October 7, 2004 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, Norm Griffith, David Liss, Tami Sutton, Patrick Byers, Belinda Davis, LaDonna Hansen, Phil Nichols, Scott Walker, Mike Clark, Diana Garland, Phyllis Kenney, Marline Faherty, Lisa McEowen-LeVangie

Absent - Sherry Adams, Allison Crocker, Tara Horton, Cheryl Pawling, Chris Stodtman, Veronica Adinegara, Earle Doman, Monya McMichael, Lois Shufeldt (Faculty Senate), Ben Boslaugh, Antoinette Foster (SGA), Steve Mills, D. Lynn Singleton (Resigned)

Guests - Marissa LeClaire, Lisa Reed, Dale Moore, Teresa Steele, Diane Newman

3. Announcements - Phil began the meeting with an apology for the error of the incorrect due date on the Staff Membership Drive flyer. He stated that the correct due date according to the Staff Senate Bylaws for applicants to apply for Staff Senate Membership is October 15.

He also reported that D. Lynn Singleton has resigned due to time constraints.

4. Guest Speaker - Lisa Reed, Assistant Director of International Student Services gave a briefing on the upcoming International Education Week 2004. She presented the Staff Senate with a flyer detailing the event that will take place the week of November 15 – 19.

5. Approval of Minutes - A motion was made to amend the minutes of the open, regular meeting of September 2, 2004. The amendment will be to change the text under the Healthcare Committee report of the minutes. The last sentence will be changed to read, "He also reported that the Healthcare Plans Review Committee is proposing to align the calendar year and the fiscal year for ease of plan administration."

The minutes of the open, regular meeting of September 2, 2004 were approved as amended.

6. Report from the Chair - Phi Nichols -

Since Phil was on vacation during much of the month of September he asked Diana Garland, Chair Elect, to give the Chair"s report. Diana began her report with again stating that the date, according to the Staff Senate Bylaws, for applicants to apply for membership was October 15 and that a flyer correcting this issue would be forthcoming. Diana then moved on to report that the date for the centennial display case dedication was October 18 and that additional information for that event would also be coming in the mail shortly. Next Diana reported on the September Board of Governors" meeting. Of special mention during this report were the changes to the healthcare plan and the formation of a new healthcare review committee. She also reported that three university presidents (Mallory, Gordon, Keiser) would be honored with plazas to be located in different areas on the Springfield campus and that President Traywick will be honored by having the Parliamentary Room named after him.

7. Committee Reports -

  • Budget and Priorities, Lisa McEowen-LeVangie-Chair - Lisa McEowen-LeVangie, Chair, presented a brief overview of the Staff Senate Budget Priorities Survey 2004 Summary. The summary is available online at https://www.missouristate.edu/staffsenate/survey/default.asp. She indicated that she, Phil Nichols and Diana Garland would be reviewing the budget recommendations with Greg Burris, Vice President for Administration and Finance to get guidance on the feasibility and support of the recommendations. Lisa will also be reporting on the survey results at the next Board of Governors meeting.
  • Public Relations Committee, Tara Horton-Chair - In Tara"s absence Phil Nichols presented the Public Relations Committee report. At that time he presented a handout to the Staff Senate which displayed the potential Staff Senate logos. The logos were to be reviewed and voted on in order of preference and handed back in to him by the
    conclusion of the meeting. The logos will be used in a variety of ways, i.e., letterhead, t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.
  • Denim Day Committee Report, Lisa McEowen-LeVangie-Member - Lisa gave a brief report of the Denim Day week activities.
  • Public Affairs Committee, Phyllis Kenney-Chair - Phyllis reported that the September Lunch-Hour Lecture Series featuring Dr. Don Landon, Professor Emeritus, speaking on the Centennial History was a huge success. She reported that the Presidential Search was being considered as a possible upcoming topic. More information will be forthcoming.
  • Centennial Celebration Committee, Diana Garland-Member - Diana reported the dedication date for the Centennial Display Case will be Monday, October 18 at 1:00 pm in Carrington Hall. The location of the case is just opposite the President"s Office, Carrington 201. President Keiser will be the speaker for the dedication. Diana reported that the clock for the mantle and the dedication plaque have arrived and that there are a few items already received for display.
  • Faculty Senate Report, Norm Griffith-Staff Senate Representative - Norm gave a brief report of the September Faculty Senate meeting. Two topics of discussion for
    the meeting were the possibility of having a Provost (this discussion was tabled), and the health care issue.
  • Health Care Committee, David Liss and Ben Boslaugh-Staff Senate Representatives - David Liss began his report with a variety of health care claim statistics. He also reported that members of the Health Care Committee had attended a seminar at Drury University about managed health care and disease-management programs. This is a trend that is being looked into to help with health care expenses.
  • Public Arts Committee, Sara Clark-Member - Sara Clark, Member, reported three topics of interest from the Public Arts Committee meeting:

    ~ Plaques commemorating the different periods in the University history are planned to be installed on the cement wall east of the Student Union.
    ~ Students are discussing the possibility of a student fee for public art.
    ~ The University has pursued funding for public art from the state and federal governments.

8. Unfinished Business - There was no unfinished business.

9. New Business -

Phil Nichols presented a resolution that the Veterans Committee had penned in support of a moment of silence on November 11, 2004. He wished for the Staff Senate to vote in support of the resolution. Support of the resolution was unanimous.

Phil reported that he had emailed everyone a copy of the charges drafted by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Steering Committee for the Staff Senate. The response to the questions by Staff Senate will be used in preparing the 2005 HLC Self-Study. Also attached were guidelines prepared by the Steering Committee to help in addressing those questions.

David Liss from the User Support Advisory Committee also reported that his committee is responsible for a portion of the upcoming plan Daring to Excel and that they are looking for input. They will be hosting faculty/staff open forums in hopes of generating input regarding user support needs.

Sara Clark reported that the Staff Senate website has been updated. She wished for everyone to check it out and pay particular attention to the calendar events. Please send her any information/changes/corrections, etc. directly that she should post

Finally, Marissa LeClaire, Assistant Director, Student Activities Office, passed out a flyer for the upcoming Centennial Dessert Break. The next Dessert Break will be on Wednesday, October 20 at 4:00 pm in the lounge north of the PSU Churchills. Dr. Don Landon, Professor Emeritus, will be the guest speaker and present funny antidotes from the University history. The event is open to anyone and the carrot cake is free.

 

The next regular meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. on November 4, 2004 in Plaster Student Union room 313.


The meeting adjourned at 2:40 p.m.


Respectfully submitted:
Tami Sutton
Staff Senate Secretary