May 17, 2001
Arkansas State University Staff Senate met on Thursday, May 17,2001, at 9:00
a.m. in the Library's Boardroom. The following senators were present:
Carol Barnhill, Past President
Deanna Barton
Sandra Bramblett
Shane Copeland
Laura Cremeens
Clint Halcom
Janet Hardin
Robin Hicks
Peggy Hunt
Sharon Lee
Donna McMillin
Tami Murray
Anthony Passalaqua
Hope Phillips, President
Ed Postel
Elaine Poynter
Lanny Tinker
Absent senators were:
Phyllis Hurt, Excused Absence
Kathy Meyer, Excused Absence
Jim Steele, Excused Absence
Senators (Term Expired May, 2001) present were:
Tammy Fowler, Treasurer
Russ Hannah
Judy McCay
Vicki White, Secretary
Guests: Four (4) guests attended this meeting.
(1) Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by
President Phillips at 9:04 a.m.
(2) Minutes: The April 19th minutes were reviewed and
approved. Motion to approve: Senator Hicks/Seconded: Senator Barton.
(3) Treasurer's Report: Senator Fowler reported the
following:
Staff Senate Account: $146.07; Santa Tribe's Account: $742.01; and
Cookbook Account: $716.97. Motion to approve Treasurer's Report: Senator
Poynter/Seconded:
Senator Hardin
(4) Proposal of Bylaw Change: President Phillips distributed
the proposed Staff Senate Bylaws revision. The proposed changes begin with
"Article 7: Officers and Duties" through "Article 8:
Executive Committee". This change is necessary in order to alleviate
the problem in asking a newly elected senator who has probably never attended a
meeting to accept the position of president-elect. Therefore, we are
proposing to eliminate the president-elect position by replacing it with a vice
president position. This will allow a senator to hold the vice president's
position with no commitment of automatically being president the following year.
After some discussion, the senators decided to vote for the revised bylaws
during the June meeting.
When Staff Senate was formed, senators were randomly assigned either two or
three year terms. Unfortunately, this created one year out of every three
that we had no rotation of senators (which escalated the problem of the
president-elect issue). The senators chose one senator from each category
to serve one more year to resolve this problem. Now we will have a
rotation of senators each year. The senators who chose to stay one more
year in order to resolve this problem are Kathy Meyer, Jim Steele, Janet Hardin,
Hope Phillips, and Lanny Tinker. Motion to accept this rotation of
senators - Senator Poynter/Seconded: Senator Bramblett.
(5) Election of Officers:
Position of President-Elect which will be changed to Vice President in
June, 2001: Senator Murray nominated the election of Senator Janet
Hardin. Motion to cease nominations by Senator Hunt. Motion to
accept Janet Hardin as President-Elect/Vice
President - Senator Hicks/Seconded: Senator Postel.
Position of Secretary: Senator Poynter nominated Robin Hicks as Secretary.
Motion to cease nominations by Senator Hunt. Motion to accept Robin Hicks
as Secretary - Senator Murray/Seconded: Senator Bramblett.
Position of Treasurer: Senator Murray nominated Sandra Bramblett as
Treasurer. Motion to cease nominations by Senator Lee. Motion to
accept Sandra Bramblett as Treasurer - Senator Janet Hardin/Seconded:
Senator Deanna Barton.
(6) Picnic Committee: Senator White reported that the Staff Picnic
on May 16th was a huge success - over 400 people attended. Total deposits
from the Staff Picnic were: Silent Auction ($555.75); Bake Sale ($194.40);
Cookbooks ($130.00); Santa's Tribe ($5.00); Grand Income Total: $886.15.
The picnic's expenses are: M.E. Carter (Hamburgers/Hot Dogs-Free) -
$138.99; Pepsi (Donated 10 cases/Buy 8 cases) - $47.76; Big Star (Donated $100
Gift Certificate/Extra Expenses for Food/Condiments) - $107.84; and Band (ASU
Foundation paid $350/Staff Senate pays remainder owed) - $100.00 - Grand Expense
Total: $394.59. The committee prepared to feed 300 employees.
Senator White thanked the committee and all of the senators assisting at the
picnic. Senator Hicks remarked that we need to consider securing revenue
for this picnic since it seems to be growing each year. Senator White suggested
that we collaborate with Faculty Senate and sponsor the picnic together by
sharing expenses. A suggestion was made to ask Dr. Wyatt to cook next year.
We did notice some people placed more than two hamburgers on their plates.
We may consider having senators serve the food next year. A person
recommended at the picnic to have boxes at each silent auction item where people
can't see who bidded and the amount. President Phillips asked for new
senators to join the Picnic Committee & Homecoming Tailgate Committee.
