MINUTES UAF STAFF COUNCIL MEETING #118 Friday, June 2, 2000 Wood Center Ballroom I Irene Downes call the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: Baergen, A. Anderson, L. Brown, E. Candler, R. Bywater, C. Carlson, K. Culbertson, S. Comstock, S. Downes, I. DeKerlegand York, D. Hagen, D. Evans, L. Hazelton, G. Gray, D. Heineken, H. Ledlow, L. McCrea, S. Martyn, P. Rogers, P. Parzick, J. Seymour, M. Powell, D. Simmons, H. Renfro, C. White, P. Sowell, P. OTHERS PRESENT: Duffy, L. Dworian, K. Flodin, D. Ivey, P. Mosca, K. B. The minutes to Meeting #117 (May 10, 2000) were approved as distributed via e-mail. C. The agenda was adopted with the addition of a committee report by Elections, Membership and Rules under Committee Reports and a motion to approved the change in the 2002 spring break under Other Business. 1. The Alumni Report was included in the agenda. D. Pass the gavel President Downes thanked the representatives for their help and support this past year. Staff Council accomplished some wonderful things this year, i.e. reduced parking fee, and that is due to the hard work of staff. Staff makes a difference. This next year Staff Council will be in good hands with Scott Culbertson and Scott McCrea. The UAF Staff Council is an extremely active and worthwhile organization and President Downes passed the gavel to Scott Culbertson and wished him well in the coming year. E. President's Report S. Culbertson As the new president of Staff Council, I want to assure everyone that I will remain committed to the professional development of staff at UAF. To improve upon our image as professionals we need to have more support from staff at large. A greater degree of involvement will be the first step. In keeping with the wishes of the Chancellor, Staff Council will continue to lead in the efforts of staff recognition. I want people to know of Staff Councilıs role in staff recognition. I want our name connected to every award. We have to have people interested in us, or their not going to want to join us. There have been many progresses made this past year that we are going to stick with. We are not done with the parking issue. The advocacy committee is now a part of Staff Council and it is yet another way to get our name out there. Through the summer months Scott McCrea and myself will be catching up with issues already on the table and formulating our agenda for the coming year. We intend to have ideas in writing for our first meeting in the fall. I look forward to working with everyone in the coming year. With your help, my personal goal of being able to look back on my year as president of Staff Council and saying, I truly made a difference in the lives of my coworkers, can and will be realized. The Staff Council presented the following resolution of appreciation to Irene Downes for her exemplary service this past year. RESOLUTION PASSED (unanimous) ================RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR IRENE DOWNES WHEREAS, Irene Downes has served as the University of Alaska Fairbanks Staff Council President from September 1999 through May 2000; and WHEREAS, Irene Downes took the office of Staff Council President with only three months as president-elect; and WHEREAS, Concerns and wishes of the University of Alaska Fairbanks classified and administrative/professional/technical staff have been strongly and enthusiastically represented by Irene Downes through her tireless participation on several committees, including Ad Hoc Committee on University Advocacy, Administrative Committee, Rural Affairs Committee, and Staff Alliance; and WHEREAS, Irene Downes has lead the UAF Staff Council through a transition period with sincerity and professionalism; and WHEREAS, Irene Downes has unconditionally supported the chairs of all University of Alaska Fairbanks Staff Council committees; and WHEREAS, Irene Downes has served the University of Alaska Fairbanks Staff Council in a manner deserving of the Councilıs greatest admiration and respect; and WHEREAS, The University of Alaska Fairbanks Staff Council wishes to acknowledge the outstanding service rendered the association by the work of Irene Downes as she concludes her term as president, now; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, That the University of Alaska Fairbanks Staff Council wishes to acknowledge the many contributions of Irene Downes and expresses its appreciation for her exemplary service. Date this 2nd day of June, 2000. ****************** II Governance Reports A. Faculty Senate L. Duffy The Provost is implementing a policy of annual reviews of deans and directors. Their performance will be reviewed on an annual basis. This has been a concern of faculty for many years. The grade appeals policy has been revised. The Faculty Senate Administrative Committee is conducting a vote on revising the academic calendar to align spring break with the school district. Goals for next year include updating faculty policies and regulations, a larger catalog, and a student handbook available to all students. Larry Duffy was asked if he foresees a closer working relationship with Staff Council for the coming year. Faculty numbers are down due to the RIP and this has caused a low turn out in service activities. However, all faculty are encouraged to participate on the Senate committees. III Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services Remarks F. Williams No report, Vice Chancellor Williams was unable to attend the meeting. IV Guest Speaker Dan Flodin, Project Manager For Food Services Dan Flodin thanked Darlette Powell for serving on the Food Service Advisory Board and providing reports to Staff Council. UAF will