Approved Minutes For Meeting On September 19, 2012

Date: September 19, 2012

Program:

1. The meeting was called to order at 1:05 p.m. by the Chair, Kathy Jones. Visitors and guests were welcomed and introduced.

2. Roll Call

Members Present: Steve Buhman, Don Castle, Angela Cummings-Hunter, Pat Eckert, Jon Geiger, Jenni Janssen, Kathy Jones, Faye Joyner-Keene, Charlotte Sarao, Rod Sievers, Lori Stettler, Valerie Brooks Wallin, Keri Young.

Proxies: Tim Marlo for Jill Gobert.

Visitors and Guests: Jake Baggott, Pat Latch, Andy Morgan, Katharine Suski.

3. Guest

K. Suski, director of Undergraduate Admissions, discussed her office's recruiting efforts, in particular the efforts made to recruit locally. K. Jones indicated that one of the Council's objectives is to do a better job sharing information with constituents so that when they ask questions, the Council will have the information available. She would like to make the website more informative. K. Suski suggested that she could provide numbers on how many students have visited campus, how many students are served on campus, etc.

4. Minutes

The minutes of the Council meeting on August 15, 2012, were approved as presented.

5. Adoption of Meeting Agenda: The agenda was amended to remove item 6.4 (the Chancellor's Planning and Budget Advisory Committee). P. Eckert moved to adopt the agenda as amended; seconded by S. Buhman. Motion carried.

6. Reports

6.1/6.2 Chair/Board of Trustees 
K. Jones reported on the September 13 Board of Trustees meeting: i) the 1% salary increase for non-represented staff was approved; ii) President Poshard reported that the SIU system is still owed $53 million in state appropriations from FY12 and $43 million from FY13. He also mentioned that if Congress cannot agree on a deficit reduction plan, everyone will face sequestration, meaning there will be across-the-board cuts. Such cuts would include federal research grants and federal financial aid; iii) the University's operating and capital budgets for FY13 were approved. At this point, expenditures are expected to exceed revenues by over $1.7 million; however, adjustments will be made so that the University balances its budget; iv) Board member and Finance Committee Chair Marquita Wiley commented about there being a "tipping point" at which the University would no longer be able to cut back without effecting the basic mission of the institution. She added that the University cannot charge more tuition or fees because then students will be unable to afford to attend here. She basically challenged the institution to create mechanisms by which new revenue streams can be developed through things like private/public partnerships, development of intellectual property/entrepreneurial efforts, etc.; v) the Board received an update on the designs for the Alumni Center; vi) there was a notice item on the agenda about an alternate tuition rate for high-achieving students, regardless of residency. What this does is allow the University to offer out of state students in-state residency if they reach a high-achieving level. The alternate tuition is being proposed for Fall 2013; vii) the Board approved combining the functions of the offices of Internal Audit and University-Wide Compliance and Ethics. Her understanding is that staffing will remain the same. The new unit will be called the Office of Internal Audit, Compliance and Ethics.

P. Eckert asked if the $1.7 million of expenditures is for the system or the whole campus. K. Jones believes it is for the Carbondale campus(?).

K. Jones reported that there are generally monthly constituency head meetings, although none have been scheduled until recently. The meeting scheduled for earlier today was rescheduled for September 21.

6.3 Human Resources (HR) 
P. Latch reported: i) Tracy Bennett is currently working to upload into the system the salary increases for non-represented staff. It is hoped the increases will be ready for the payroll run on September 24. Increases should be reflected in October 1 paychecks, with retroactive pay being paid at a later date; ii) a SURS general retirement session will be held on October 23 at the Law School Auditorium. SURS counselors will be on campus October 23-25 for individual retirement counseling; iii) flu shots are scheduled for October 16 and October 23. There is a corrected time from what was sent in the notification emails. The times for each flu shot session are 8:30AM-5:30PM. J. Geiger asked if there is any word on the health insurance. D. Castle believes that contracts were signed for the year.

6.4 Representatives to University Committees - None.

6.5 Standing Committees

6.5a Executive Committee 
J. Geiger reported the committee met and reviewed the minutes from August and the agenda for September. They discussed adding links to the campus committees on the Council website in order to offer more information to the constituency. The committee also discussed A/P term versus continuing appointments, as well as the upcoming town hall meetings. J. Geiger indicated it was suggested that a note taker be at each of the meetings; he is able to do so for five of the six, and someone will need to be tapped to take notes for the remaining one. The committee was also asked to come up with potential questions to ask constituents who attend the meetings. K. Jones distributed to Council members some possible questions to ask at the town hall meetings. She noted that in July, she had distributed an outline of what would be covered in the meetings. The Executive Committee discussed the outline and made some changes. K. Jones reported the first meeting is on September 20. She will introduce those Council members in attendance and give a brief introduction describing the work of the Council. There will also be forms available, and those in attendance will be invited to volunteer for committee service. She will discuss the issues that are facing the Council at this time and make staff aware that the focus of the fall luncheon will be pension reform.

6.5b Committee on Committees 
D. Castle (for L. Stettler) presented for ratification the nomination of Luisa Ballester-Concepcion (Hispanic Resource Center) to serve as an alternate on the Chancellor's Advisory Review Board. Motion carried.

6.5c Constituency Relations 
V. Brooks Wallin reported the committee has been working on the fall meeting scheduled for October 19. There was discussion on the start time for the luncheon. V. Brooks Wallin suggested working around the speakers' schedules. 

6.5d Operating Paper - No report.

6.5e Staff Benefits and Welfare 
D. Castle reported the committee will need to meet in order to make an appointment to the Judicial Review Board, as well as begin discussions on the term-to-continuing issue.

7. Old Business - None.

8. New Business

P. Eckert reported that, as the A/P representative to the Annuitants Association, she attended a meeting of that organization last week. She was asked to share information with the Council on Constitutional Amendment 49, which would change pension benefits for current employees and retirees. The Association believes passage of the amendment will provide a loophole for the General Assembly to further erode pensions and benefits. K. Jones asked P. Eckert if she would alert the Association of the fall meeting which will be a discussion on pensions and retirement.

9. Announcements - None.

10. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 2:35 p.m.