Approved Minutes For Meeting On September 16, 2009

Date: September 16, 2009

Program:

1. The meeting was called to order by the Chair, Jake Baggott. Visitors and guests were welcomed and introduced.

2. Roll Call

Members Present: Tuesday Ashner, Jake Baggott, Steve Buhman, Carla Coppi, Janet Douglas, JP Dunn, Pat Eckert, Jon Geiger, Vern Goode, Barbara Cray Lokaitis, Dana McKenzie, Layla Murphy, Barbara Nowack, Mike Reiman, Amy Rose, Rod Sievers, Allison Sutphin, Sue Tin, Gloria Yuncker.

Members Absent: Natalie Branca.

Proxies: Pat Eckert for Sharon Walters.

Visitors and Guests: Don Castle, Tracy Bennett, Michelle Garrett, Charlotte Gibson, Jason Hartz, Delores Kerstein, Kevin Lister, Susan Logue, Kristine McGuire, Sarah Merideth, Brent Patton, Lori Stettler.

3. Guest

J. Baggott introduced Associate Provost S. Logue, who gave an overview of the proposed Sexual Harassment Complaint and Investigation Procedures. The Staff Welfare Committee was charged with reviewing the procedures and drafting recommendations for changes. Anyone with concerns about the procedures should send them to C. Coppi (ccoppi@siu.edu) prior to October 1.

4. Minutes

The minutes of the meeting on August 19, 2009, were approved as presented.

5. Adoption of Meeting Agenda: J. Baggott requested to amend the agenda to include a report from D. Castle on the Chancellor Search Committee under Reports. It was also noted that item 6.4c Chancellor's Planning and Budget Advisory Committee report would be rescheduled. J. Geiger moved to adopt the agenda; seconded by R. Sievers. Motion carried.

6. Reports

6.1 Chancellor's Search Committee - Don Castle 
D. Castle distributed a copy of the current timeline for the search (see appendix 1 to the minutes). He reported that the search is moving along faster than anticipated. The committee is acting aggressively and wants to be very open with the information they are able to release about the search. There were completed applications submitted prior to the September 15 deadline, so committee members immediately began the process of reviewing those. Meetings are scheduled every Friday so that the committee can begin screening candidates. D. Castle indicated he has not seen all the applications, but believes there are approximately 25 at this time. Between now and the end of October, the committee hopes to make recommendations on semi-finalists, with on-campus interviews scheduled in November. At some point after the first of the year, the President will make his decision based on feedback from constituency groups, the committee and others on campus. D. Castle explained that the process for on- campus interviews has not yet been determined; however, the idea is to create a situation where people can watch the candidate interact and present and discuss issues in a productive way that would be open to everyone. Following that may be time spent with constituency groups. Employees who want to meet the candidate should target [those presentations]. There may be ways to submit questions electronically as well. It is possible that much of what happens on campus will be videotaped and available on the website so that someone who was unable to attend a presentation could view it online. There may also be ways to submit evaluations of the candidates electronically. D. Castle indicated he may have better information in October; if so, he will come back and report. The idea is to find the best way for the candidate and the University to interact so that it is productive, valuable and inclusive. D. Castle noted that all the information released about the search is available on the committee's website at http://www.siuc.edu/chancellorsearch/. Additionally, if anyone has questions, they are welcome to contact him.

6.2 Chair 
J. Baggott reported: i) he met with S. Logue to discuss the proposed sexual harassment procedures; ii) he drafted a letter to the Chancellor as a result of the Council's adoption of a salary increase resolution at its last meeting. The letter was reviewed by the Executive Committee prior to being sent. J. Baggott noted that at the last meeting, there was much discussion on the merits of any kind of salary increase, so attempted to incorporate that into his response to the Chancellor; iii) there was no constituency heads meeting since the Council's last meeting.