be switching food service contractors on July 1. The new company, Nana Management Services, is jointly owned by Marriott and Nana. Katrina Dworian, the new General Manager for Nana Management Services at UAF was introduced. The phone numbers you have used in the past for food service will be the same next year. If you have a catered event you want to schedule after July 1, contact Katrina Dworian at the following numbers: e-mail: Katrina.Dworian@nana-dev.com, cell: 378- 7499, temp. message phone until 7/1/00: 6661 or phone after 7/1/00: 7566. There will be a catering open house in the early fall to introduce all the catering customers to the new exciting menu. Food Service is also working on placing the catering order on line and should be done within a year. Changes this fall include: Avanti and Itza Pizza will change to Star Bucks and Pizza Piazza, which will include an expanded menu. The Wood Center food court will have several new menus. There will be cheese steaks, burritos, sub connection, oriental cuisine, and salads. The Pub will be an all-you-can-eat buffet. Approximately $148,000 will be spent to upgrade the Commons. There will be a strong vegetarian menu also. The West Ridge Café will have an Italian theme along with Ben and Jerry's ice cream. The funding for upgrades are coming from Nana Management Services. Dan Flodin thanked staff for their patience during this time of change. If you have any other food service questions or comments please contact Dan Flodin at 5145 or e-mail at fndrf@uaf.edu. The contract with Nana is 5 years with 2 two year extensions. Representatives requested some sort of food service in the Natural Sciences building. This will be looked at, as well as the IRAC building. Prices have not been set, but should be comparable. V Committee Reports A. Staff Affairs G. Hazelton Staff Affairs met on May 31 and the guest speakers were Janet Jacobs and Dale Seay. At the Board of Regents meeting, Janet Jacobs will be presenting the following items with full support from President Hamilton to the Human Resources Committee: an additional University Holiday for Martin Luther King Day, annual leave cash out, and update Part IV of policies and regulations, so they are consistent. Part V salary and classification needs to be revised to meet staff needs. Geographic differential is a very political issue. Dale Seay will be streamlining the classification system. President Culbertson thanked Representative Brown for her pointed questions at the meeting. The current classification system is unmanageable. The consultant, Dale Seay streamlined the classification system for Alyeska. The new system will take time and staff are asked to be patient with this process. Janet Jacobs is a strong advocate for staff. Information will be available on the web from Statewide Human Resources. Staff Affairs Committee submitted the following year end report. This past year Staff Affairs worked on salary issues (red-circled jobs, longevity, inadequate pay scale), career ladders, and paid time off. The committee fully addressed the issue of paid time off and came to the conclusion that staff are not ready to buy into the concept. Next year the committee will be addressing leave without pay, re-classification, JEF, and salaries. Other areas which need to be addressed include the idea of co- presidents and also ways to encourage rural staff to take on the role of president in the future. A continued challenge for the committee is more involvement from staff. As Lydia Anderson concludes her term as chair, Gabby Hazelton in Juneau will take over as chair of the committee in the fall. All staff members are encouraged to get involved in governance. If you are interested in serving on Staff Affairs, contact Lydia Anderson at fnlma@uaf.edu or Gabby Hazelton at fngdh@uaf.edu. B. Elections, Membership & Rules P. White Elections, Rules, and Membership Committee submitted a year end report. This past year the Elections, Membership and Rules Committee only met once due to changes in the Chair position. It was decided that the committee would have Co-Chairs who are Patty White and DeShana DeKerlegand-York. At this meeting the committee made some goals for the upcoming year as issues to address and they included: Membership for committee-The committee needs more members to address issues. Bylaw revisions and re-writes to bring bylaws up-to-date which include: Steps of a recall, Duties of the President & President-Elect, Co-Presidency options, as well as Proxy voting options. Currently the committee consists of Patty White, DeShana DeKerlegand-York, and Carol Renfro. Our plan is to meet more frequently and to begin work this upcoming year on the by-laws as this is the most pressing issue currently. If anyone is interested on serving on the committee please contact DeShana at 907-786-6333 or via e-mail at fndd@uaf.edu. C. Rural Affairs H. Simmons Various parts of the University are now realizing that the Rural Affairs Committee is a good mechanism to get information out to the rural sites. Next year the committee will be working on expanding their membership to include some of the other rural sites. Rural Affairs Committee submitted the following year end report. This past year the committee addressed rural site staff concerns: providing a strong voice in rural issues through sharing of communication, projects, and/or training needs for rural staff. Monthly meetings focused on question/answer training sessions with various UAF on campus departments. Monthly forums allowed the opportunity for rural sites to learn more about the services of on campus departments and to address any concerns requiring correction. Meetings