Staff Senate Minutes
September 14, 2005
The Staff Senate met September 14, 2005 at 2 pm in Reynolds 210. Those in attendance were Beth Scroggins, Kay Sawyer, Sarajane Telford, La’Tricia Davis, Gaye Calhoun, Wayne Garner, Rebecca Chiles, Kellye Ogle, Jill Bond, David Wingfield, Darrell Morrison, Brenda Garrett, and Houston Taylor. Visitors were Keli Honza and Donald Wray.
Approval of Minutes
The meeting was called to order. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Darrell Morrison and seconded by La’tricia Davis. Motion passed.
Old Business
Earl Miller Memorial
As reported last month, a total of $470 has been collected. Houston said we have enough money to purchase the bench. Several different locations were discussed including the area at the back of Harrod Hall, the mall area near the Bruce Center where the concrete is still in place from the swing, outside the Bruce Center between Bussey Hall and Nelson. The Miller family suggested planting an Oak or maple tree as those were two of Earl’s favorites.
Parking Appeals Committee
Cledis Stuart will give an update after the Faculty Senate meeting scheduled for later this month.
Constitutional Review Committee
La’tricia Davis made a motion to table this issue. Motion passed.
Candles in the buildings
Beth Scroggins spoke with Mr. Roger Giles to determine if the candle policy is a written or oral policy. Mr. Giles indicated that the oral policy was put in place after a lit candle started a fire in the residence halls. A written policy will be put in place at a later date.
Sick/Vacation Leave
According to Mr. Roger Giles, the sick/vacation leave is mandated by the state and cannot be changed. An employee can only carry over 30 days – lose the rest or turn sick leave over to the catastrophic leave bank – and can only be paid for up to 30 days upon end of employment. It is not possible to cash out leave. Mr. Giles will also send out an updated catastrophic leave policy once that is updated.
Committee Reports
Hiring Guidelines
Beth Scroggins reported that the hiring guidelines document is still in the process of being reviewed by the administration.
CLIP
Keli Honza was present to report for the CLIP Committee. The money set aside for the CLIP bonus will be divided among the employees who qualify. The employee can qualify for the bonus by completing their self evaluation form, making sure their supervisor completes the employee’s evaluation and turns it into Human Resources, being rated above average or higher on the evaluation and conforming to the Uniform Conduct Standards. The possibility of an appeals committee being formed was also discussed. Gaye Calhoun suggested listing the qualifications for the CLIP bonus on the intranet.
Faculty Senate Liaison
The Faculty Senate has not met since our last meeting.
Breakfast/Staff Awards
Beth Scroggins requested a budget of $350-$400 for the committee from Dr. Rankin. La’Tricia Davis stated that the committee had decided on a theme for this year’s breakfast, however; they are still open to new ideas.
New Business
What is the policy regarding visits during work hours to the nurses’ office? Are staff members required to fill out leave forms for these visits?
After a brief discussion on this issue, it was agreed that this is a matter that needs to be addressed with the employee’s supervisor. If the employee cannot address his/her supervisor they should contact the next level supervisor. There is currently no policy in place to govern this issue.
Other
The Staff Senate webpage needs to be updated. Shelley Keith will be contacted to assist us with this.
Gayla Barnard is no longer with the University and therefore leaves a vacancy on the Senate. Beth Scroggins will contact Mary Hubbard to request that she send out nomination forms to the President’s area to fill this vacancy.
The following is a question posed to Beth Scroggins:
“With Jasper Lewis now being the Associate Vice President for Facilities, is there any way to consolidate some services under his command in regards to the facilities, for example, facilities request and locking and unlocking buildings?”
It was agreed that this is an administrative issue and not something for the Staff Senate to address.
Beth Scroggins cited an email from a constituent in response to Senate Bill 168. The bill would allow classified employees of state supported institutions of higher education to receive compensation for unused sick leave at retirement.
More information regarding this bill can be found at www.state.ar.us/dfa/personnel_mgmt/opm_sick leave_policy.html.
The staff member wanted to know if the administration had any plans to implement this policy in the future.
Adjournment
A motion was made by Darrell Morrison and seconded by Houston Taylor. Motion passed. The next meeting is October 12, 2005 at 2 pm in the Reynolds Center, Room 210.