6.3 Board of Trustees 
J. Baggott reported he attended the September 10 meeting in Edwardsville. All items but one on the Board agenda were approved on an omnibus motion. The one item not on the omnibus motion was the awarding of a contract for the School of Dental Medicine Testing Facility renovation. Chairman Tedrick recused himself from that vote, but it was approved. One item was withdrawn (Item R, Approval of Permanent Easement for Cable Systems at the Springfield Campus). In the Academic Matters Committee, Vice President Sarvela discussed the Capital Budget report and the RAMP Document. He also discussed some of the trends the University will be facing in terms of the changing nature of students within Illinois in particular: i) the expected 8% decrease of traditional-age students, likely resulting in an older, more diverse type of population; ii) the continued increase in the high school dropout rate (approximately 6,000 dropouts occurring per day); and iii) the success of the "for-profits," which are becoming a bigger part of the environment. At the end of his presentation, Trustee Hightower expressed interest in a report back to the Board on what the institution is doing to respond to the anticipated changes in student population. At the full Board meeting, President Poshard discussed at length the MAP funding issue, noting there are approximately 7,500 students in the SIU system (5,000 of those in Carbondale) that will be or are affected by MAP in some manner. There is a 30% increase in applications for financial aid, particularly in MAP funding this year. Approximately 77% of grantees for MAP actually come from households making less than $30,000 a year. There have been advocacy efforts by the student governments in terms of lobbying for the restoration of MAP funding and its importance for the University and its students. J. Baggott noted he would like to take up the issue later in the meeting of whether the Council should take an active role in encouraging the legislature to address this matter. In his report, Chancellor Goldman discussed the aforementioned issues and also spent some time acknowledging the enrollment situation (down 1.6%). Many students are reporting to him their financial difficulties in terms of affordability. The Chancellor discussed the border state tuition, a policy change that has significantly increased applications from those states, though it has not achieved the intended goal. He also discussed: i) the partnership with SIUE on the School of Nursing program; ii) graduate school enrollment (up 2%); iii) H1N1 preparations on campus; and iv) the Saluki First Year Program and Saluki Cares initiative. Chairman Tedrick requested the President report back to the Board at its next meeting on possible causes for the enrollment decline and what steps have or are being taken to correct those trends. After the meeting, the grand opening of the Student Success Center at SIUE Student Union was held.

6.4 Human Resources (HR) 
T. Bennett reported: i) flu shots scheduled for September 22 have been rescheduled for October 13. A flyer will be forthcoming; ii) the presentation on the self-managed plan for SURS is scheduled for November 6 from 8:30-12:30 in the Student Health Center Auditorium. There will be representatives from TIAA Cref and Fidelity, as well as an expert on the self-managed plan from SURS. Information will be going out to those people who are participants in that plan around the first part of October. Registration will be required; iii) salary increases have been uploaded into AIS for A/P employees. The increases should be reflected on October 1 paychecks, with retroactive pay on the October 30 checks.

6.5 Representatives to University Committees

6.5a Naming University Facilities - Sarah Merideth 
S. Merideth distributed and reviewed her report (included as appendix 2).

6.5b Search Committee, Dean of ASA - Natalie Branca 

N. Branca submitted her written report (included as appendix 3).

6.5c Chancellor's Advisory Review - Lori Stettler 

L. Stettler provided a synopsis of the committee's activities over the past year, noting the committee has not yet met this year (included as appendix 4).

6.6 Standing Committees

6.6a Executive Committee 
JP Dunn reported the committee met on September 8 and discussed the 10th day enrollment numbers, the draft letter to the Chancellor on the salary increase and the presentation to be given by Susan Logue on the Sexual Harassment Procedures draft. The committee also reviewed and made minor changes to the August minutes and September agenda.

6.6b Committee on Committees - None.

6.6c Constituency Relations 
A. Rose reported the committee has set the fall constituency luncheon date for October 21 in Ballroom B of the Student Center. The A/P Staff Council will meet immediately following the luncheon [in the Mississippi Room]. The committee is still discussing the program, but a flyer announcing the event will be coming out shortly.

6.6d Operating Paper - None.

6.6e Staff Benefits - None.

5.5f Staff Welfare 
C. Coppi reported she hopes to get the committee together to review the Sexual Harassment Complaint and Investigation Procedures. The committee will also be examining the discrepancies between the A/P Judicial Review Board guidelines as written and as posted on the website.

