Minutes
January 15,
2004
The meeting was held in Room 158 University Hall. USAC
Chair, Donna Totten called the meeting to order at 2:33.
Attendees
included:
Mendy Beverly, CaTS
Tom Brookey, Raj Soin College of Business
D.R. Fannin, Raj Soin College of Business
Kathi Herrick, University Libraries
Joyce Howes, College of Science and Math
Tamara Jones, Human Resources
Cheryl Lauricella, University Libraries
Curt Pederson, Psychology
David Stuart, CaTS
Gary Sutton, Bursar/Student Loans and Collections
Donna, Totten, Business and Fiscal Affairs
Susan Wehmeyer, University Libraries
Rick Zech, Budget Planning
APPROVAL of MINUTES
The minutes of the USAC meeting of November 21, 2003
were approved as posted on the website.
COMMITTEE
REPORTS
Athletics - Curt Pederson
Athletics Council met 11/21/03:
1. For the Coaches' Corner, Bob Schul, WSU Track coach spoke. The
teams are making good progress and improving without having actual
facilities. A 1/4 mile grass track for practice was made across the
street from the softball field. The men's and women's cross country
teams competed from August until November. The women's indoor track
season began in December with the Findlay Invitational and runs through
February. Women's outdoor track meets start in March and will finish in
May.
2. Academic Recognition for student-athletes is scheduled for Saturday,
1/31/04 as part of the basketball doubleheader day. Student-athletes
with GPAs above 3.0 will be recognized during halftime of the men's
Cleveland State game.
3. The end of year Academic Awards Ceremony for student-athletes is
scheduled for June 6th. More information will follow.
4. There were no surprises in the written 38-page report from the
NCAA Certification report received 11/20/03. We may hear more specifics
on the NCAA's findings at the next council meeting.
5. Bus runs are planned for the January & February basketball games
from the dormitory areas to the Nutter Center to help increase
attendance. Several game night promotions are also scheduled. The
athletics website has a listing of the promotions. Both teams are
playing well and can really use the fan support.
6. Due to the holiday break, there was no December meeting. The next
meeting is Friday, 1/30/04 at 8 a.m.
7. Other athletics information: Swimming & Diving for the second time
this year swept the Athlete of the Week award for 1/5-11/04. Their
season runs through February. Tennis starts this weekend with matches.
Three other sports start next month (Baseball, Golf & Softball).
Dining - Chris Watson
Official minutes from the committee will be added here when
available. View the Dining Services
Minutes of January 15, 2004.
Parking Services - D.R.
Fannin
D.R. Fannin reported that the Parking Planning Committee meets
infrequently. They have had no meetings since their initial mixer
in the fall. He is also serving on the Parking Appeals
Committee which normally meets at the same time as USAC and has
prevented his attendance. This committee has had 9 meetings so
far. The committee has heard about 3,000 appeals of which probably less
than 2% were initiated by staff.
In response to questions from USAC members D.R. said that top
students were offered parking spots in a gated lot during fall quarter,
but that the students were not very interested in taking the spots as
they were too far from class.
D.R. asked to be notified if staff should notice parking spots that are
improperly painted (such as with one white line and one yellow) so that
he can bring it to the attention of Parking Services.
Recreation and Wellness -
Bob Noss
Bob was not able to attend the meeting but prepared the following
report:
Family Fun Night with the Raiders: All are invited for the WSU game
against UIC Wed., Jan. 21 on the south Concourse. Contact Kathy Arnett
at 5816 for tickets that will include the game and food.
Euchre Night will be Feb. 7 @ 7:30 pm in the Rathskeller. $5 entry
fee. Prizes and fun. Kathy Arnett at 5816.
Cea Cohen will speak at lunch March 10 in Student Union E156 about
humor in the work place.
The committee is looking to subscribe to the Hope Health Newsletter
again for all staff members hopefully starting quarterly in the Spring.
Holiday Holdout was a great success with more than 75 participants
weighing in each week during the holidays and staying within two pounds
of their original weigh-in weights.
The next meeting will be Feb. 3 at 9 am
University Diversity Advisory Council -
Marianne Shreck
Marianne was not able to attend the meeting, but prepared the following
report:
Group A – Recruitment/Retention
December 10, 2003 and January 14, 2004 Meetings
Internships, Job Fair & Outreach (Chaired by Allan Boggs)
Allan Boggs reported that the university is working
with Sinclair College on a mutual (but not limited to Sinclair)
Internship. Emmett Orr will visit with the Dean of Sinclair College on
December 11 to discuss strategy. Outcome of the Sinclair Meeting;
Sinclair was very anxious to work with WSU.
