The Staff Senate met on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in Reynolds 205. Senators in attendance were Gaye Calhoun, LaTricia Davis, Brenda Garrett, Charles Honza, Essie Moore, Eric Plummer, Becki Talley, and Shelly Whaley.
Approval of Minutes
The meeting was called to order by Eric Plummer. A motion to accept the minutes of May 20, 2009 was made by LaTricia Davis and seconded by Brenda Garrett.
Old Business
Act 734
Chief Plummer handed out Act 734 titled the Arkansas Clean Air on Campus Act of 2009. This act prohibits smoking on any state-supported institutions of higher education. The act goes into effect on August 1, 2010. Plummer asked for any ideas that could be used to help ease smokers into this. There was a discussion about things that might be done. Charles Honza asked if the state should be responsible for coming up with funds to help smokers since the state mandated the change. Chief Plummer is going to check with Dr. Rankin’s office to see what other offices are planning that will help staff and faculty with the new regulations. Charles Honza noted the staff handbook will also need to be updated to include the new guidelines in reference to smoking on campus. Chief Plummer asked for any feedback from staff on campus on the best way to make the transition easier for anyone that smokes. Any further feedback will be addressed at the July meeting.
Staff Senate Elections
Chief Plummer reported that Houston Taylor had sent out the At-Large Staff Senator ballots and Thursday, June 18 was the deadline to return them. Once the at-large senator election is finalized, the other senator ballots would be sent out. The deadline to return the ballots has been extended to July 8 due to the 4th of July holiday. The new senators will be seated at the July 15th meeting.
Committee Reports
There were no committee reports
New Business
Board of Trustees Meeting
LaTricia Davis gave a report from the Board of Trustees meeting. The 2009-2010 budget was approved. Tuition will increase to $170.00 an hour. Dr. Jack Harrington stepped down temporarily as secretary and Edgar Lee will assume those duties. Kelvin Wyrick stepped down due to his appointment as Circuit Judge. Dr. Gayle White was honored as Distinguished Professor.
Handicapped Access to SAU buildings
Chief Plummer reported a SAU employee had inquired about how they would get out of Overstreet in case of an emergency because of a disability. Chief Plummer reported that the fire department had a listing of buildings with stairwells and the fire and police department were to check stairwells for persons needing assistance to safely evacuate them from the building. Plummer also reported that he wanted to check with the President’s office about purchasing evac chairs to be placed in each building. The evac chair makes it easy for a person to help a disabled person get downstairs to evacuate a building if necessary. There was a discussion on what could be done to make SAU more handicapped accessible and although the ADA requirements are sometimes very broad in regards to what businesses have to do to be handicapped accessible, SAU could go beyond what ADA mandates to make SAU easier to navigate for disabled persons.
Adjournment
The motion to adjourn was made by Gaye Calhoun and seconded by Brenda Garrett. The next scheduled meeting will be July 15 at 2:00 p.m. in Reynolds 205.
