MOREHEAD STATE UNIVERSITY
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STAFF CONGRESS MINUTES
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February 1, 2010
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MEMBERS:
Jeff Adkins
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Shannon Harr
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Margaret LaFontaine
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Tina McWain
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Jessica Roe
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Becki Alfrey
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Jami Hornbuckle
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Rhonda Mackin
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Brooke Mills
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William Salazar*
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Ed Beam
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Joe Hunsucker
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Jill McBride
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Amy Moore
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Mark Stidam*
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Rhonda Crisp
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Phillip James
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Paige McDaniel
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Scott Niles
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Todd Thacker
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Craig Dennis
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Kevin Koett
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Rebecca McGinnis
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April Nutter
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Barbara Willoughby
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Scott McGlone
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Joel Pace
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*Denotes member was absent.
Guests:
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Dr. Royal Berglee, Faculty Senate Chair
Phil Gniot, Director of Human Resources
Mike Walters, Vice President for Administration & Fiscal Affairs
Terry White, Staff Regent
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Chair Pace called the meeting to order and also welcomed today’s guests.
Motion:
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To approve the minutes from the January 4, 2010 meeting.
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Proposed: P. James
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Seconded: S. Harr
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Called for Vote:
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Motion passed.
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Chair's Report
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Reported on the number of things that SC members are involved with and reported that for the past year, Chair Pace has served on the Honorary Degree Committee, which is made of the Faculty Senate Chair, SC Chair, Provost, VP for University Advancement, Registrar, two retired faculty members. This committee met two weeks ago and made a motion to expand the membership in the committee to include two faculty members and two staff members. FS will include their chair-elect on the Honorary Degree Committee, and Chair Pace appointed Joe Hunsucker as the other staff representative on this committee as a 2 year designee.
The Registrar has announced her retirement and one of the retired faculty members has passed away, so there may be some changes in the membership on this Committee.
Cathy Thomas was invited to today’s meeting to speak about General Education changes, but has not yet arrived. Upon her arrival, the meeting will be suspended to allow her to address SC.
Committees have done good work this past month and as the semester progresses, this will continue. J. Pace thanked the committees for their work.
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Vice-Chair’s Report
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R. McGinnis has updated the website with current minutes and agendas. Lauren Buck and Lisa Caskey (Holland) have been removed from the website as they are no longer SC members and Scott Niles has been added to the member list.
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Secretary's Report
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J. McBride reported that the current supply budget was $2,265.11
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Committee Reports
Personnel Policies and Benefits
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A. A. Moore stated that there was no report.
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Election& Credentials
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K. Koett stated that the committee has looked at representation on campus and the following are the current demographics:
Executive/Managerial: 70 people – 9% of staff
Professional/ Non-faculty: 363 people – 46% of staff
Secretary/Clerical: 162 people – 21% of staff
Service/ Maintenance: 118 people – 15% of staff
Skilled Craft: 59 people – 7 % of staff
Tech/ Para-professional: 18 people – 2% of staff
According to the SC bylaws, there is a requirement to have at least two people per category, but this represents a problem when the Tech/Para-professional only has 18 people total. This issue will be addressed next month as this committee begins to look at changes to SC representation.
Looking at the Spring 2010 model for elections, available positions will include 2 Executive/Managerial positions, 7 Professional/Non-faculty positions, 4 Secretary/Clerical positions, 3 Service Maintenance positions, 2 Skilled Craft, and 2 Tech/ Para-professional, and 10 At-large positions.
People coming off of SC and would need to pursue re-election if they so choose are:
Executive/Managerial:
K. Koett
J. Hornbuckle
Professional/Non-faculty:
P. James
W. Salazar
Secretary/Clerical:
B. Alfrey
R. Crisp
Vacant position
Service/Maint.:
All 3 positions
At Large:
J. Hunsucker
S. Niles
A. Nutter
J. Pace
J. Roe
There are 15 total positions for the Spring 2010 SC elections. Packets will be sent out later in the semester and the committee has decided to use the paper ballot process at determined locations on several selected days in April. Dates will be selected shortly.
J. Pace stated that several new SC appointments are only valid for one academic year, so those recently appointed will need to seek re-election if they so choose.
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Staff Issues
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S. Harr reported that this committee met last week and included representatives from Human Resources. One item that showed up on the Staff Issues survey results was a request to share with staff a brief synopsis of what SC is doing, and Jami and Jill will be putting this up on the SC website after this meeting.
The committee is moving forward with adding some teeth to the current staff mentoring program. P. Gniot came to the meeting and is working with the committee to move forward on this. J. Pace will be meeting with Mike Walters about this item on Friday. Other items include tying professional development to career ladders and possibly including PD in the future performance evaluation process.
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J. Pace mentioned the current survey on a campus-wide smoking ban. It is about all tobacco use on campus and not just cigarette use. J. Pace asked if anyone on SC is serving on the committee addressing tobacco use on campus. C. Dennis indicated that he is serving. C. Dennis stated that this is a sticky issue in our region since this is such a cash crop for students and their families. The survey is the next logical step in looking at a solution for smoking in and just outside campus buildings. The survey addresses total tobacco use, not just smoking.
Regent's Report: T. White stated that the BOR has not met, but will have a work session February 18, 2010.
Human Resources Report: P. Gniot addressed the Sick Leave Bank. One email announcement went out over the weekend, a little later than planned. As a result, those who want to enroll today are being permitted to do so.
