Staff Senate Minutes - May 17, 2005
10:30 a.m., Nebraskan Student Union – Room 310
Employee of the Month: Kristen Larsen, Advisor, Student Support Services
Department of the Month: Computer Science and Information Systems
Present:
Administrative: Cheryl Bressington, Audrey Kauders, Debbie Schroeder
Managerial/Professional: Brandon Benitz, Mark Morehouse, Dusty Newton
Service: John Rinaker, Bruce Uden
Office: Jan Beerbohm, Dixie Larson, Joni Weed
Ex-Officio: John Lakey
Absent:
Service: Aaron Asay
I. Call to order – President, Linda Clark
II. Adoption of Agenda - Benitz/Kauders
III. Minutes of April 19, 2005 meeting - approved: Bressington/Kauders
IV. Financial Report – Kauders reported a balance of $124.47/State Funds and one correction in Auxiliary; new balance of $1366.09 instead of $1,042.96. Reviewed Sales Summary; balance of $1336.86 Larson/Bressington
V. Introduction - New member - Jan Beerbohm
VI. Correspondence - None
VII. Unfinished Business
A. Staff Senate Survey – Newton requested from the Senate the objective of the Survey. Larson noted from previous meetings that the intent was to remove and or add questions to assist the Senate in determining the needs of the staff. Bressington will email the survey to Senate members for review. Tabled for the next meeting.
B. Climate Survey – Bressington – Postponed until September.
C. Brochure for Staff Senate – The brochure has been sent to Campus Printing. There will be approximately 100 printed and some will be given to Human Resources to distribute to new employees.
D. Permanent Display of the SAFE Awards – Newton noted that the previous SAFE awards are now being displayed again. Previous award winners were asked to return their plaque to be displayed.
E. Staff Senate Foundation Account – Newton noted that John Lakey has received notification that the Foundation Account has now been officially set up for use.
VIII. Committee Reports
A. Election – Larson noted there were comments about why Richard Wardyn was mentioned in the Newsletter as a new Staff Senate however John Rinaker was then noted as the new member. In the election results Wardyn was the elected however the day the newsletter went out he was in and resigned. John was the runner up and agreed to serve. A corrected notice will be appear in the Newsletter.
B. Employee Recognition Committee – Weed announced that only Mark Morehouse will be chairing the committee. Also mentioned was the fact that we need new members.
C. Professional Development Committee – Bressington - Mark your calendars! July 14 – Poker Walk
D. Making a Difference – Bressington – This fall (October 18) there will be a new format for the one day conference. Two sessions (am & pm) will be used. Julie Burney will be our guest speaker. Her topic will be Gender Benders.
E. Mentoring - Benitz – Approximately 100 cups were sold during the Administrative Professionals Week – A great success! The committee continues to make team contact and will be working with Faculty mentors as well as Student Support Mentor groups to locate state and regional speakers as well as define the values, etc.
F. Information Technology Advisory Committee – Schroeder reported that both the Advisory and Strategic committees have finished meeting for this year. The final report from Advisory Committee to the Chancellor was for Technology Fees.
G. Strategic Planning Committee – Strategic Planning has created a sub-committee chaired by Randy Haack for the purpose of compiling data beyond the mission statement.
IX. New Business
A. 05-06 Meetings – Newton noted that our next meeting is scheduled for June 21 – the same date as the Centennial Celebration. It was agreed by members not to meet during the event and the support of the campus was needed then so the meeting has been changed to the previous Tuesday (June 14).
Bressington mentioned that the October 18 was also in conflict with the Making a Difference Conference. The Senate agreed to change the meeting to the previous Tuesday, October 11. Watch the Agenda for meeting location.
B. Committee Lists – Newton handed out Information Sheets for Senate to complete. Please return yours to Joni. She will be doing a feature in the newsletter “Meet your Member.
C. Staff Senate Goals – Newton asked the Senate to begin thinking about the goals for 2006. Newton noted from the Executive Committee meeting that the Senate could be more vocal with issues. Try to be more of an advocate for the staff and bring to the administration the needs of all employees. Possibly look at revamping the by-laws. Rinaker asked if we could use the survey as a tool to find out what the staff needs are. Lakey mentioned that it will be a difficult task to administer to all classifications on the senate, but that the main issues, benefits & salaries will be across the board with all employees. Bressington mentioned that senate should try and meet with the Chancellor on a regular (monthly/quarterly) basis. By meeting with him on a regular basis and keeping him up to date with ideas and thoughts the better it will serve the campus. Please continue to think about the goals for Staff Senate. We will continue to work on these this summer.
X. Announcements
A. Next meeting – June 14, 2005, 10:30 a.m. Sisler Room, MSAB
B. Centennial Celebration – Celebration will be held June 21 beginning at 11:30 – Committee decided to send flyer to all staff.
C. Blue/Good Picnic – Picnic will be held August 19 – mark your calendars now!
XI. Adjourn 11:45 a.m. Kauders/Benitz