7. Old Business

J. Baggott circulated a copy of the draft letter to the Chancellor concerning the proposed changes to the term to continuing policy (see appendix 5). Based on discussion at the last meeting, the Council approved the proposed changes and agreed that a cover letter should be drafted and sent to the Chancellor. J. Baggott drafted the letter, which identified some of the concerns regarding the policy, and forwarded it to the Executive Committee and to HR Director Kathy Blackwell for review. With the Council's permission, he would like to attach the cover letter to the revised proposed policy and sent it to Chancellor, with a copy to K. Blackwell. Hearing no objections, J. Baggott indicated he would forward the letter to the Chancellor. T. Ashner suggested that before meeting with the Chancellor, J. Baggott should acquire examples of actual A/P staff who have been or are affected by the policy. She believes there are A/P on campus that the Council is unaware of who are working under this situation and may not know that there is this opportunity to switch over to continuing. Having some actual situations to go over in a meeting might be helpful. J. Baggott commented on his reluctance to use someone's information without first getting that person's approval. He asked that anyone who would like to provide him information [that could be referred to anonymously] can contact him. He noted that education is an important part of this, and the fact that [supervisors] will have to address this issue every year will hopefully cause people to be more aware of what they are doing and its impact.

8. New Business

J. Baggott raised the issue of advocacy regarding the MAP grant issue. T. Ashner suggested informing A/P staff, whether through the website or some other way to let constituents know they can get active and help. There are 5,000 students on campus that are affected; if 3,000 of those are unable to come back because they cannot get their MAP money, she did not see anything else but layoffs for [A/P] staff. It is a serious employee issue and should not just be a student-led initiative. She is not sure that all employees will see the big impact of it, and maybe the Council has a responsibility to make sure the A/P constituency understands that this could affect them down the road. J. Baggott believes [loss of jobs] it is a very real possibility. He indicated that President Poshard was basically appealing for anyone to get involved, though J. Baggott believes the Council has to be somewhat conscious of the ethics issues in dealing with University resources and time. The Council needs to find out what boundaries it has to work within as a constituency group, yet still be involved in a meaningful way. He is willing to draft some correspondence or develop some proposed letters that people can send out individually; he is open to ideas about how to approach that. R. Sievers commented that it is the legislators who will be making these decisions. Possibly the Council should encourage A/P staff to contact their legislators and urge them to [restore the MAP funding]. The more constituents and voters they hear from, the better. J. Baggott agreed, noting the University is the economic engine of this area. R. Sievers noted that ISAC will be holding a [town hall meeting] on campus on October 12. He believes other state universities are likely doing something as well. J. Baggott pointed out the need to remind A/P of the meeting and attempt to get as much participation as possible. The President is taking a leadership role on this issue and is lobbying on behalf of higher education more broadly. J. Geiger asked if there is a reason the Council as whole could not write a letter to those same legislators expressing concern about the MAP funding. J. Baggott believes this could be done. There are two efforts for the Council to pursue; one is to communicate with constituents to inform them of the issue, provide them information on legislators and possibly share with them a boilerplate letter that could be adapted for their own purposes. A second effort would be to send a similar letter coming from the Council itself.

9. Announcements

9.1 JP Dunn reported that he serves on the board for the Emeritus and Annuitant Association (EAA). The EAA would like all A/P on campus to join their listserv. They are fighting for employees' pensions and benefits after retirement. Some of retirees found out this year that for the first time, they are being charged for their dental insurance. It is possible the vision plan may go the same way at some point. If the legislature can make that change so easily, then they can also change the health benefits and require retirees to start paying their health benefits. The EAA would like everyone to be active by joining the group. Dues are only $27 a year, $6 of which stays with the local chapter. Payroll deduction is available and is taken in October and November. T. Ashner asked how the benefit was changed. JP Dunn responded that a bill was passed, and this change basically slipped through without question. J. Baggott commented that he is also a member of the EAA, and they are very active. They have the time to go out and speak with the legislators, and they represent current employees' interests as well. JP Dunn indicated that several of the local members are going to Springfield in the next two weeks for the lobby session. They will get to speak with Congress and attempt to convince them to reinstate the dental coverage and leave the remaining benefits alone. It was noted that [none of the benefits employees and retirees enjoy are constitutionally protected. S. Merideth suggested the EAA might be an interesting group to invite to speak to the constituency next [year] about what they can do for employees.

9.2 JP Dunn announced that there will be a blood drive at the library on September 18.

10. Adjournment