were well attended this year by CRA sites, CDE, Rural Alaska Science/Math Network, & REPP staff. We did not receive, but still continue to encourage other rural sites and programs to join us. Monthly Featured Speakers and topics: October - First meeting of year. Summer/fall site updates, site concerns. November- Worked on Spring 2000 shared catalog. Set up guest presentations for rest of year. December - Human Resources, Carolyn Chapman, Director February - Printing Services, Warren Fraiser, Director March - UAF Financial Aide, Donald Scheaffer, Director April - Rural College Updates, Ralph Gabrielle, Dean of Rural College May - Purchasing Department, Terry Kelly, Director Issues to work on next year: Safety Training Issues, Ergonomics concerns at Rural Sites, Sharing registration support tips, site allocations, general communication of shared programs and students, Working on shared catalog, Continue: Training updates from other UAF Departments If you have any questions or would like to serve on the Rural Affairs Committee, contact Heidi Simmons at lnhls@uaf.edu or the Governance Office at fystaff@uaf.edu. D. Staff Training A. Baergen The committee dedicated their last meeting to drafting measures to shorten the longevity awards program next year. Representatives Baergen thanked Irene Downes for her support this last year. Staff Training Committee submitted the following year end report. Major issues for the Staff Training Committee this year have been to re-establish ourselves as a major player in providing supervisory training for UAF. After having been the primary provider for the last five years, we were relieved of the main responsibility of providing this training due to accreditation issues. UAF Human Resources is now responsible for providing training and our committee now assists them in this endeavor. Staff Council represented Darlette Powell a resolution of appreciation for her many years of dedicated service as the chair of Staff Training. Through ingenuity and hard work, the committee offered 15 supervisory training sessions this past year, with minimal funding. The committee is currently developing the fall training schedule. We are committed to offering training sessions t our rural sites as well as at the UAF. After recently being approached by College of Rural Alaska, it is our desire to offer training via satellite hook up. We are hopeful that a portion of this undertaking will be in place by fall. The Committee again organized the staff longevity awards program. While there were a number of positive comments on the awards program, the length of ceremony was an issue. To further improve the longevity awards program for the future, the committee will be implementing the following changes next year: I Form a mini-entertainment committee which focuses on staff. A. Include entertainment in the middle of the program. II Seat the recipients by the number of years at the front of the awards program. III Eliminate presenters and have the master of ceremony read off names like they do at graduation. A. Staff Council President and Chancellor shake recipients hands when they get awards. If available, have President Hamilton participate also. B. Awards will be presented to the 20 and up first, then start at 5 and finish presenting awards. C. 20 year and up recipients, say brief info about them, about 2 sentences. IV Include door prizes during the awards program and carry and continue with the door prizes at the picnic. A. Pick up Starvation Gulch and melt down t-shirts and bear posters from Sarah Comstock as door prizes. V Do not start serving the food for the picnic until the entire awards program has completed. A. Reword picnic poster. The committee is always looking for new members and new ideas for future training. If you are interested in serving on the Staff Training Committee or would like more information, contact Alice Baergen at fnajb@uaf.edu or the Governance Office at fystaff@uaf.edu. E. University Advocacy S. McCrea University Advocacy Committee submitted a year end report. The University Advocacy group had its final event of the 1999- 2000 academic year with the second campus tour on May 19th. Close to 20 staff from all areas of campus, UAF and statewide, participated in the second tour. The tour covered the Charles Davis Concert Hall, Alaska Cooperative Extension, Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, Arctic Region Supercomputer, International Arctic Research Center, and the Fire Station. Lunch was once again graciously hosted by ARAMARK, and Facility Services provided a complimentary shuttle. Both President Hamilton and Chancellor Lind spoke to and joined the group at lunch. The two campus tours were the main projects the committee worked on, after spending the first half of the year exploring its mission and determining what the committee would focus its efforts on. Based upon the feedback from staff and administration, the tours have been very well received and it has been felt by all that they should definitely continue. Because of this, as well as other projects on the backburner, the committee felt that it should become a permanent one, a motion which was passed at the May 10th Staff Council meeting. Going into next year, the committee is looking to not only continue forward with the campus tours, but also at implement a couple of other projects that have been discussed this last year. They include the UAF Day at the Southside Community Center, working with ASUAF to approach local businesses to offer discounts to Polar Express card holders, and the First Annual Staff/Faculty Olympics. Special thanks to the committee members who made all of the above