crisp’s phone number has been corrected. Section in bylaws that references committees has also been updated to reflect changes. She indicated that there were several responses to the interest form available on the SC main page. K Koett asked that the needed changes be made to the Service Maint. Section to accurately reflect the SC membership. Inform Vice-Chair as changes to titles change with re-organization.
|
Secretary's Report
|
J. McBride reported that the new year’s supply balance is $2851.54
|
Committee Reports
Credentials and Elections
|
K. Koett reported that the committee will be coming to the table in new business with recommendations to fill all SC vacancies except one.
|
Staff Issues
|
S. Harr reported his committee has made some recommendations for appointments to open standing appointments committees. In the online response, there were 43 responses, with many being new people. 19 vacancies were filled. Their choices were ranked and the committee did it’s best to place people on a committee of their preference. Many people requested to be on Employee Benefits, but there was only one opening, a Tech/ Paraprofessional.
The committee would have liked to place everyone on a committee, but there were just not enough open places.
Two people will be serving second terms; J. Pace will be serving again on Job Reclassification and M. Esposito will serve again on Campus Environment. Philip James will serve again on the Athletic committee, after replacing Al Baldwin previously. All of these appointments will be brought to SC in New Business.
Under Technology Resources, no appointments were made at this time. The administration said to hold off until a decision is made on how this committee will go forward.
Appointments were made to the Wellness Committee as well. J. Pace asked P. Gniot to comment on the status of the Wellness Committee. P. Gniot indicated that the committee was still active but there is some discussion about coordinating the Wellness Committee with the Wellness Advisory Committee.
J. Pace indicated that after SC approves this committee’s recommendations, letters will go out to those who have been appointed as well as to those who were not appointed. Those who were not appointed will be encouraged to continue their pursuit of campus involvement as opportunities arise.
J. Pace reported that University Standing Committees are to be reporting minutes from their meetings to Faculty Senate, Staff Congress, and a copy to the Library. Some are doing this, but others are not. Chairs of standing committees will be contacted to remind them of this requirement and to inform SC and Faculty Senate of any vacancies or resignations so that these can be filled, thereby providing for the needs of the various committees on campus.
S. Harr indicated that after the committee approvals are made by SC, then these new appointments will go up on the Standing Appointments website.
J. Pace indicated that he is creating a Chair’s Manual that will include basic information on what committees do, what processes occur and what letters are going in and out from SC. Former chairs have been contacted to obtain important information and J. Pace asked members to provide him with any information that they think should be included in this manual. It will be left for the next chair as a point of reference for SC processes and procedures.
|
Benefits and Compensation
|
A. Moore indicated that there was no report.
|
Regent's Report
|
T. White reported that there will be a special meeting on August 11, 2009 followed by the ground-breaking for the new Recreation Center. There will be a workshop on September 17th and a regular quarterly meeting on September 30th. T. White reported that he has not heard what will be on the agenda for the quarterly meeting.
|
Human Resources Report
|
P. Gniot reported there was nothing to report at this time. T. Thacker asked about the sick leave bank. P. Gniot indicated that communication would start when faculty come back for the fall semester and that those who are interested would have the opportunity to sign up during open enrollment, with implementation to begin in January 2010.
|
Old Business: None.
New Business: K. Koett made recommendations to fill the current vacancies on SC. The recommendations are as follows:
Jami Hornbuckle – Executive/ Managerial
Rebecca Alfrey – Secretarial/Clerical
Anthony Burton – Service/ Maintenance
Scott McGlone – Service/Maintenance
Mark Stidham – Service/Maintenance
Jessica Roe – At Large
Vacancies – Tech/ Paraprofessional
There was a call for questions or discussion. There were no questions or discussion. T. Thacker called for a vote. R. McGinnis seconded the call. All were in favor of the recommendations. The motion carried. K. Koett indicated that letters from the Elections and Credentials Committee would be going out to those who were recommended, indicating they will be serving 1 term.
