IUPUI Staff Council (SC)

Minutes

June 18, 2008 ~ IH 100 ~ 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Members and Guests Present: Emily Anderson, Joann Bright, Susan Cauble, Scott Cunningham, Gary Curto, Virginia Dowling, Jim Fiddler, Margo Foreman, Avis Frieson, Kristine Frost, Alicia Gahimer, Kimberley Gibson, Nancy Gibson, Deanna Hart, Natalie Harvey, Scott Hemmerlein, Sue Herrell, April Hubbard, Wayne Husted, Leslie Kidwell, Pat Laskowski, Teresa McCurry, Caroline Miller, Jennifer Newby, Pamela Pickering, Ellen Poffenberger, Dale Ray, Beverly Jane Schoening, Meagan Senesac, Michelle Simmons, Rachel Sipes-Salter, Pat Stites, Lee Stone, Michelle Tansy, Becky Thacker, Mel Titus, Suzanne Vick, Mabel Walker, Karen Whitney, Michelle Beal (for Windy Winkle), Marianne Wokeck, Aaron Woodsworth, Courtney Wooton, Emily Wren, and Deb Wyeth

Agenda Item I: Call to Order

IUPUI President Michelle Tansy called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m.

Agenda Item II: Adoption of the Order of Business for the Day

The Agenda was adopted as the Order for the Business of the Day.

Agenda Item III: [ACTION ITEM] Approval of the Minutes of the May 21, 2008, Meeting

Hearing no objections, the minutes of the May 21, 2008, SC meeting stood as written and were entered into record. (http://www.iupui.edu/~scouncil/documents/minutes/2007-2008/Minutes_SC_5-21-08.htm)

Agenda Item IV: Election of President-Elect, First Vice President, and Executive Committee At-Large (Wayne Husted, Second Vice President and Election Chair)

Husted announced the following slate for election:

President Elect: Sue Herrell

First Vice President: Christine Padgett

Members-at-Large: Natalie Harvey

Michelle Simmons

Vacant position – candidate withdrew

Agenda Item V: Update from the Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities (Emily Wren, Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities)

Wren reported on the following items:

· Renew your parking permit.

· Directional signage on the south side of campus will be complete by the fall.

· The School of Engineering and Technology is hoping to receive a “green” roof. They are collaborating with the Center on Earth Science. The roof is designed to take trays of sedum that will help cool the building. If the project gets funded, the roof will be the largest “green” roof in Indiana.

· University College has been renamed Taylor Hall.

· The parking lot around the Campus Center will have an opening directly off of University Boulevard. Wishard and Clarian will collaborate on a parking study in conjunction with the master planning project. An assistant director of parking will be hired to look especially at transportation to and from campus.

· Ball Gardens will be converted to a children’s garden (playground) and will be a great resource for the families staying at and visiting Riley Hospital.

· Whitney said housing is expected to be full this fall.

Agenda Item VI: Report from Human Resources Administration (Ellen Poffenberger, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Human Resources / Chancellor’s SC Administrative Designee Alternate)

Poffenberger reported on the following items:

· Alternatives for transportation: The campus wants to support staff in this effort. She distributed a handout on transportation benefits and pre-tax benefits. She wanted to reiterate the flexibility of work arrangements. One handout explains telecommuting, compressed work time (4 10-hour days). If you are interested, but your supervisor is hesitant, have them contact Poffenberger or Maggie Stimming. (Handout not available to append to the minutes.)

· The Irwin Award nominations are open until July 31. This is a way to nominate someone that works above and beyond.

Agenda Item VII: [Discussion Item] IUPUI State of Diversity Report and the Relationship to Staff (Karen Whitney, Vice Chancellor for Student Life)

Whitney distributed the State of Diversity 2008 report given by Chancellor Bantz on January 20, 2008 (http://www.iupui.edu/~divrsity/). The Vision, Mission and Goals for Diversity at IUPUI were pointed out (p. 14-15) which have been rewritten to help guide the institution in its work. A new AVC for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Ken Durgans) will begin this summer and his charge will be to implement the Vision, Mission and Goals. The report was updated for clarity and created aspirations for each Diversity Indicator. Whitney said, “Although we have done some good work, we have more work to do in this regard.” She referred to the social inclusion sections of faculty, staff, and student surveys. The results on page 10 show the results. She pointed out the Staff Council may want to look at the conflicting results of the survey for the staff (see third chart on p.10). She felt we should take a position on the data. Vick asked if the data would be comparable to other areas of Indiana or the United States. Whitney said as this is our survey, we do not have a national database in order to benchmark. The Diversity Cabinet thought they did not want any more than 5% of our employees responding to these items. Some institutions will set your benchmark on “the best of” (e.g., if males had a score of 1.7% in one category, women should have the same percentage). Walker asked if it was possible to have a time once a semester where students, faculty, or staff could say what they think about diversity in order to cut the percentages down. The question was asked as interviews are conducted, all things being equal, if one candidate is minority and the other is not, does the campus want them to choose the minority. Pamela Pickering, Office of Equal Opportunity, said that that statement is true, but credentials should be carefully reviewed to see how they work for the position. Poffenberger said that if all good interviewing skills are used and human resources are examined, she is confident the right candidate will be chosen. Margo Foreman (OEO) said the department should be looked at and to see that the person best exemplified for the charge of the position should be chosen – not just the minority – but the person that will best get the charge accomplished for the position.

