August 5, 2010 Minutes

1. Call to Order - Meeting was called to order by Tabitha Haynes, Chair, at 2:00PM.

2. Roll Call - Janelle Melton, Secretary, conducted roll call.

Present: Tabitha Haynes, Michael Frizell, Janelle Melton, Marian Green, Sandra Arthur, Cindi Barnett, Donald Clark, Sandra Johnson, Nadine Jones, Charles Klarr, Cathy McFall, Andrea Weber, Dale Moore, Erin Parrish, Holly Robison, Matthew Stublefield, Jaimie Trussell (by proxy-Kelly Barnts), Dixie Williams, Mary Ann Wood, Kyle Yates, Jacob Swett

Absent: Corbin Campbell, Debbie Casada, Terry Plank, Teresa Steele, Kirk Whittington, Cynthia Hail

Guests: Konya Knackstedt, Casey Comoroski

3. Approval of July 1, 2010 Minutes - Minutes were approved as submitted.

4. Dr. and Mrs. Cofer - Welcome Basket Presentation - Staff Senate presented Dr. Cofer with a welcome basket with items donated from local businesses. Dr. Cofer spoke for a few minutes and Senators introduced themselves.

Dr. Cofer expressed his appreciation for the welcome basket and said that Mrs. Cofer could not attend due to a commitment, but they were settling in and learning Springfield, so the local products will be appreciated.

Remarks were made by Dr. Cofer regarding Staff Senate and the importance of the governing body. At his previous university, Staff Senate was initiated during the last year of his tenure. He feels that staff are important and the senate gives staff a way to have a voice. The senators present gathered with Dr. Cover for a photo.

5. Old Business

  • Clarification on Technology Construction Management Program - The program is the Facilities Management Program through Technology and Construction Management. Nadine Jones reported that classes were being offered this fall. Nadine also reported on a new department called C-Prime (Center for Project Innovation and Management Education) that will offer training programs related to the field.

6. New Business

  • Discussion on Future Initiatives - Tabitha asked for asked for more input on future initiatives. The plan is to present a list of initiatives to Dr. Cofer at the Executive Committee meeting next week to see what he is open to Staff Senate exploring, and then ask staff to rank the initiatives in order of importance so that Staff Senate would know which initiative to start looking into.

    Initiatives presented to Staff Senate (based on staff input) include: employee assistance program, base pay/one-time bonus recognition for degrees earned, and a 4-day summer work week. There was much discussion on the feasibility of this initiative, to include: the tuition waiver is an incentive for getting a degree, people would get their degree and leave the university, those who have a master's degree may not be able to use this incentive, and some people are not able to take classes due to their job duties and department.
  • Remove Website Administration as Committee - Tabitha requested the Website Administration Committee be removed as a committee. After discussion with Sara Clark, who formed this committee, it was determined that it was not necessary. Sara Clark reported that the idea was to have several people working on the website, but it never worked out that way. A motion was made, seconded, and approved.
  • Membership Committee - The Membership Committee was not listed on the Committee Sign Up sheet at the July meeting, so if anyone is interested in serving on this committee, let Cathy McFall or Tabitha Haynes know. There was a motion made, seconded, and approved to combine the Bylaws and Membership committees.
  • Tobacco Free Campus Awareness Training - The Center for Dispute Resolution will be conducting training session to be a Tobacco Free Campus Ambassador. The trainings and registration can be found on the Human Resources website. The dates and times are: August 25 1:00-3:00, August 26 1:30-3:30, September 7 1:30-3:30 and September 9 1:30-3:30.

7. Committee Reports

  • Denim Day - Cathy McFall is meeting tonight with someone from the American Cancer Association to get donation/fundraiser ideas. Other ideas include a luncheon, silent auction, pink lemonade sale, cupcake war, and pink shirt day. The committee will be meeting soon to discuss.
  • Public Relations - Tabitha Haynes requested that this committee take over scheduling senators for new employee orientation
  • Staff Activities - We still need someone to chair this committee.

8. Other University Committee Reports

  • Long-Range Plan Steering Committee - Dale Moore reported that there are seven workgroups and many sub-workgroups working on this. This is done every five years and this time focuses on academic priorities, student life programming, MSU community groups, alternatives to current insurance to save money, etc.
  • Recreation Center Staff/Faculty Fees - Erin Parrish reported that the committee met recently and are working on various ideas to present.

9. Announcements

  • Inside Missouri State Blog - this new blog launches on August 9th to provide information to faculty and staff
  • Library Archives - getting the word out that there is an archive department in the library and Staff Senate has information there, as well as other departments.

10. Adjourn - Motion made by Dixie Williams to adjourn. Seconded.