P. Gniot stated that HR will be re-doing the performance evaluations scheduled for next year. The Cabinet will be the committee to decide this change, but input from other groups including Staff Congress will be extremely beneficial. J. Pace indicated that the Staff Issues committee will be working to interface with HR on this change.
T. Thacker asked P. Gniot how long the enrollment period was for the Sick Leave Bank. P. Gniot said that it started when announcements were made during Open Enrollment and it was then extended through January, 2010.
J. Pace asked if the current Sick Leave Bank is fully funded with an adequate number of participants. P. Gniot reported that there were 4000 hours contributed. He will give a full report at the next meeting as to how many employees signed up to participate in the program.
C. Dennis asked when faculty and staff were notified about the change to the sick leave pool. P. Gniot stated that the process started over a year ago. A. Moore stated that the original draft of the program was accepted before May 2009 and it was finalized before the summer. Additionally, Open Enrollment meetings included information on the new Sick Leave Bank and there was a formal letter sent to all employees back in December.
J. Pace asked P. Gniot to report next month on the number of employees who failed to sign up for health insurance and were placed in the HDHP by default.
T. Thacker stated that the Green Committee met for the 4th time and has divided up into sub-committees. April Nutter is the chair of the Public Awareness Committee. Other members include Shannon Harr, Craig Dennis, Becky Alfrey, April Haight, William Salazar, and Jessica Ashcraft. Ann Rathbun is the chair of the Events Committee. Other members include students Ezra Back & Matt Sharp, Rebecca McGinnis, and Tina McWain. Bob Cooper is the chair of the Energy Conservation Committee. Other members include J. Marshall, Connie-Spencer Ackerman, David Jessie, and Hans Chapman. T. Thacker asks that any suggestions be submitted to the respective sub-committee chairs and that the next meeting will be February 26th at 2:00 pm in the Riggle Room. Ann will be working on events for Earth Day and April is working on ways to promote being green. The Green Committee is needing fund for the work being done and is asking both Staff Congress and Faculty Senate for $500 each in support of the Green Committee’s efforts. Since this request came out of committee there is no need for a second. J. Pace called for a vote to approve a granting of $500 in start-up funds for the Green Committee. The motion carried with a unanimous vote. R. Berglee stated that he will bring this request to the Faculty Senate in an effort to match the Staff Congress donation. K. Koett indicated that SGA should also be asked for a contribution to the Green Committee. J. Pace indicated that SGA will be asked to contribute. He also indicated that several students are working with the Green Committee and T. Thacker asked to refer any additional students to serve as members. R. McGinnis commented that one of the students on the committee is using this as his internship.
Old Business: None
New Business: Moved into discussion about the proposals for the election process since it was coming from committee and no vote was needed. The same representative model is being utilized this election with a paper ballot process, held in April with multiple days. A vote was taken and all were in favor of proceeding with the election process as approved by the committee. The motion carried.
K. Koett – QEP update: In utilizing the survey process and the feedback from the campus community, the focus area has been narrowed down to Critical Thinking & Communication. Multiple white papers are being written, which are due in March. This will serve to narrow the focus even further as the QEP process progresses further.
K. Koett- SACS update: 1st draft of the SACS report is due February 12. It will be first shared with University Administration and eventually the entire University community.
K. Koett – Senate Bill 101: Staff members currently serve on Student Disciplinary Committees but do not have the ability to cast a vote. Students and faculty are allowed to vote but by KRS law, staff are not afforded this right. This bill is trying to allow staff members a voice on these committees.
Announcements:
Ø M. Walters commented on the current and future budget issues but he did not have much information about what the next budget might be. He anticipates an 8-8.5% budget cut for next year but will keep SC posted as information becomes available.
Ø Dr. Berglee – The faculty are concerned about budget as well. Faculty Senate is also worried about House Bill 160, which is working to align community colleges with 4 year colleges within the state. R. Berglee indicated that the way the bill looks currently, the community colleges will be responsible for changing their courses so that they match up to those at 4 year state schools. Faculty Senate is also working on the changes in General Education. Faculty are waiting to see how everything comes out and how it will affect the various classes as the changes are implemented. Faculty Senate is also working on re-evaluating their constitution so that is will more accurately reflect the new representation that has resulted with the University re-organization. The goal is to re-organize the FS faculty along the lines of how the departments are newly organized so that the faculty are properly represented.
Ø J. Pace thanked R. Berglee for his support and his attendance at Staff Congress meetings.
Ø PD Days are being reviewed for the spring semester with a tentative identified as May 13th. Technology will be a strong focus of these upcoming sessions. Promotion on the Regional Campuses will be strong. J. Pace asked for suggestions on session topics and presenters.
Ø M. Walters – Requests of the University Needs List from the MSU Foundation are due by February 15. PD programs may be able to be funded via this avenue.
Ø March 1, 2010 – Next Staff Congress Meeting
Ø February 27 – 1st Spring Open House
Ø Men’s Basketball home games on Thursday, February 4th & Saturday, February 8th (ESPNu game- white out).
Motion:
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To adjourn.
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Proposed: M. LaFontaine
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Seconded: J. Adkins
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Called for Vote:
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Passed. Meeting adjourned at 1:54 p.m.
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Minutes submitted by: Jill McBride, Secretary
