MINUTES UAF STAFF COUNCIL MEETING #124 Friday, March 2, 2001 Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom I Scott Culbertson called the meeting to order at 8:49 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS EXCUSED: Armstrong, K. Allen-Luopa, J. Bales, P. (for C. Bywater) DeKerlegand York, D. Brown, E. Ledlow, L. Burkhead, T. Carlson, K. MEMBERS ABSENT: Comstock, S. Jackson, V. Cross, G. (for H. Simmons) Renfro, C. Culbertson, S. Whitehorn, J. Evans, L. Gray, D. OTHERS PRESENT: Hagen, D. Branley, C. Hazelton, G. Lind, M. Howdeshell, S. Mosca, K. McCrea, S. O'Connor, K. Miller, L. Ringstad, A. Moore, D. Seay, D. Parzick, J. Skrob, J. Powell, D. (for R. O'Neill) Thomas, D. Seymour, M. Williams, F. Sharpton, S. (for J. Crews) B. The Minutes to Meeting #123 (February 7, 2001) were approved with the notation that Kim Armstrong was present at the meeting. C. The agenda was adopted as distributed via e-mail. D. President's Report - S. Culbertson Executive Summary on Compensation The other MAUs have been addressing the document and did not approve the entire content. They will be modifying the executive summary. II Guest Speaker - Dale Seay, Statewide Human Resources TOPIC: New Compensation System Dale Seay from Statewide Human Resources and director of Employee Relations introduced himself. Dale Seay has been conducting meetings throughout the system to address the new compensation system. To date, there has been 14 sessions on the new classification process. The sessions are comprehensive and take about two hours. In December, President Hamilton approved a new classification system to replace the JEF system with job family descriptors. The classification process will take about two years. The other programs have been addressed with President Hamilton and include pay and other people management systems, such as development and career planning. No specific recommendations have been made on these program. While in Juneau, Dale Seay met with the Chancellor and his Cabinet. Discussion took place on the pay issues and concerns with the Job Family Descriptors project. Reactions to the sessions on the new compensation system have been with apprehension. This is common when there is anything dealing with change. Information technology will be the first group reclassified into job family descriptors. Managers at each MAU will be assisting with the process. Information Technology will take about three sessions to draft out the job family descriptors and should be finished in a couple months. Engineering and accounting will be the next group after information technology. There may also be more groups included in the second round. Dale doesn't have all the answers to the questions that come up. He will be taking these questions to upper management for input. Communication is an essential component. At this time, this is a one-person show. However, in a couple weeks, there will be two more individuals to assist with this process. Pay issues will have to be addressed with the President's Council and the Business Council. Representatives asked who sits on the Business Council. The Business Council is made up of the three vice chancellors, Pat Pitney, Joe Beadle, and Randy Weaver. This group along with the chancellors' cabinets will address the financial aspect of this new system, as well as the impact. What's next? There are issues regarding resources. A web site will be set up to assist with communicating this project, but won't be up until May or June. Representatives reiterated their concerns for continual communication on this project. Another concern is how will the new classification system recognize employees who do multiple jobs. Dale stated that this has been brought up in each session. There will be a catch-all type job family that will allow employees who do multiple tasks. If you have comments, forward them to Dale Seay at dale.seay@alaska.edu. III Guest Speaker - Dana Thomas, Co-Chair of Accreditation Steering Committee TOPIC: Draft Self Study Comment Period Dana Thomas, co-chair of the Accreditation Steering Committee received the resolution that Staff Council passed and thanked the Council for their input. UAF faculty, staff and students are encouraged to provide feedback on the draft of UAF's self-study which is being prepared for reaffirmation of institutional accreditation. As drafts become available for each standard, they are being posted on the web. Input is crucial to the process, so visit http://www.uaf.edu/provost/accreditation/draft/ for more information. There is an opportunity to provide comments on line and to view the comments that have been made. Two more sections will be up on the web next week. The accreditation handbook is light when it comes to staff issues. There is a new section in the self-study on staff issues. Dana Thomas asked for Staff Council to make specific review of the draft self study. Dana Thomas also attends the Provost Council and the next two meetings will be dedicated to the self-study. The Steering Committee will also be on the Chamber of Commerce agenda. The re-accreditation team will consist of 12 individuals and will be on campus October 8-10. Representative Brown encouraged all representatives to get their constituents to provide input. IV Ann Ringstad, Director of Government Relations TOPIC: Lobbying The latest issue of the Legislative Bulletin was distributed, along with Who's Who in the 22nd Alaska State Legislature and Making a Difference The Legislative Process in Alaska. Ann Ringstad thanked staff for their efforts the past few years. The House Finance Subcommittee gave $9.3 million over last year's budget. The University had asked for $16.9 million more. The $188 million is the base budget, but the Finance committee is giving only $186. We are still short roughly $9.6 of the $16.9 million goal. Legislators need to hear from people throughout the state that the University is an important component to the State of Alaska. There will be public hearings on March 8 and 9 starting at 1:30 p.m. at the Legislative Information Office, which is in the Denali State Bank building. All staff are encouraged to participate in the legislative process and provide input to their legislators. Information is also available on line at www.alaska.edu/swlegis. The capital budget will not be addressed until after spring break. The House Finance Committee consists of representatives Mulder, Williams, Bunde, Foster, Harris, Hudson, Lancaster, Whitaker, Croft, Davies, and Moses. The Senate Finance Committee consists of senators Donley, Kelly, Ward, Austerman, Green, Leman, Wilken, Hoffman, and Olson. V Chancellor's Remarks - M. Lind Accreditation Chancellor Lind complimented Dana Thomas and the other individuals who are working on the self study. Chancellor Lind encouraged staff to provide input on the self study. Board of Regents Meeting - Chancellor Lind will be meeting with some legislators next week while attending the Board of Regents meeting. President Hamilton has been working at the federal level regarding additional funding for the University of Alaska. Business Leaders of the Year - The School of Management business students organized a banquet honoring business leaders of the year. The banquet attendance was outstanding. The students set a goal to raise $10,000 for their scholarship endowment and they exceeded their target amount. Athletics - The community provided $40,000 and the University will match this amount to improve the locker rooms at the Carlson Center. This partnership with the community is a fine example of the community support the University receives. Alaska Scholars - Chancellor Lind met with some prospective students. Three current students spoke about their experience of attending UAF. Applications are up this year. Memorial Service - There will be a memorial Service for Dr. William R. Wood at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 3 at the Patty Center. A reception will follow at the Wood Center. Increased Research Funding - Representative Brown stated that the increase in research funding means increases in students, faculty and staff. The current facility space will not allow for more growth. All available space is being used. How is administration addressing this issue? Chancellor Lind stated that this is being worked on and the space crunch in the research area is a priority. VI Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services Remarks - F. Williams Risk Management - Vice Chancellor Williams distributed a handout on what is happening with Risk Management at UAF. There are three elements to risk management: facilities services, codes and safety, and risk administration and management. A number of areas overlap. Ergonomics falls under codes and safety. Hazardous waste management falls under facilities services. Back to work programs falls under risk administration and management along with Human Resources. Ted DeLaca, director of the Office of Sponsored Programs can be reached for the Compliance Committee when dealing with such issues as radiation, chemical, biological, human subjects, and animal research to ensure that the University is following federal guidelines. For more information on codes and safety call 474- 5413, risk administration and management call 474-6771, and facilities services at 474-7000. Representative Brown complimented the individuals who handled the asbestos removal in O'Neill. Vice Chancellor Williams recognized LJ Evans for her hard work at the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center and wished her good luck in the Peace Corp. VII The Council took a five minute break. VIII Governance Reports A. ASUAF - S. Banks - No report B. Alumni Association - C. Branley Wreath Fund Raiser - Alumni raised $1,240 from this event, which is more than double last years amount. Cindy thanked staff for their support. Wood Center Furniture - The Alumni Association donated $20,000 towards the purchase of the furniture in Wood Center. This donation was made possible by the Alumni Benefactor Program. This program is geared towards student enhancement projects. Career Day at Wood Center On April 19, high school students will be speaking with professionals about careers that are of interest to them. This program is in conjunction with the Chamber of Commence. Legislative Process Representatives are encouraged to take an active role in the legislative process. Annual Alumni Reunion The annual Alumni reunion will be July 18- 20. The Association is looking at having a pig roast during this event. The Alumni Association welcomes any suggestions staff has for this event. IX Committee Reports A. Staff Affairs - G. Hazelton Convocation Representative Hagen stated that Human Resources has funding to bring up a speaker. There can also be other sessions in the morning. Staff from Cooperative Extension Service and the rural sites will be in town on May 17 and the Council was asked for their input. The Council agreed that the morning of May 17 would enable more staff to attend the program. A call went out for staff to serve on the committee. Michelle Renfrew and Diane Gray volunteered to serve on the committee. If you are interested in serving on this committee, contact Debra Hagen in Human Resources at 474-7557. B. Elections, Membership & Rules - D. Hagen The committee was not able to meet in February, but the committee has been communicating via e-mail. The committee is looking at the recall issue and addressed the change in staff representation. 