Staff Senate Meeting
October 8, 2008
The Staff Senate met on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. in Reynolds 205. Senators in attendance were Marcela Brunson, Gaye Calhoun, LaTricia Davis, Brenda Garrett, Charles Honza, Keli Honza, Mary Hubbard, Sarah Jennings, Pat King, Essie Moore, Eric Plummer, Shawana Reed, Becki Talley, Houston Taylor, and Shelly Whaley. Visitors were Cynthia Blake who came as Roger Guevara’s proxy and Jeremy Langley.
Approval of Minutes
The meeting was called to order by President Shelly Whaley. A motion to accept the minutes of September 10 was made by Pat King and seconded by Sarah Jennings. The motion to approve the minutes passed.
Old Business
Website Committee
Shelly Whaley provided handouts from another university’s website to provide ideas on how SAU staff senate’s website might look. There was a discussion about what to have on the website and several ideas were offered.
Back to School Meeting
Shelly Whaley asked for input on the back-to-school meeting. Brenda Garrett commented that she liked the speaker and the earlier meeting time.
Communication Issues
Communication problems remain an issue on campus. Shelly advised that the faculty/staff bulletin would be printed as a hard copy and distributed campus-wide. There was also a discussion about having a staff senate bulletin.
Committee Reports
LaTricia Davis gave a report on the Academic Affairs meeting.
New Business
Fall Update
Shelly Whaley gave an update on fall enrollment. The freshman class was up, the transfer students were up and the graduate school enrollment was up. Retention rate is suffering. There was a discussion about the problems with retention.
Board Meeting Update
Shelly Whaley attended a board meeting where Dr. Rankin spoke. He gave updates on the various building projects that were happening on campus. He discussed the improvements at the nursing building, upgrading the football scoreboard, groundbreaking for the new Science Center and plans for the new Mulerider center. He also talked about the recent trip to Mississippi to visit the lignite plant there. He also announced that there would be a new water tower built on SAU property.
University Committee Staff Senate Liaison Assignments
Shelly Whaley reported that the staff senate liaison committee assignments had been finalized. A copy of the assignments was made available.
Other
Staff Breakfast
Shelly Whaley announced that it was time to start thinking about next year’s staff breakfast. The Finance area will be in charge of the staff breakfast next year.
Questions from Staff
Several staff senate members had questions from other staff about whether there was a staff handbook. The staff handbook is on the web. The staff senate website will have a link to the handbook also.
Also, a staff member asked about the termination policy at SAU. SAU has an at-will termination policy and this is also listed in the handbook.
Questions from Community
A person in the community wondered if the new Quiznos would have free parking so members of the community could pick up their food. Chief Plummer stated that there would be several parking spaces available.
Questions from the Staff Senate
Charles Honza asked if there would be an emergency drills on campus. Chief Plummer stated there was one scheduled for the spring.
Sarah Jennings noted that she had attended an Active Shooter’s Conference on how to handle situations on campus if there was a school shooting.
Adjournment
The motion to adjourn was made by LaTricia Davis and seconded by Brenda Garrett. The next scheduled meeting will be in Reynolds 205 on Wednesday, November 12 at 2:00 p.m.
