Staff Senate Minutes - September 21, 1999
Employee of the Month: Dan Clark, HVAC Department of Facilities.
Present: Dave Bargen, Dennis Choplin, Dee Ellingson, Shelly Fleck, Carol Hines, John Lakey, Kathy Livingston, Tim McMullen, Mike Miller, Bonnie Mumm, Sue Petersen, and Jane Sheldon.
Absent: Deb Huryta.
- Call to Order
- Agenda
Mumm added committee appointments under new business. Adoption of Amended Agenda (Bargen/Fleck)
- Minutes/Correspondence
- Minutes
Minutes were approved as printed.
- Correspondence
It was noted that correspondence in the form of a thank you had been sent to the following persons: the Chancellor, Deb Huryta, and Melinda Poyourow. Notes of congratulations were sent to Swede Anderson and Sharon Pelc. A thank you was received from Sharon Pelc.
Revised Staff Senate by-laws were passed out to all members.
Mumm shared portions of the annual report she had received from Michelle Fleig-Palmer, coordinator of the Dual Career Program. As of July 26th, eighteen accompanying partners have received job search assistance. Lakey noted that the service is open to all new employees who have an accompanying partner.
- Unfinished Business
- Marketing/Spirit Committee
Hannah Anderson will be going out in the community selling Blue & Gold Flags. Volunteers are also welcome to assist with selling flags. If anyone knows of any activities on campus where flags need to be displayed, contact University Relations. Carol Hines was presented with a certificate from Staff Senate for her creative suggestion of the UNK Spirit Flags.
- Faculty Senate Resolution on Inclusion
Members were reminded that earlier in the year, the matter of staff being included in department awards was brought before the Senate and a motion was made to ask Dr. Richard Miller, on behalf of Staff Senate, to present a request to the Faculty Senate in support of that inclusion. The following resolution has been passed by the Faculty Senate: Senator Miller/Robert Young moved that the Senate endorse a request by the Staff Senate that departmental staff be included in events designed to recognize departmental accomplishments. Motion passed unanimously.
The question was asked if there was a procedure that needs to be changed. It was noted that the instructions/invitations for the ceremonies come from Central Administration. The issue will be presented to the Chancellor.
- Staff Award for Excellence
It was noted that the Chancellor would be contacted to finalize the procedures for the award for next year. Staff Senate had recommended the request for nominations go out in the spring.
- Making a Difference
The schedule for Making a Difference was presented, along with a task sign-up sheet. Mention was made that additional financial assistance is needed and any suggestions would be appreciated. Since Fleck is working on getting a door prize item of considerable value, the question was raised if the prize is a personal one that can be taken home or is it to be used at the individual's University location. Also if it is a personal prize, does the individual have to count that as income? This will be researched. Lakey noted that the University is working with the following tax support entities in Kearney: the Educational Service Unit, the City, the County, and the school district. One area of interest is professional development. They will be sending 40 individuals (10 apiece) to Making a Difference to see if they like it and would like to join next year. If so, the event would become even larger and the university would have some financial assistance with the expenses. The group is also looking at sharing some equipment, resources, etc.
- Committee and Search Reports
- Staff Senate Election Committee
Livingston noted the ballots are out and are due back Thursday. Friday the committee will meet and count the ballots. She noted there was a 20% overall acceptance of nominations which is up from last year. She suggested it might be because Staff Senate has had more exposure or people want to get more involved. For whatever reason, it looks like people are taking more interest in Staff Senate.
A suggestion was made that the election process be changed. Instead of asking for nominations, people be asked to submit their name if they are interested in serving. Then everyone could vote on those names. That would eliminate the long calling lists to see if people would be willing to serve. It was noted that right now people could nominate anyone, including themselves. The current process allows you to nominate two people and supplies you with a complete list of eligible employees. It was mentioned for Student Senate, students declare themselves as candidates and then run for the office. One concern was that people might not take the time to respond. On the positive side, you would know in advance that that person would be committed to the organization. It was mentioned that the current process tries to get more people involved. It was also mentioned that the long list of nominees could result in someone being elected with only a few votes. It was suggested that maybe all we need to do is to just add a statement on the current mailing, that people can nominate themselves if interested. Also when calling those nominated, you have the opportunity to explain what Staff Senate does, etc. It was decided to turn the matter over to the Procedures Committee.
