Governance Center – 380 IMU

Present: Pat Arkema, Ella Born, Cathy Colony Bunnell, Pat Kenner, David Martin,

Bonnie McIntosh, Janice Simmons-Welburn, Xian Wu, Heather Weber

1. Called to order at 8:37 a.m.

2. Minutes from 1/18/02 meeting approved with amendment.

Minutes from 1/23/02 meeting with President Coleman approved.

3. Action Items reviewed.

4. Issues/Reports/On-going concerns:

a. Dave Martin led the discussion of a memo that Nancy Noyer sent to Executive Committee members regarding Staff Celebration Day plans.

1) Staff Art Show: There is some concern about the number of people who might respond, wanting to show their art, and that it might be more than could be accommodated. They are looking at ways to possibly have a smaller art show.

2) Music: One group has agreed to play, and suggested a price. Nancy is wondering if we want to have just the one group play the whole time, or if more than one group should play, each for a shorter period of time?

3) Application Form: Nancy asked for feedback. The Executive Committee agreed that it looked fine but suggested dropping "Looking at" from the 2002 Theme.

b. Pat Arkema provided the names of some of the members of the search committee for Associate Vice President and Director of Human Resources. Belinda Marner from Student Services will serve as chair of the committee. Pat has asked Belinda to send her a list of the committee members and Pat will forward this list on to the rest of the Executive Committee. Janice Simmons-Welburn will be serving on the committee. The committee met with VP Doug True on 2/14/02 and they hope to have completed the search by May. Pat Arkema has sent a note to VP True to ask in what capacity Staff Council will be involved with the search.

c. There was discussion regarding some recommendations offered by the Goals Committee.

1) Pat Arkema mentioned the possibility of merging the University Relations and Governmental Relations Committees.

2) A suggestion was made that perhaps it would be more appropriate to have the Education Committee responsible for orientation.

3) Cathy Colony Bunnell suggested having the various committees present to Staff Council any changes to the bylaws that they wish to make.

4) Pat Kenner suggested that the Goals Committee meet more frequently, perhaps every three months.

5) Dave Martin discussed who has agreed to continue on as chairs of the various committees. He also wondered about the committee for the Staff Council web site. Is this a committee that should meet regularly, or is it more of an advisory group that works alongside the office manager Heather Weber? Heather said that she would prefer the latter.

d. Pat Arkema initiated some discussion regarding the possibility of forming a Political Action Committee (PAC). It seems the faculty are proceeding with a survey to see what interest faculty have in forming a PAC. Should we approach staff with a similar survey? If there were to be a university PAC, it probably would be most effective as a combined effort of staff and faculty. It seems likely that people will be interested in supporting a PAC, especially at this time. It was decided to bring the issue to Staff Council as a whole. It was discussed whether Faculty Senate President Amitava Bhattacharjee should be invited to the Staff Council’s March meeting and asked to let Staff Councilors know how the survey of faculty's interest in a PAC is going.

e. Pat Arkema asked the Executive Committee to look at a memo that the Staff Council Human Resources Committee has drafted regarding “Merit to P/S Reclassification.” Pat wonders if this memo should go directly to Bob Millsap, Director of Human Resources, Classification & Compensation or if the whole Staff Council should see it first. It was agreed that the MSE/C group should have a look at the memo right away and then perhaps introduce it at the Staff Council March meeting.

f. Some internal committees have been established for the June meeting of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC). Pat Arkema will be on the Compensation/Benefits Committee and Dave Martin will be on the Communications Committee. It is very likely that the newly elected Staff Council Vice President/President Elect will be asked to attend the CIC meeting as well, or in place of Pat Arkema.

g. Nominations for Staff Council officers are still open. There may be some more nominations before the vote is taken at the March meeting.

h. Other issues discussed:

1) Pat Kenner has been investigating programs at other universities that give staff a certain amount of release time to attend training. She would like to see something like this offered at the University of Iowa.

2) The Human Resources WorkLife Program is going to be reviewed. Dave Martin will serve on the committee.

3) Bonnie McIntosh said that plans are being made for a brown bag lunch in early April to serve as the milieu for new Staff Councilors' orientation.

4) Dave Martin will begin thinking about a date for the Staff Council retreat and make plans for the event.

5. A list of agenda items was developed for the meeting with President Coleman on Tuesday, February 19^th.

6. Action Items were reviewed.

7. Adjourned at 10:35 a.m.

Future Executive Committee Meetings:	Executive Committee Meetings with President Coleman:
Friday, March 22, 2002*	Monday, March 25, 2002**
	Tuesday, April 30, 2002
	Tuesday, May 21, 2002
	Tuesday, June 18, 2002

*All SC Executive Committee meetings are 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.

**All meetings with President Coleman are 8:00 – 9:00 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Ella Born, Staff Council Secretary