S. Harr brought forth the recommendations for filling positions on Standing Appointments Committees made by the Staff Issues Committee. The recommendations are as follows:
Campus Environment – 2 staff positions
Mike Esposito (2nd term)
Laura Rucker (2009-2011)
Employee Benefits – 1 Tech/Paraprofessional
Mills (2009-2013)
Intercollegiate Athletics – 1 staff position
Phillip James (2009-2012)
Job Reclassification – 1 exempt, 1 Exec/Managerial, 1 Skilled Craft, 1 Alternate
Ed Beam (2009-2013)
Gene Caudill (2009-2013)
Joel Pace (2009-2013) (2nd Term)
Peggy Gray (alternate) (2009-2013)
Library – 1 staff member
Alvin Madden-Grider (2009-2011)
Planning – 1 member of staff congress
Rebecca McGinnis (2009-2013)
Service – 1 prof/non-faculty, 1 tech/paraprofessional, 1 service/maintenance
Louise Cooper (2009-2011)
Eddie Chapman (2009-2011)
Kay Hampton (2009-2011)
Scholarship – 1 prof/non-faculty
R. Kay Calhoun (2009-2011)
Student Life – 1 prof/non-faculty
Craig Dennis (2009-2011)
Student Media Board – 2 staff
Julie Ferguson (2009-2011)
Scott Niles (2009-2011)
Technology Resource – no appointments at this time
Wellness – 1 prof/non-faculty, 1 secretary/clerical
Dan Collins (2009-2011)
Janie Porter (2009-2011)
There was a call for questions or discussion. There were no questions or discussion. K. Koett called for a vote on the recommendations. T. Thacker seconded the call. All members were in favor. The motion carries. All recommendations were approved.
Discussion:
T. Thacker asked about the new floating days and if they were going to be placed only before Christmas.
M. Walters commented that the floating days were not locked into Christmas only. He indicated that some may be around July 4th. He stressed that these new days were designed to allow the university to achieve energy savings by having many buildings off-line. He also stated that these days will be on a trial basis this year and future days will depend on the academic calendar. J. Pace stated that SC or the planning committee would like to be included in the process.
K. Koett reported on SACs re-accreditation process indicating that this was a critical year. He stated that there would be talk on the QEP at convocation and that there would be meetings on selecting a QEP theme soon. He encouraged staff to become involved in the process and that there will be additional presentations at future SC meetings. M. Walters stated that this was an important university process and it was a good opportunity for staff to become involved and learn more about areas that they are not normally exposed to.
J. Pace reported that there would be an ad hoc committee formed on “going green” and that committee membership would be finalized by the next SC meeting. He also stated that there are reports from a previous committee that would provide valuable material for this new committee. R. Berlgee stated that everyone at MSU, faculty and staff included, can use this as an opportunity to work together to find ways to make conservation work, such as turning lights and projectors off when not in use.
J. Pace indicated that he would be looking for assistance on the Professional Development project including help with polling campus, presenter connections, room scheduling.
Announcements: The next meeting is September 14th, 1 week after Labor Day. The Board of Regents will be meeting on August 11. The ground breaking for the new recreation center will also take place on August 11. Convocation is on August 12, with service awards being announced at that time. Following Convocation a lunch will be provided for all faculty and staff. Move in day is August 14 and M. LaFontaine stated that there are 115 volunteers so far, with a need for an additional 30 more. K. Koett reminded members to be careful traveling around campus on 8/13 & 8/14 and encouraged everyone to cooperate with the volunteers. Classes begin August 17th.
J. Pace thanked everyone for their work and stated that the Standing Committee recommendations were submitted early this year. R. McGinnis stated that the Journey of Hope would be taking place today, with some 27 bicyclists spending the day and night on campus. M. LaFontaine stated that the University Games would take place again this year with information to come out later about the schedule, etc.
J. Pace thanked the guests that were in attendance.
Motion:
|
To adjourn.
|
|
Proposed: W. Salazar
|
Seconded: M. Lafontaine
|
Called for Vote:
|
Passed.
|
Minutes submitted by: Jill McBride, Secretary