- Child Care Committee
Lakey reported that at the end of August RFPs (Request for Proposals) were sent out to the eight major childcare providers in Kearney. Of those eight, none responded. The committee met with all of them and showed them the lab facility. Lakey felt the problem is the small size of the facility. It can not accommodate enough children to make money (or break even) for the care provider. Our facility will only hold 25-30 children. So now it is back to the drawing board. However, the Chancellor would still like to have the facility run by an outside vendor, rather than trying to provide the service ourselves. He noted that they still have some options and will pursue those, none of which would be an option for this coming spring. He noted things did not go the way the committee thought they would, but they are still optimistic. Lakey mentioned that the remodeling of the kitchen had already been planned before the childcare project. Some adjustments had to be made to meet the Department of Health requirements. Lakey was asked about some of the results of the original survey. He noted that students' needs differ quite a bit from employees' needs. Students would like to see a drop in with partial days, especially evenings. They don't want to be tied into eight-hour childcare. However a lot of childcare providers have trouble providing that kind of service and it is a lot more expensive. Most students would also like to have it on site. With future construction, there could be space freed up for a larger facility, but there is nothing now to meet the need. So for now, the option is the child lab and the demand will probably be higher than the 25-30 it can handle. There are grants out there where startup money is available, but that takes time also. Right now the time crunch is the problem. Lakey noted the need is there. The question is how do we get it accomplished.
- Student Life Functional Review
Mumm stated she had been invited to sit on that committee. Others are David Clark, chair; Barb Audley, Holley Hatt, Mike Bohnhoff, Jean Mattson, Cynthia Sneed, John Kundel, and Kim Schipporeit. This is strictly an advisory committee. The purpose of the committee is to review the functions of the Student Life division. This is to be completed before the search for the vice chancellor of this division, which will probably start in the spring. Since there will be a change in leadership, this is viewed as a good opportunity to look at all the functions in that division and decide if they should be retained there or if they should be moved to another division. Questions the Chancellor raised are "Should student recruitment and retention (enrollment management) remain in Student Life?", "If you believe that some responsibilities should be reassigned, how would we redefine Student Life mission?", "Wherever the responsibility for student recruitment and retention is located, how should it be orchestrated, organized and directed?", "How, in particular, should we engage ourselves campus-wide in the planning and execution of comprehensive student recruitment strategies?", "Should we reexamine the role, functions, and reporting authority of the registrar's office?", "Can we consolidate or otherwise streamline admissions and records activities now conducted by the registrar, admissions, financial aid, graduate studies, and continuing education?", and "Are there additional ways we might improve student recruitment and retention through restructuring or reorienting current activities?". The report is due by November 1.
- Performance Management
Lakey mentioned that some Senate members were involved in the task force that put together the job behavior indicators for the various competencies. Those have been reviewed by the consultants who made a few minor changes. Those will be sent back to the original task force so that members can review them. Some things have been delayed a little bit so there has not been a need for Performance Management to meet. That need will probably be after SAP (HR) is up and running.
- Technology Committee
Bargen reported they met several weeks ago and again discussed the issue of standardizing the web pages. The UNK web pages are to be standardized and there are two or three templates available to assist with this. As to departments who have their own server, they too have to use the standardized templates.
Mention was made that there is a marketing effort to have templates available for brochures through Publications and Printing.
- New Business
- Faculty/Staff Club
Mumm asked if Staff Senate was interested in hosting one again. A lengthy discussion followed as to how to get more staff to attend. Hines agreed to chair the event and will look into a spring date. OSAC will be asked to join as hosts.
- Homecoming
The question was raised if Staff Senate wanted to participate in the Homecoming Parade, which is October 23rd. Lakey felt it would be good publicity for Staff Senate. Lakey and Fleck volunteered to co-chair the event. Fleck suggested a hayrack ride and Ellingson suggested the two Staff Award for Excellence winners be invited to ride, plus past Employees of the Month (past year only).
- Committee Appointments
Tom York asked for appointments to the Gender Equity Committee and to the Multi Cultural Affairs Committee. They are reorganizing the Multi Cultural Affairs Committee; all the previous memberships have expired. They need staggered terms of one and two years for non-student members. Five individuals were suggested and Mumm will contact them. (One professional staff and one service staff are needed). The Gender Equity Committee is a large committee with 21 members. Staff Senate needs to appoint one managerial staff and one office service staff. Five individuals were suggested for that committee. Mumm will contact those individuals. Committee members will be asked to report to the Staff Senate, either in person or by a written report, each time the committee meets.
- Announcements
Due to Making A Difference being on Staff Senate's regular meeting date in October, Staff Senate will met on Monday, October 18th.
- Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 11:56 a.m. (Fleck/Sheldon)
Next meeting has been changed to October 18, 1999 at 10:30 a.m. in the Art Gallery