possible, including Cindy Branley, Sarah Comstock, LJ Evans, Thomas DePace Gruenig-Wylie, and Tonya Trabant. If you have any questions or would like to serve on the University Advocacy Committee, contact Scott McCrea at fnsjm@uaf.edu or the Governance Office at fystaff@uaf.edu. F. Staff Alliance I. Downes & S. McCrea The Staff Alliance has had a very busy year. The main focus has been the budget for the University of Alaska. From the very beginning of the year we began planning our strategy for persuading the Legislature to fund us. Initially we joined forces with the Student Coalition by supporting them in their efforts and talking to our respective governance groups to help with the studentsı efforts in any way we could. Then we planned a way to illustrate to the Legislature how badly we were under-funded by having a chili cook-off. The different pots of chili made would represent different universities and how their state governments funded them, i.e. Texas would have bountiful chili, Washington would have chili with no meat, and Alaska would be tomato soup. The plan was in place and ready to go untilthe Legislature looked like it was going to fund us 100%. A chili cook- off would have been a bad idea, so we decided to present the Legislatures and their aides with cookies. We delivered the cookies dressed in bright yellow aprons imprinted with the logo for "Alaskaıs Economic Engine". This went over extremely well, and most of our aprons were "donated" to legislators who wanted them. The Staff Alliance had more fun this year, we passed a motion to accept the Information Technology policy as it was submitted to us for approval. We also passed a motion to provide a tuition waiver for retirees. The waiver will cover employees who have retired early and who are not otherwise eligible for the senior citizen waiver. We reviewed the Regents' Policy 03.01.01 and decided to write a regulation to match the policy. A draft of the regulation has been submitted to the various governance groups for approval/revision. The last motion we passed was to have an additional paid holiday for staff to recognize Alaska Civil Rights Day. This motion will be brought before the Board of Regents in June and is expected to become policy. The Staff Alliance coordinated the Make Students Count award again this year, and it was received favorably by all campuses. The winners of the award will be announced at the June Board of Regentsı meeting. Finally, the last two item Staff Alliance will continue to work on are fees paid be employees for classes they take to improve their skills for their jobs, and fees in general that are paid by the employee, i.e. parking, health fees, etc. The last item yet to be resolved by Staff Alliance is a policy to allow an employee to cash-out annual leave not taken in a given year (+240 will normally be lost). This will allow an employee to be reimbursed for leave they are not able to take for various reasons. All staff members are encouraged to volunteer help and time with Staff Alliance projects. VI Other Business A. Resolution of Appreciation for ARAMARK President Culbertson presented Al Trindle, catering manager of ARAMARK the following resolution of appreciation. The vote was unanimous. RESOLUTION PASSED (unanimous) ================RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR ARAMARK WHEREAS, ARAMARK has been the primary food vendor on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus for 29 years; and WHEREAS, during this long length of time, ARAMARK has grown to become a prominent member of the campus community; and WHEREAS, ARAMARK has always been open to suggestions and improvements from staff, faculty, and students; and WHEREAS, ARAMARK has made many significant contributions and donations to the university, including a recent $175,000 donation to the UA Museum expansion project and $20,000 annually to the student athletic food scholarships; and WHEREAS, ARAMARK has donated its services for many events on campus, including the lunches they recently hosted for the University Advocacy staff tours and the annual graduation party; and WHEREAS, many ARAMARK employees have become close friends and colleagues with the staff, faculty and students at UAF, including, but not limited to, Ed Jenkins, Greg Bunker, Susan Kramer, Al Trindle, and Joe Juszkiewicz; and WHEREAS, ARAMARK has provided employment opportunities for hundreds of students throughout the years; and WHEREAS, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Staff Council wishes to acknowledge the service ARAMARK has provided to the campus community as they end their contract with the university at the end of June, now; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, That the University of Alaska Fairbanks Staff Council wishes to acknowledge the many contributions of ARAMARK and expresses its appreciation for their service and commitment to UAF. Date the 2nd day of June, 2000 ******************** B. Governance Self Study President Downes was asked to provide the self study report for Staff Council. Each committee chair was asked to provide information for the report. Staff Council is a strong organization and vital to the University. Staff Council Self Study for UAF Re-accreditation UAF Staff Council provides Non-Exempt and APT employees an avenue to help formulate new policies, change existing policies or working conditions, and other matters that affect services provided by the support staff of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. With membership elected from all UAF support staff, Staff Council seeks to represent all employees by helping to create a better working environment. The