Staff Senate Minutes
October 13, 2004
The Staff Senate met October 13, 2004 at 3 pm in Business 341. Senate members in attendance included Beth Scroggins, LaTricia Davis, Mary Ann Hand, Diane Johnson, Gaye Calhoun, Sarajane Telford, Keli Honza, Charles Honza, Rebecca Chiles, Cledis Stuart, and Vera Camp. Scott White was present as a guest.
Approval of Minutes
Sarah called the meeting to order. It was noted that the date of this meeting had been omitted from the September 8, 2004 staff senate minutes. Cledis Stuart made a motion to amend and approve the minutes and this was seconded by Beth Scroggins.
Old Business
Wellness Center Question
The Wellness Center is not open nearly as much as it used to be, is there a reason for this? Written Answer from Dr. James Novalta, Wellness Center Director. In the fall of 2003 the hours of operation were reduced by one hour per day from Monday through Saturday (previous hours of operation were M-Th 6:00 a.m – 11:00 pm changed to M-Th 6:00 am. – 10:00 pm; previous Friday hours were 6:00 am – 6:00 pm changed to 6:00 am – 5:00 pm, previous Saturday hours were 10:00 am – 6:00 pm changed to 10:00 am – 5:00 pm). Sunday hours of operation remain unchanged. The reason for the weekly six-hour reduction is two-fold. 1.) To remain within the budget allotted for Wellness Center student work, hours and number of employees by necessity had to be reduced. 2.) Hours of operation were chosen which consistently had little or no patrons using the facility (i.e. M-Th evenings from 10:00 –11:00 pm, and Friday and Saturday afternoons from 5:00 – 6:00 pm).
Wellness Center Question #2
Also, the equipment is not well kept up, can anything be done to better that? Written Answer from Dr. James Novalta. Again, the Wellness Center is limited by budgetary constraints. With an unlimited budget we would be able to stay up to date with the latest equipment. However, as this is clearly not the case, the Wellness Center staff attempts to maintain the equipment that we currently have and strategically replace older equipment within the limits of our budget. The Wellness Center is available to all students enrolled at SAU, faculty and staff, alumni, as well as community members. With the volume of patrons using the Wellness Center each day, it is inevitable that wear and tear on the equipment will occur. In such cases where equipment represents a risk to individuals using it, the piece will be taken out of commission until repairs can be made. In this we are also limited by the nature of the purchase order process…it would be nice if we could place an order and have a part arrive the next day, however with the approval signatures that need to be obtained and the time needed to clear purchasing, in some cases a particular piece of equipment may be out of commission for weeks before the proper replacement part arrives. We realize that this may be inconvenient at times, but hope that our patrons are understanding with their judgments.
Hiring Guidelines
As reported at the last meeting all changes to the guidelines have been made. Sarah reported on procedures that could be used to approve the hiring guidelines. Sarah also reported that if the staff senate wanted to have a standing committee on hiring guidelines then we could vote and establish one. Rebecca Chiles made the motion and Cledis Stuart seconded. Motion passed.
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Parking Appeals Committee Proposal
It was reported that the faculty senate had sent the proposal idea to their parking standing committee for review. Rebecca reported that the proposal had not gone very far with the SGA. She is going to try and get on the program for the next meeting so she can present her idea.
Committee Reports Hiring Guidelines
This was covered under old business.
CLIP
Keli reported that 75 percent of classified staff evaluations had been turned in and Roger has taken a list of names not turning in evaluations to the VP council. Mary Ann reported that now 89 percent of classified are in and 39 percent non-classified. The CLIP committee members asked the staff senate for a recommendation that for the 2005-06 year that $100 be set aside for each employee and to continue every year thereafter. Charles Honza made a motion of this recommendation, and it was seconded by Diane Johnson. Motion passed.
Faculty Senate Liaison
Cledis gave a review of the 9/23/2004 faculty senate meeting.
New Business
Bray Question
I have had several people come to me about the language printed in the Bray. I read last weeks paper and it was awful. Curse words were used and the cheerleader that was featured said something to the effect of “support the muleriders (or something else, I don’t remember exactly) or kiss my ass”. I agree with these people that this is trash and it should not be printed. I think administration should be aware of what is being printed for everyone to see. Answer: The only recourse available is to write a letter to the editor. The newspaper is covered under Freedom of Speech and can not be censored by administration.
Hiring Guidelines/Working with Faculty Senate
Acknowledgment was made that the staff senate appreciates the interest and support from the faculty senate. However, the staff senate feels that the needs of the faculty senate and staff senate are so different that we can not visualize the two collaborating on a unified set of guidelines.
Thanksgiving Holiday Question
How are faculty and students getting the extra day at Thanksgiving (Wednesday)? Answer: Faculty and students have a certain number of contact hours that they have to make, and as long as those hours are met it is okay for them to add the day.
Insurance Question
Based on the number of employees that SAU has, can we get a group rate for dental and vision insurance? Answer: This question was tabled until information could be obtained from the fringe benefit committee.
Listing of New Employees in SAU Newsletter Question
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What happened to the procedure that was to be implemented so that the new SAU employees would be listed in the SAU newsletter? Answer: Mary Ann Hand thought the names were being sent but she would check. Mary Ann said she would make sure that Crystal Evans receives a monthly list of the new SAU employees (both faculty and staff) and they would be listed in the first issue of the month after being hired.
State Government Smoking Policy Memo from the Governor
Sarah asked if any of us had heard any comments on this policy. She asked that the senate encourage the staff to send e-mails regarding the smoking policies to Roger Giles or any senate member stating your comments about the policy. The next staff senate meeting will be November 10, 2004 at 3:00 pm in Reynolds 210.
Adjournment
Beth Scroggins made the motion to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded by Rebecca Chiles. Motion passed.