The following senators agreed to serve: Senator Barton, Senator Poynter,
Senator Cremeens, Senator Lee, Senator Murray, Senator McMillin, Senator Postel
and Tracey Steele. Danny Faulk has agreed to continue serving on the
committee even though his term has expired this month.
(7) Performance Award Committee: Senator Hardin informed the
senate that the awards ceremony ran smoothly. Desserts were enjoyed.
People complimented the fact they liked this event in the Fowler Center.
Senator Hicks asked if there was a system where the employees receiving the
plaques/certificates could be seated closer to the stage. This will lessen
the time from the employee's seat to the stage where the employee receives the
plaque/certificate.
(8) Santa's Tribe Committee: Senator Murray reported
on this committee. She discussed the purpose and the success of the
program. She requested that the committee set guidelines for employees
applying for assistance during hardships. It is necessary to set
guidelines/criteria to judge eligibility for the financial assistance.
Senator Poynter recommended that Danna Evans and Philip Jackson (Accountants in
University Advancement) serve on this committee in order to assist them with the
guidelines. The employees serving on this committee are Tami Murray, Diane
Unger, Kimberly Walton, Lola Langley, Mary Beth Jones, Betty West, Carol
Barnhill, David Atherton, Dave Miller, Kyle Cooper, Lisa Butler, Melissa Davis,
Mike Ring, Shane Copeland, Margie Vaughn, and Straley Snipes.
(9) Professional Sabbatical Leave Update: President Phillips informed the Senate that our recommendation regarding Professional Sabbatical Leave has gone through the Shared Governance process. Dr. Wyatt has reviewed and approved the recommendation, but comments that "it may be necessary to revisit the 'funding' issue on an individual basis". Russ Hannah explained the creation of the sabbatical leave to newly elected senators. This leave was designed to allow staff to take leave of absence with pay in order to pursue professional development in other areas. Information on this leave will be included in the Staff Handbook soon.
(10)Shared Governance - Parking Proposal: President Phillips
distributed a copy of an e-mail from Jim Cathey, Chair of the Parking and Motor
Vehicle Committee. This committee approved on March 28th the University
Police Department request to revise the Traffic Handbook to eliminate the
Perimeter Parking decal. Perimeter parking decals (cost: $25) offer
parking for employees only in parking lots at the outer edge of campus such as
Physical Plant, Fowler Center, and the Convocation Center. The permits are
not acceptable anywhere else on campus. Whenever an employee who has
perimeter parking decal decides to drive to Administration Building (for
example) to run errands, attend meetings, etc., this employee is asking UPD not
to ticket their vehicle during this time. This kind of request has been
frequent. Eliminating the perimeter parking decal will alleviate the
problem by allowing ALL parking permits issued to be acceptable anywhere on
campus.
After a lengthy discussion, Senator Poynter motioned for the Staff Senate NOT to
accept the recommendation to eliminate the Perimeter Parking decal. Seconded:
Senator Postel. There were two senators who opposed this motion.
Majority agreed with the motion and it as passed not to eliminate
perimeter parking decal.
(11) Increased Staff Senate Participation: President
Phillips urged senators to bring someone to the senate meetings each month.
Everyone is welcome to come. Discussed the possibility to hold meetings in
different locations. This was successful last year. We need
employees' involvement with the senate. Senator Cremeens suggested that we
consider publishing a Staff Senate Newsletter. Senator Hicks reminded the
senators that each senator is responsible in informing his/her constituents of
information learned from Staff Senate. She suggested that each senator develop a
List Serve for their constituents. We need to keep in touch and communicate.
Senator McMillin said that we need supervisors to urge their employees to attend
Staff Senate. Marilyn Brewer suggested that we move from building to
building on campus because of the intimidation factor of being in the Library's
boardroom. She also suggested that we greet our visitors/guests at the
senate meetings and tell them how happy we are that they are there. We
need to interact. She will ask Dr. Wyatt to send a letter to
supervisors/directors on a yearly basis urging their support of Staff Senate and
recommending that their employees be allowed to attend the Staff Senate
meetings.
(12) Old Business: None
(13) New Business: None
(14)Cookbook Committee: Current members include Lisa Butler,
Joyceln Craft, Janet Hardin, Robin Hicks, Carol Barnhill, Deanna Barton, Judy
McCay, and Margaret Daniels.
(15) Next Meeting: June 21st at 9:00 a.m. in Library's
Boardroom (8th Floor)
With no further business to be discussed, the meeting adjourned at
10:20 a.m.