Council provides a medium of exchange between the support staff and University administration. Over the years, Staff Council was responsible for a number of employee benefit improvements, including: increased educational benefits for employees; additional University holidays - extra day at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, and a personal holiday for non-exempt staff; increase in sick leave benefits; leave share program; and extension of benefits to permanent half-time employees (on a prorated basis); and the creation of the tuition waiver. Members have worked on refining health and leave benefits, implementation of the benefit plan that replaced Social Security, development and implementation of the new salary system, correspondence with State legislators on bills concerning the retirement system and the University budget, and consultation with the Office of Human Resource Development on UAF hiring procedures. Some of the ongoing projects Staff Council will pursue include: advocacy in our state capitol for continued University funding, safety training, ergonomics in the work place, continued supervisory training, salary issues, community relations, parking on campus, re-writing our bylaws, and fees assessed to staff. The most important benefit staff at UAF have through their representatives is an open line of communication to administration. If any staff member in the University community has a problem with their work environment or sees a way the University could become more productive by creating a better work environment, an avenue for conveyance is open to them through their governance group. Staff Council does a very good job in representing staff at UAF. Our Staff Council is very active and alive as is evident by our reputation for professionalism and endurance. UAF Staff Council is a vital entity to Governance and to UAF. C. Staff Council Raffle UAF STAFF COUNCIL RAFFLE CAROLYN SAMPSON MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP The UAF Staff Council will be conducting their annual fund raiser for the Carolyn Sampson Memorial Scholarship. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit this scholarship, established by the UAF Staff Council in June 1990. Grand Prize: Two coach round-trip tickets to one U.S. destination, served by Alaska Airlines. Tickets courtesy of Alaska Airlines. Runner-Up Prizes: Two season tickets for UAF Hockey, courtesy of UAF Athletics. Two tickets for the Top of the World Classic, courtesy of UAF Athletics. One individual Student Recreation Center Pass, courtesy of UAF Athletics. Quilt, courtesy of Kathe Rich. One month trial membership, courtesy of the Fairbanks Athletic Club. One Broose Moose and $50 in gas coupons, courtesy of Tesoro. One Broose Moose and $50 in gas coupons, courtesy of Tesoro. Tickets are $5 each, or 5 for $20 and are available from Staff Council representatives or the Governance Office, 312 Signers' Hall. The drawing will be on Friday, October 6. You need not be present to win. The UAF Staff Council named the scholarship in memory of Carolyn Sampson, former executive secretary in the Governance Office. Carolyn was instrumental in obtaining support services for the Staff Council and provided support for the Faculty Senate and Academic Council while employed at UAF. This scholarship is designed to provide new career paths or retraining to applicants wishing to re-enter the job market or whose work activity may be threatened by economic, health or other factors. For more information, contact your Staff Council representative or the Governance Office. D. Motion to Change Spring Break 2002 The local school district has changed their spring break for 2002. Coordinating the spring break between the school district and university is very important since there are a number of staff who have children in the school district. A motion was made and seconded. The vote was unanimous. MOTION PASSED (unanimous) ============= The UAF Staff Council moves to approve the amended 2001-2002 academic calendar which moves the spring break to March 18-24 so that it will coincide with the School District spring break. EFFECTIVE: Immediately RATIONALE: The school district has made significant changes to their 2001-2002 schedule. Coordinating the spring break days for the school district and university has been important since many university staff have children in the local schools. ******************* VII Comments and Questions A. 2000-01 Meeting Schedule The October meeting conflicts with the October Board of Regents meeting. The raffle will still be conducted on October 6. A recommendation was made to have a raffle rally at Wood Center for the drawing. A motion was made and seconded to move the October meeting to the 13th. The vote was unanimous. MOTION PASSED (unanimous) ============ A motion was made to change meeting #120 from October 6 to October 13. EFFECTIVE: Immediately RATIONALE: The meeting change will enable the Staff Council president to attend the Board of Regents meeting. ****************** UAF STAFF COUNCIL REVISED 2000-01 MEETING CALENDAR 8:30 a.m. Wood Center Ballroom MTG.# DATE DAY 119 September 13, 2000 Wednesday 120 *October 13, 2000 Friday 121 November 8, 2000 Wednesday 122 *December 8, 2000 Friday 123 February 7, 2001 Wednesday 124 *March 2, 2001 Friday 125 April 4, 2001 Wednesday 126 *May 9, 2001 Wednesday 127 June 1, 2001 Friday *Face-to-face meetings VIII The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 a.m. A tape of this Staff Council meeting is available in the Governance Office, 312 Signers' Hall if anyone wishes to listen to the complete tape. Submitted by Kathy Mosca, Staff Council secretary.