Staff Council Meeting

Wednesday, November 14, 2001, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

Clasen Board Room

 

Present:  Diane Anderson, Pat Arkema, Ella Born, Jenniffer Carpe, Cheryl Carter, Jan Christensen, Milind Deshpande, Charlie Eastham, Judy Elleson, Susan Felker, Mary Freitag, Donna Hirst, Pat Kenner, Hazel Kerr, Kathy Klein, Karon Kolek, Dongwang Liu, Mark Long, Wanda Magruder, David Martin, Bonnie McIntosh, Donna Muller, Pamela Lenz Nielsen, Juan Parales, Sherry Pech, Cheryl Reardon, Sandra Reed, Christine Remmert, Rebecca Stamy, Anne Tanner, Amy Welter, Michael Wichman, Jeanette Wigim, Xian Wu, Heather Weber

 

Absent:   Vicki Brown, Cathy Colony Bunnell, David Fitzgerald, Pamela Kacena, Tina Knutson,

Joy Kross, Feather Lacy, Janice Simmons-Welburn, Jun Tang

 

Administrative Liaison:  Sue Buckley, Interim Associate Vice President of Human Resources

1.      The meeting was called to order at 2:38 p.m.

2.      Review/approval of minutes.

  1. 9/12/01 and 10/10/01 Staff Council meeting minutes were reviewed and approved.
  2. Reviewed minutes from 10/12/01 Executive Committee meeting.  Councilors did not raise any questions.  Pat Arkema suggested one correction to 3f: 

Pat Arkema mentioned a P & S staff survey request from Women in Science & Engineering (WISE).  It was agreed that we should invite Gerene Denning to the next Staff Council Executive Committee meeting on 11/16/01.

c.       Reviewed minutes from 10/16/01 Executive Committee meeting with President Coleman.  Councilors did not raise any questions.

3.      Comments – Interim AVP Sue Buckley.

  1. Status of the Conflict Resolution documents.  These documents have been reviewed by the offices of the Ombuds, Affirmative Action, and Mediation Services; Staff Council; Human Resources Unit Representatives; and deans and vice presidents.  The next step will be to take the revised P & S grievance procedure to the Board of Regents for their approval.  Hopefully this step will not take too long.
  2. The search for a new assistant director of Human Resources, Classification & Compensation is complete.  Robert Milsap from the University of Colorado will assume his duties on December 3, 2001.

c.   The Board of Regents is meeting today and tomorrow.  The issues covered will include:

      1) Tuition.

      2) President Coleman will discuss the progress of the university's strategic plan.

      3) The annual benefits report will be reviewed.

4) The BOR will vote on principles that will be used to guide implementation of any future early retirement programs.  Our university administration will present six very general/broad principles.

d.  The budget reduction of 4.3% suggested by Governor Vilsack was approved by the special session of state legislators.  This means the university will face a decrease of $13.5 million in the current budget.  The General Fund will be reduced by $10.9 million.  Programs that will not be affected include:  financial aid, library acquisitions, public safety, and the four-year graduation program.  Approximately $4 million will come from central pools such as grant programs and building maintenance.  Just as it happened last July, the additional reduction in the budget will have to be achieved at the unit level with approximately an 8% decrease in general expenses.  Administrative units will bear a larger burden than academic units.  It appears that we will be able to achieve this set of reductions without any (or very few) layoffs.  However, a reduction of positions is possible.

e.  The Health Fair held at the Field House recently was very successful:  Approximately 2500 – 3000 people attended the fair, 40 units of blood were collected, and 400 flu shots were given.

f.   A question was raised by one of the Councilors regarding the state's early retirement program, which has been in the news recently.  Sue attempted to explain the nature of the program and clarify the differences between it and what the university has offered in the past.  She also reiterated the current status of the university's ERIP. 

4.      Issues/Reports/On-going Concerns.

  1. Bylaws motion/proposals.  Pat Arkema again presented six proposals that were brought before Staff Council at the last two meetings.  All were approved after some discussion and with two proposals having "friendly amendments."  A seventh proposal was presented, with a motion to accept being seconded.  This proposal was tabled to be voted on at the December meeting.
  2. Pat Kenner discussed several Budget Committee issues.

1) Laura Reed has sent a thank-you note to Staff Council for their support of the Health Fair and other UI Wellness programs.

2) Pat Kenner brought several HR Directory of Services booklets.  She asked Councilors to help themselves and to distribute as many as they can.

3) Pat Kenner passed around a description of the Wellness Scholarships, which Staff Council will be sponsoring.  The Council has funded two programs.  The programs will be advertised extensively with applications due in November.  A lottery to award the scholarships will take place in December.

4) Current university budget issues.  Heather Weber has added three items to Staff Council's web site:  President Coleman's convocation address; the November Budget Reduction information from Doug True; and a link to the Board of Regents November Report.

5) An aside:  Pat Kenner made a comment regarding the PDF file for the Staff Council meeting packets.  She felt that this worked quite nicely, but suggested indexing the documents.

6) Pat Kenner stated that her 2000-2001 annual report as president of Staff Council is also on the web.

7) Pat Kenner presented a Staff Council Budget Committee motion to provide $1,000.00 to support the 2002 Cultural Diversity Festival Planning Committee, by transferring $1,000.00 from Professional Development allocation to the Outreach allocation to fund this event.

  1. Juan Parales discussed plans for the Martin Luther King Celebration kick-off.  The Staff Council meeting will be one week later in January, on the 16th rather than the 9th.  Usual Staff Council business will be transacted from 2:00 – 2:30p.m.  Then the Celebration will begin with special speakers Adrienne Wing and Salomé Raheim.
  2. Dave Martin discussed a meeting with Governor Vilsack, which he, Pat Arkema, and Pat Kenner attended along with officers from Faculty Council, AFSCME, SEIU, and COGS.  This meeting took place just prior to the governor's recent public forum held on campus.  Some of the issues raised were: the priority of higher education, tuition increases, the possibility of raising taxes, the importance of K-12 support and the need to not pit K-12 against higher education.

5.      Speakers were:

Tom Bauer and Pamela Trimpe, the university's staff representatives on the Board in Control of Athletics Charter Committee.

Tom is in his sixth and final year on the committee.  He chairs the Finance and Ticket committee.  He stressed the importance of considering student athletes as individuals and looking out for their best interests and well-being.  He presented some information:  The athletic department has a $34 million budget and is virtually self-sufficient; there are over 600 student athletes in 24 programs including 13 women's programs and 11 men's programs; graduation rates are good; and there have been no major NCAA violations.  He discussed the membership on the Board and feels that it is important to appoint someone who would be able to serve the full six years allowed.  The Board must be constantly vigilant to adhere to policies and to provide oversight.

Pam is in her fifth year on the Board.  She chairs the Equity committee, which deals with issues such as gender and ethnicity, as well as others.  While the athletics programs have passed an NCAA review, there are some areas that still need work.  She believes the role of this committee is to act as a catalyst for change and to be able to probe into issues without “pointing a finger.” Pam also said that she feels it is very important for staff to take an active role on the Board.  However, she warns that there are no "perks" (i.e., no free tickets or better seat location).

6.      Other Business:

None presented.

7.      Meeting adjourned:  4:25 p.m.

8.      Next Meeting:  December 12, 2001, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m., S401 PBB.

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Ella Born, Staff Council Secretary