Agenda Item VIII: [Discussion Item] Indiana Members Credit Union (Jennifer Newby, Business Development, IMCU)

Newby distributed information on the Indiana Members Credit Union. She offered to meet with individual staff during the meeting if they would like more information on opening accounts. She pointed to an event on July 18 to open new accounts which provides a $75 bonus. Although the special event is on July 18, you may go on any day to the campus branch to activate an account.

Agenda Item IX: Report from the First Vice President (Sue Herrell, First Vice President)

Herrell reported that Karen Best has resigned from the Council as she has taken a new position. Herrell thanked Best for her work with the Special Events Committee and the blood drives. Dale Ray has taken over as chair for the committee. Tansy said she spoke to the President of the Faculty Council today, Simon Atkinson, on how the two Councils can work better together. He is open to Staff Council being more involved with the faculty. Kidwell asked if the Staff Council will have an opportunity to speak at the Faculty Council meeting. Marianne Wokeck said her terms as FC Liaison will end at the end of this month. She stated that Paul Galanti will most likely be replaced as well. She felt the Executive Committee would be open to the opportunity for a staff member to speak.

Agenda Item X: Reports submitted by Standing and Ad Hoc Committees:

· Bylaws: Avis Frieson, Chair, reported she has received an email from Tansy about the definition of a Nominating Committee. Tansy felt the Nominating Committee should be defined in our Bylaws and a definition was suggested using a draft from the Faculty Council bylaws. Frieson’s committee will look at the definition and refine it for use by the Staff Council.

· Communications: Leslie Kidwell reported (for the Chair, Elizabeth Wager) that Christine Padgett has prepared a PowerPoint on what it means to be a SC member. The PP is meant to be taken back to your constituents to help educate staff on the SC is. The PP will be viewed at the retreat. It was suggested that the PP be sent to the SC before the retreat. The committee is considering a magnet with the new Staff Council logo on it that can be given out at New Employee Orientation. The logo has been sent to the Office of Communications for approval. That office is still reviewing the logo in regard to the new branding issues for the campus. The committee wants to establish the March meeting as “Bring a Friend” in conjunction with Staff Council Awareness Month. They would like to have the master planner make a presentation at that meeting. Communications – internal and external – was discussed. The benefits fair, awards, craft fair should be highlighted. They are working to get the awards on the “hot topics” page on the campus website. Internal communications are the retreat, holiday party, and other communications.

· Diversity: Gary Curto, Chair, said everyone at IUPUI is part of the Committee on Diversity as far as he is concerned. The report given by Whitney was very important. Curto challenges everyone to attend the first meeting of the Committee on Diversity and bring ideas of what that committee means to you and what it should be doing for all on campus.

· Membership: Wayne Husted, Chair, said elections for unit representatives is occurring.

· Rewards and Recognition: Tansy (reporting for Christine Padgett, Chair) said the awards are being advertised on campus.

· Special Events: Dale Ray, Chair, thanked the Council for the opportunity to chair the committee. He would like to change the direction of the committee and will work on that during the summer. The annual Staff Council retreat will be July 18. Many donations for door prizes have come in totaling $2000. Please RSVP as soon as possible to Karen Eckert. The committee will meet June 30 to finalize the agenda and retreat. A meeting was held today to with Human Resources to plan the professional development portion. Each staff member will be asked to bring an item to help the American Red Cross in helping flood victims in Indiana. It was suggested we might target the assistance to go to IUPUC. Herrell suggested contacting Leslie Swift of the American Red Cross. Poffenberger reminded the Council there is a policy in place for persons who have become homeless because of the flood. They are provided assistance as well as time off if no other time off is available. Frieson asked if we could include the tornado victims as well. This was answered affirmatively.

· Staff Affairs: Wayne Husted, Chair, had no official report but if there are any concerns by constituents, please pass them to him for possible action.

· Fine Arts and Crafts Committee: Michelle Simmons, Chair, said the deadline has been extended to July 1 for booth rental.

Agenda Item XI: Call for Reports from Other Committees

No additional reports.

Agenda Item XII: Election Results

Husted reported the results of the election:

President Elect: Sue Herrell

First Vice President: Christine Padgett

Members-at-Large: Natalie Harvey

Michelle Simmons

The vacant Member-at-Large position will be elected at another date; perhaps during the summer via email. All persons elected were congratulated by all.

Agenda Item XIII: Report from the IUPUI Faculty Council Liaison (Marianne Wokeck, IUPUI Faculty Council Executive Committee)

The IUPUI Faculty Council Executive Committee is working on three campus initiatives: Project RISE, Enrollment Shaping, and the Signature Centers. They have a concern about participation in faculty governance. The group is large, but participation is small, and they will be working to get the younger faculty involved. They are trying to adjust to the ways of the new president which is different than the past president. They will be looking at his agenda to see how he views IUPUI as the first year of his presidency comes to an end.

Agenda Item XIII: Old Business

No report.

Agenda Item XIV: New Business / Announcements / Hot Topics

No report.

Agenda Item XV: Adjournment

President Tansy adjourned the meeting at 5:00 p.m.

Minutes prepared by Staff Council Coordinator, Karen Eckert

UN 403 / 274-2215 / Fax: 274-2970 / scouncil@iupui.edu / http://www.iupui.edu/~scouncil