Minutes
November 29, 2001
The meeting was held in Room 158 University Hall. USAC Chair
Tom Brookey called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m. Twelve staff
attended: Tom Brookey, Raj Soin College of Business
Bonnie Hupman, Printing Services
Carol Vuckovich, Internal Audit
Doug DeFrain, Human Resources
Jill Oroszi, Nursing
Jeff Bowman, CATS
Rick Zech, Budget Planning & Resource Analysis
Cheryl Lauricella, University Libraries
Jim Davis, Lake Campus Student Services
Jane Baker, School of Medicine VAMC
Pam Wallace-Johnson, University College Advising
Susan Wehmeyer, University Libraries COMMITTEE
REPORTS Rick
Zech, Athletic Council
The Council met in October. Perry Moore talked about the
budget situation. Athletics can expect to be included in the
budget cuts. Scheduling of the men's basketball games was
discussed in detail. Season ticket sales have remained
stable. Concerns have been expressed about parking for the women's
swim team because members must arrive at practice at 5:30 a.m. and walk
in the dark. Possible solutions are under discussion. The
Athletic Auction earned $55,000.00. Jill
Oroszi, Buildings and Grounds
Jill attended the meeting -- the first held in two years. The
faculty president asked for the annual report on the status of
classrooms for the Faculty Senate. Capital projects from the
campus master plan with
implementations scheduled in the next 3 biennium were discussed, including:
Millett Hall, Student Dining, Russ Engineering. See the Facilities
Planning and Management page for further details. A
Wellness (fitness) Center based on a $33 million donation and funded
locally is also planned.
Bonnie
Hupman, Calendars and Elections
The committee meeting included discussion about changing finals
week to a date before Thanksgiving. USAC members asked about
rumors that WSU might close between Christmas and New Years in
2002. Although this was not discussed by the Calendars and
Elections committee, two attendees had information that indicated that
this plan may be under consideration as a means of saving energy. Michelle
Martin, Parking Services
Tom Brookey reported for Michelle Martin that she had no news. Staff with issues or concerns can send email to
Michelle. Carol
Vuckovich, University Dining Services
Construction of the new Student Union dining facilities will begin
the first week of January. It is expected to reopen for fall
quarter 2002. The new facility will be closed daily between 2 p.m
and 4 p.m. so that staff can clear the area from lunch and prepare
dinner. See the Student
Union Dining website for further details. The catering policy
is being revised with respect to off-campus catering orders.
Tom
Brookey, Carol Vuckovich,
University Budget Review
The
committee considered whether it should dissolve. Discussion
included whether the members could add value to the committee by
fostering communication on budget issues. USAC members expressed
support for this idea. Tom emphasized that while the UBRC might
offer constructive suggestions, it will definitely not have a say in any
budget decisions. The
UBRC committee received information about the current budget situation
which may be of interest to other USAC members. Tom will ask
Matthew Filipic, vice President for Business and Fiscal Affairs to
address USAC in December in lieu of our planned basketball outing.
Information will be
posted on the USAC web site as soon as it is available. Carol
Vuckovich reported that institutions of higher education currently
receive 11% of the state budget, but will be taking 54% of the state
cuts. The effects of September 11th are not included in these
plans. In addition, Wright State has lower tuition and fewer
endowments than its peers. The additional cuts will force WSU to
operate more like a private institution. The Faculty Senate has passed a
resolution endorsing a 6% tuition increase for winter quarter. The
administration expects the cuts to be permanent regardless of changes in
the state economy, but our response to the cuts has not been
finalized. Because decentralized cuts have not been effective in
the past, future cuts will be centralized. Perry Moore is
currently reviewing options. Due to the urgency of the situation,
some cuts will have to be based more on speed of implementation than
long-term strategy. Carol noted that retirement buyouts are not
cost effective overall and none are planned. In
response to a question about insurance costs, it was noted by USAC
members that Human Resources has scheduled informational sessions on the
changes in co-payments. See the Human
Resources web page for details.
Rick
Zech, Wellness and Recreation
A Health Break Luncheon was held November 29th. See the Campus
Recreation web page for more wellness and recreation information.
Tom
Brookey, Travel Review Committee
Tom Brookey is a member of a committee to review whether or not
a university travel agency is needed. Although he does not
represent USAC on this committee, he offered this report: The
survey instrument has been withdrawn. Faculty will be invited to
work with the committee to construct a new survey for January. The
All-World contract expired in November 2001. All-World agreed to
continue a monthly contract as a preferred but not exclusive provider
until a permanent decision can be reached. Travelers and/or
coordinators should feel free to contact Tom with feedback. Chair's
Report Staff
Relations Manager
This position was intended to alleviate personnel issues that could not
be addressed because of the workload in Human Resources. The search
committee had identified a list of candidates for interviews just before
the budget cuts were imposed. The search committee has agreed to
put the position on hold. In lieu of the Staff Relations position,
the VP's and Deans will be identifying individuals within the
colleges and divisions who will assume some of the Human Resource type
responsibilities to assist employees with problems they may be having. The Classified Staff Advisory Council
has drafted a dispute resolution procedure which will be a formal
grievance policy in the Wright
Way. Tom will prepare a similar document for consideration by
USAC. He asked the members to review the CSAC draft and forward
comments to him. The
meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m. NEXT MEETING
The next meeting
will be held in
December. Date and time to be announced. The basketball event
planned for 12/11/01 has been cancelled.
|
