STAFF COUNCIL MEETING
Thursday, June 24, 2004
2:00 p.m., A&S 2-51
Present: Rose Murner (presiding), Barbara Monnett, Susan Demmon, Neil Jones, Ann Portwood, Mike Augustine, Kathy Hill, Carol Brown, Myrna Olsson-Owen, Monica Wood, Patrice Reaves, Paula Jefferson, and Doris Henderson. Absent: Cindy Potts, Sheryl Snow, Kim Ireland, Kathy Hill.
Call to Order. Rose Murner called the meeting to order at 2:04 p.m.
Approval of Minutes. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to accept the minutes of the May meeting as written.
Sexual Harassment Refresher Training. A staff member asked to have this item (and the next three items) included on the agenda. As it stands now, sexual harassment training is offered at new staff/faculty orientations, and the employee wondered if refresher training could be offered on a yearly basis. Rose checked with Carol Ward in Human Resources, and Carol said she’d be happy to conduct a refresher session. Once she has a set date, she’ll announce it so interested employees can sign up.
Computer Security Awareness & Computer Backups. Rose checked with Jim Wolfgang about these issues. He is currently trying to secure funding to provide a centralized backup system for faculty and staff. There may be some mandatory security workshops provided in the future. Rose is open to any suggestions we may have regarding security and backups.
Pay Raises. There will be merit raises this year, and they will be effective January 1, 2005. President Leland is still committed to the pay plan study, and she and her cabinet will devise a multi-year plan to address the results of the study. The problem cannot be solved in just one year because of the amount of funds needed to implement the study.
Departmental Phone Bills. The staff member wondered why departments had to pay their own phone bills since a lot of the calls are more university-related than department-related. Rose asked someone in the Business and Finance Division about this but was unable to get an answer. It is our understanding that the university used to pay all the phone bills, but the bills got out of hand, and it was thought that giving departments responsibility for their own would make them more aware of charges incurred.
Employee Leave Issue. Another staff member brought this to Rose’s attention. The staff member questioned the way leave time is calculated for employees who work three-fourths time. For example, a person who works three-fourths time earns 75% of the regular monthly leave hours (3/4 x 10). That calculates to 7.5 hours per month. The figure is rounded down to 7 hours (instead of up to 8 hours) per Board of Regents policy. A request to change the policy has been brought to the attention of the BOR before and was denied. This would be a good idea to discuss at the State Staff Council Conference. PeopleSoft software is not equipped to calculate new hours in one-half hour increments either.
End of Year Purchases. At our last meeting, Rose asked for purchasing suggestions for end of the year purchases. Neil Jones compiled the list, and we decided to buy a backless bench with a plaque (identifying donation of the bench by Staff Council) to be placed outside the new library and some banners to go on the lampposts around campus.
Election of 2004-05 Officers. New officers were elected to join the new chair, Carol Brown, for the upcoming year:
Neil Jones Chair Elect
Ann Portwood Secretary
Patrice Reaves Treasurer
Junior Member Monica Wood
Senior Member Mike Augustine
Monica Wood will handle the requests for staff development funds, and Rose will make the necessary changes to the online forms. Thanks to all who were willing to serve.
Other Business.
The Shared Leave Document is on the agenda for the first meeting of the University Services Committee. From there, it’ll be considered by the University Senate. This leave plan is a benefit to both faculty and staff, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be approved at every level. It’ll probably be January 1 before we’re able to implement the plan.
There was some discussion about the mail delivery on campus. Carol or Rose will check with the Business and Finance division again by letter or e-mail to show Staff Council support for an additional person to be trained to fill in when the regular mail carrier is out.
The Statewide Staff Council Conference will be in Columbus on October 7 and 8, 2004. All staff are eligible to attend, Staff Council Development funds can pay for registrations, and interested staff should complete their request for funds after July 1. We get a discount when we register three at a time, so Monica will process the commitment requests for those interested in going.
Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 2:50 p.m. This was our last meeting for this fiscal year. Meeting dates/times for the new fiscal year will be announced later.