A broad discussion was held on the feasibility of
WSU participating in local job fairs. HR is may participate in the
Dayton Urban League Job Fair. The consensus of the group was to attend
a number of job fairs. Questions were asked such as; what opportunities
are we missing by not participating in job fairs?
In house job fair: A core of departments and their
participation is needed in order to have successful and/or positive
results. Also, focus on demystifying the civil service process.
Mentoring (Chaired by Dr. Steve Fortson and Dr.
Frank Dobson)
A broad discussion was held on mentoring programs.
A suggestion was made to implement a forgiveness
policy for students regarding their major (especially if their major was
not suited for them).
The committee also discussed the possibility of
flexibility on admissions.
A survey is being developed for minority students
to address retention and mentoring.
Recruitment (Chaired by Juanita Wehrle-Einhorn)
A brochure is being development for recruitment of
a more diverse faculty and staff, still in the early stages.
The charge of UDAC is a more diverse WSU
population. This population includes students, faculty, and staff. The
quarterly full UDAC meeting is on January 28th and the next
recruitment/retention subcommittee meeting is February 11th.
OLD BUSINESS
Unclassified Staff Handbook
Three unresolved issues continue to impede release of the handbook.
Otherwise, it is ready for print.
Policy for Employees Taking Classes
Human Resources has reworked the language of the policy to ask both
supervisors and staff to be as flexible as possible about classes:
Supervisors are encouraged to consider granting release time for
employees to attend credit courses during working hours, particularly
when: the course is a degree requirement and is not offered at another
time; the course is sequential and is not offered at another time; the
course is pertinent to the employee's work; or the course will count
toward a degree. Release time should not exceed the employee's
eligibility for credit courses.
Employees are expected to cooperate with their supervisors in ensuring
that the workplace is operational during periods of release time.
Employees should submit requests for release time to attend credit
classes in writing prior to enrolling for classes during work hours.
Employees are also encouraged to be flexible in making up hours granted
for release time with their immediate supervisor. Accrued
vacation may be granted at the supervisor's discretion.
Credit courses taken as a development opportunity should be considered
on the same basis as non-credit courses or workshops for purposes of
granting release time to attend. Release time for such
professional development opportunities is generally limited to one
course or workshop per term.
Holiday Hospitality Program
It was suggested that USAC sponsor a Holiday Hospitality program.
Such programs link willing hosts with faculty, staff or students to
share a holiday meal. Donna asked for volunteers to serve on a
USAC committee to investigate options for next year. Curt Pederson
volunteered to serve. Donna will call for additional volunteers on
the staff listserv.
First Opportunities for Unclassified Staff
A suggestion was brought to the council to investigate the
feasibility of a "first opportunities" job posting for unclassified
staff, similar to what is available for classified staff. Human
Resources hopes to have the policy developed by the end of the month and
reviewed and ready for the WSU Board agenda in March.
Representation
Donna Totten and Cheryl Lauricella have reviewed the structure of
USAC constituencies and have made a restructuring proposal based on the
current University reporting structure. Council members should
review the handout for discussion at the next USAC meeting.
Evaluation Software
Donna requested a demonstration of the proposed HR evaluation
software at the USAC meeting, but it is not ready for demonstration yet.
After senior university staff have seen a presentation USAC will be
scheduled to see it. It is hoped that the software will encourage
more supervisors to submit annual evaluations. Tamra Jones
reported that HR received evaluations for only about 85% of the staff
last year.
NEW BUSINESS
University Staff Council
The chief topic of discussion was calendar issues. In 2004
Christmas Day will fall on a Saturday. According to policy the
holiday will then move to Friday, Christmas Eve. The floating
holiday normally used for Christmas Eve could be applied to either
December 23rd or December 27th. Although many staff like to take
vacation between Christmas and New Year's, the week of the 27th is
already a short week because the New Year's holiday also moves to
Friday. If the university were closed on Monday as well we must
consider whether departments would have difficulty getting ready for the
start of class the following Monday, January 3rd. USAC and CSAC
were asked to survey staff regarding preference. Donna will send
out an email that will collect USAC responses.
Labor Day weekend was also discussed as it will fall on "First
Weekend" for the next three years. Moving First Weekend is not a
viable option, but the administration is looking at leave options for
employees involved in these activities. Those who are not required
to be on campus as part of their regular duties that weekend will NOT be
forced to serve as a "volunteer" in another capacity.
USAC Stipend
Donna requested and received approval for an annual stipend for USAC
officers similar to that received by CSAC officers.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 3:20 p.m.
NEXT MEETING
The
next meeting of USAC will be held Thursday, February 19th, 2004, 2:30
p.m. A location has not yet been confirmed.
Minutes submitted by Susan Wehmeyer, USAC
Secretary, 1/14/04, Dining Minutes will be added as available.
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