1. Open Nominations for President-Elect Nominations opened for the position of president-elect. The election will take place at the May 16 meeting. If you are interested in serving as president-elect, contact Scott Culbertson at fnsrc@uaf.edu, Scott McCrea at fnsjm@uaf.edu, or the Governance Office at fystaff@uaf.edu. 2. Motion to Amend Bylaws Regarding Staff Representation Questions came up regarding the minimum number of staff which would be allowed to form a unit. The motion was withdrawn pending further clarification. MOTION WITHDRAWN =============== The UAF Staff Council moves to amend the Bylaws Sect. 2, Article IV Membership, A. Representation as follows: Add = Caps Delete = (( )) Sect. 2 (ARTICLE IV. - Membership) A. REPRESENTATION 1. The UAF Staff Council shall be composed of representatives elected by permanent full-time and permanent part-time non-faculty, non-student employees. University employees who hold executive appointments shall be excluded from representation by the UAF Staff Council. 2. Representatives and alternates must be from the unit they represent. 3. Unit representation shall be as follows: ((1 representative for units of 1 - 50 people 2 representatives for units of 51 - 100 people 3 representatives for units of more than 100 people)) UNIT REPRESENTATION SHOULD CONSIST OF A RATIO OF 1 STAFF COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE PER 50 CONSTITUENTS PER UNIT. EFFECTIVE: Upon Chancellor's Approval RATIONALE: Establishing a ratio of one Staff Council representative per 50 constituents in each unit would provide an adequate level of representation for all staff. **************** C. University Advocacy - S. Comstock and L. Evans Campus Tour The fifth campus tour was a huge success and 14 staff took part in the tour. Committee Chair - Sarah Comstock will be the new chair of the University Advocacy Committee. LJ Evans will be leaving for the Peace Corp. UAF Day at Southside Community Center - March 31 will be UAF Day at Southside Community Center from 1 5 p.m. Over 12 departments have signed up to participate in this event at the Southside Community Center. Student clubs will also be show cased at this event. If your department would like to participate, contact Sarah Comstock at fnsrc1@uaf.edu or Scott McCrea at fnsjm@uaf.edu. D. Ad Hoc Staff Longevity - D. Powell The longevity awards program will be on May 17. The theme this year is UAF Staff Spirit Day. Al Sokiatis will be the master of ceremonies. The Bookstore will be having a sale a few days prior to the awards ceremony on UAF logo apparel. The committee is working on prizes and firming up the list of recipients. E. Ad Hoc Picnic - S. Howdeshell The staff picnic will be combined with the longevity awards program this year. The picnic will begin at 12:30 p.m. in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom. The staff awards program will begin at 1 p.m. Raffle tickets were distributed. The proceeds from the raffle benefit the Carolyn Sampson Memorial Scholarship. Staff Council will be selling tickets at the Wood Center on March 23, April 6, April 20, and May 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A sign up sheet was circulated. Representatives, along with their constituents, were encouraged to attend the picnic and awards program. The following is a list of the prizes: Grand Prize: *Clock, courtesy of Tom Nichols Runner-up Prizes: *2 season tickets for UAF Hockey, courtesy of UAF Athletics *1 individual Student Rec Center Pass, courtesy of UAF Athletics *2 Tickets for Top of the World Tournament, courtesy of UAF Athletics *1 Roundtrip Ticket from Fairbanks to Anchorage, courtesy of Frontier Flying Service *Lazy Susan, courtesy of Bev's Wood Work *1 Broose Moose and $50 in gas coupons, courtesy of Tesoro Alaska Company *1 Broose Moose and $50 in gas coupons, courtesy of Tesoro Alaska Company *Gift Certificate, courtesy of Tacks General Store *Necklace and Earrings, courtesy of Mary Jo Brebner -Columbine Creations *2 Tickets on Riverboat Discovery, courtesy of the Binkley Family *2 Ticket to Eldorado Gold Mine, courtesy of the Binkley Family *2 Season Passes, courtesy of the Tanana Valley Fair X New Business A. Informational Forum on Unionization Process UAF Staff Council will sponsor an informational forum on the unionization process on Friday, March 2 at 3:30 p.m. in Schaible Auditorium. President-Elect McCrea will be the moderator. Staff Council is sponsoring this forum to educate staff on what a union does and the process of unionization. There will be representatives from Statewide Labor Relations, American Federation of Teachers, and Teamsters. Each speaker was given questions submitted by staff and will have 20 minutes to address the questions. There will be time at the end of the forum for questions and answers. B. Comments and Questions System Governance - President Culbertson put a call out for a staff representative to the System Governance. System Governance Council consists of representatives from faculty, staff, and students from each MAU. Donna Moore volunteered to be the staff representative from UAF. April Meeting - Scott McCrea will be in Nome meeting with staff at Northwest Campus and will attend the April meeting via audio conference. Scott Culbertson will be in Venetie and will conduct the meeting via audio conference. C. Upcoming Meetings March 21, Staff Affairs, 9 a.m., Wood Center Conference Room B March 22, Ad Hoc on Staff Longevity, 2:30 p.m., Wood Center Conference Room A March 26, Ad Hoc Picnic Committee, Wood Center Conference Room B March 27, Administrative, 10 a.m. Wood Center Conference Room B March 30, University Advocacy, Noon, Hutchison Café XI The meeting was adjourned at 10:49 a.m. Tapes of this Staff Council meeting are available in the Governance Office, 312 Signers' Hall, if anyone wishes to listen to the complete tapes. Submitted by Kathy Mosca, Staff Council secretary.