February 3, 2005 Minutes

1. Call to Order - A regular meeting of the Staff Senate of Missouri State University was called to order at Plaster Student Union, Room 313 at 1:30 p.m.

2. Roll Call -

Present - Sue Alvers, Sara Clark, Marline Faherty, LaDonna Hansen, Barb Jones, Jason Rhea, Lindsay Haymes (SGA), Sherry Adams, Allison Crocker, Diana Garland, Terrill Harvey, Phyllis Kenney, Tami Sutton, Ben Boslaugh, Earle Doman, Norm Griffith, Tara Horton, David Liss, Steve Mills

Absent - Veronica Adinegara, Wendy Ferguson, Dennis Perry, Rhonda Ridinger (Faculty Senate), Glen Fletcher, Scott Walker, Guy DeVault, Monya McMichael

Guests - Betty Lewis, Phil Nichols, Myril Stewart, Lisa McEowen-LeVangie

3. Approval of Minutes - The minutes of the open, regular meeting of January 6, 2005, were approved with corrections.

4. President's Report - Diana Garland reported that at the January 21, 2005 Board of Governor's meeting, three individual finalists for the President position were announced. Interviews will be held on the following dates: February 7, 2005 – Dr. John D. Sellars from University of Syracuse, February 10, 2005 – Dr. David Belcher from University of Arkansas, and February 14, 2005 – Dr. Michael T. Nietzel from University of Kentucky. Thirteen staff senator leaders (Bakers Dozen: Diana Garland, Ben Boslaugh, Sue Alvers, Phil Nichols, Steve Mills, Edie Sartin, Phyllis Kenny, Myril Stewart, Sara Clark, Tara Horton, Tami Sutton, Lisa McEowen-LeVangie, Dale Moore) will interview the candidates at 2:30 pm followed by an open forum at 3:45pm. Diana urged everyone to attend the forums.

Diana stated that discussion revolved around the Centennial happenings at the President's Cabinet meeting. The Centennial Gala is March 18, 2005. Staff and faculty can register for a giveaway of tickets to the gala. For further information and to register online for the drawing please visit https://www.ws.missouristate.edu/centennial/. John Strong volunteered to coordinate Missouri State's Tsunami Relief.

Diana attended the Salute to Legislatures in Jefferson City. She said that many campus representatives attended. She shook hands with many people and talked about Missouri State and the name change. Earle Doman stated that 100 Centennial pins were given away at the event.

5. Committee Reports -

  • Vacation Accrual Committee, Sherry Adams - Sherry stated that the subcommittee recommended that July 1, 2005 as the appropriate time to implement the new accrual policy for classified staff. Fewer employees will be affected than originally thought. The new policy "per year" is:

    ~ Employees who have worked less than 5 years receive 10 days vacation
    ~ Those who worked between 5-10 years receive 15 days vacation
    ~ Employees who have worked over 10 yes will receive 20 days vacation

    Mary Routh needs to draft a resolution for Greg Burris to take to the Board.
  • Budget and Priorities Committee, Phil Nichols-Chair - Phil gave a brief report on reformulating the staff survey to add job satisfaction.
  • Public Relations Committee, Tara Horton-Chair - Tara Horton gave a brief update on the status of the Staff Senate logo. She has forwarded the logos to the Bookstore to make sure that they will work universally. She hasn't received a reply.
  • Veterans Recognition Committee, Myril Stewart-Chair - Myril stated that spaces in the union have been reserved for this years Veteran's Day Celebration. He sent a letter to Governor Blunt asking him to be guest speaker. "Women in Service" is the theme this year and the budget request has been submitted. Phil Nichols reported
    that the Committee is moving forward with the idea of publishing a book on Missouri State Veterans.
  • Staff Activities Ad Hoc Committee, LaDonna Hansen-Chair - LaDonna stated that the members on the SAC are: Marline Faherty, Barb Jones, Debbie Donnellan, Jim Taylor and Cindi Giacin. Plans are for a bowling and pizza lunch hour for an April activity. SAC will not ask for funds, but will be employee funded. Starting February 7th,
    the committee is selling Valentine cookies to help with the cost of flyers, etc. Monies earned will also be used to offset costs for "staff family gatherings".
  • Health Care Committee, David Liss-Member - Pharmacy cost for 2004 was $2.2 million dollars which was 19.6% higher than the year prior. This was expected because of the change in the policy changes. The committee is looking into consumer driven health care plans. Howard Berriman is sending articles to committee members
    so that they can be up to speed with the language.
  • University Planning Advisory Committee, Lisa McEowen-LeVangie-Member - Lisa reported that there was resistance to the suggested recommendation from the Human Resource Planning Task Force on how to bring salaries up to comparable market level.

6. New Business -

Earle Doman asked the Senate to approve a resolution to support a feasibility study for a recreational/wellness center. He gave a short report on the visit of three architectural firms and their recommendations. The resolution was discussed and approved.

Ben Boslaugh wondered if the Staff Senate had an interest participating in some way for Founders Day (March 17, 2005). His idea is to have a luncheon that includes current and past senators. An Ad-hoc committee consisting of Ben Boslaugh, Sara Clark, LaDonna Hanson and Jason Rhea was formed to brainstorm ideas.

Diana asked the senate for ideas on what to ask the Presidential candidates during the small group interview time. These are some of the questions that were suggested: 1) How would you define the role of "staff" in the overall function of the University? Could you please give a couple of specific examples? 2) How do you view the staffs' role in the university infrastructure and how do you view the staffs' contribution (separate from faculty) in making the university more competitive in the marketplace? 3) What is your vision for Missouri State? With the state of Missouri's budget cutbacks and the rising costs of running a university, how do you plan on funding your vision? 4) Please describe your management style/philosophy. How does it work in your current position? How would it fit at Missouri State? 5) What experience prepared you to be President and why are you a good fit for Missouri State and the Ozarks? 6) What would your harshest critic say about you?

The next regular meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. on February 3, 2005 in Plaster Student Union Ballroom West

The meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:
Sue Alvers
Staff Senate Secretary