Arkansas State University Staff Senate met on Thursday, October 19,
2000, at 9:00 a.m. in the
Carpentry Shop of the Physical Plant.
The senators present were as follows:
Carol Barnhill, President
Kevin Chambers, Senator
Jim Counce, Senator
Danny Faulk, Senator
Tammy Fowler, Past President
Clint Halcom, Senator
Russ Hannah, Senator
Robert Hobbs, Senator
Helen, McCoy, Senator
Jackie McDaniel, Treasurer
Kathy Meyers, Senator
Tami Murray, Senator
Hope Phillips, President-Elect
Sue Southard, Senator
Vicki White, Secretary
Darrah Williams, Senator (Part-Time Rep.)
The absent senators were:
Deanna Barton, Senator (Excused Absence)
Anthony Carter, Senator
Shane Copeland, Senator (Excused Absence)
Robin Hicks, Senator (Excused Absence - Billy Hogue served as Proxy)
Peggy Hunt, Senator (Excused Absence - Tina Turpin served as Proxy)
Phyllis Hurt, Senator (Excused Absence)
Judy McCay, Senator (Excused Absence)
Anthony Passalaqua, Senator
I. Call to Order: President Carol Barnhill called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m.
II. Minutes: The September 21st minutes were approved. Motion: Senator McCoy/Second: Senator Faulk
III. Treasurer's Report: Senator Jackie
McDaniel reported that our September 30th balance was $1,367.00 but we had tailgate expenses (9/30) as follows: Tent
Rental ($150.00), Big Star ($98.19), and M.E. Carter ($156.01). We received $44.80 from donations
at the 9/30 tailgate. Our present balance is $1,007.60. Senator McDaniel stated that we have future
events such as the Spring Picnic
and the Performance Awards Ceremony to finance. This will cost
approximately $1,400 for the Performance Awards and $400 for the Picnic. We need to sell many
cookbooks to boost Staff Senate's account. President Barnhill said that the Finance Office
has agreed to pay the Performance Awards expenses - thanks to Jennus Burton.Motion: Senator Faulk/Second:
Senator Murray
IV. Professional Sabbatical Leave Committee:
Senator Russ Hannah distributed a draft of the Compensated Staff Leave. This has not been presented to Human
Resources at this time. The senate briefly discussed this draft.
Concerns of funding was presented. The committee will follow-up next
month. Senator Fowler said that we need to make ALL employees understand
that this leave is NOT
GUARANTEED. Some employees can fill-in the void temporarily without
hiring anybody new.
V. Cookbook Committee: Senator Faulk said that the committee has submitted the recipes on the October 10th deadline. Shipping date is December 8th. We ordered 300 cookbooks and have pre-sold 170 cookbooks which will cover the cost. The committee will receive the proof next week. The cookbook is titled "Tribal Delights".
VI. Homecoming Committee: Senator Faulk thanked the committee members which consisted of Senator McCoy, Senator Hurt, Senator Southard, Senator Murray, and Senator White. He expressed his appreciation to Senator Chambers and Jerrell Fielder for cooking the hamburgers and hots dogs. Senator Faulk stated that we have held the cost down. Last year's expenses totaled $367.42 compared to this year's cost as $359.40 (includes credit from the $44.80 donations). Approximately 300 people came to the tailgate picnic. Senator Faulk said that the committee decided to eliminate the Hospitality Tent during the building of Homecoming displays. The displays were built in different areas on campus. There was no central location. We may consider having a Hospitality Tent during Springfest or the Community Fair. Senator Southard reminded the senate that several committee members' terms are expiring in May of this year so Senator Phillips will need to find volunteers for next year.
VII. Town Hall Issues: Several issues
were highlighted at the Town Hall Meeting. The senate discussed the following issues: (1) Bereavement Policy: There
seems to be no campus-wide bereavement policy. A faculty member mentioned a concern when
an employee had a grandchild die. Grandchildren are not included (only mother, father, spouse, children).
This employee did not have enough sick hours accrued to use during the time of the funeral.
So, she had to use leave without pay.
This is the supervisor's discretion as to how to handle this situation.
Yet, this is handled differently in each department. We do not have a standard policy that ALL must
follow. It was suggested that President Barnhill send a letter to the Fringe Benefits Chair, Jim
Farris, regarding this concern. We need clarification on this issue. Current policy only addresses
immediate family members (no grandparents or grandchildren). Pam Davis (Human Resources) informed
the senate that this is
included in the Staff Handbook (p. 16). It clearly states, "sick
leave may also be granted to employees due to the death of a member of the employee's immediate
family. Immediate family shall mean the father, mother, sister, brother, husband, wife, child,
grandparents, in-laws, or any individual acting as a parent or guardian of an employee." However,
grandchildren are not mentioned.
(2) Emergency Policy & Procedures: Lori Roach, Occupational
Safety, has distributed a Safety Manual on campus. It does not include "Violence in a Workplace".
Senator Fowler said she would bring a copy of this manual to the next Staff Senate meeting. (3) Panel
for examination of violent or crisis situation was scheduled by the Division of Student Affairs in
the Ballroom of Reng Center. (4)
Goodwill ambassadors for community service was recommended to enhance
ASU's image on and off campus. We need to be involved in United Way and Light
on the Ridge. It was suggested to appoint a committee to look into service as community ambassadors.
For example, when we have special events on campus, we could have the ambassadors wear red jackets to
meet and greet the visitors.
This could be similar to the students' group called "Presidential Ambassadors"
selected through the President's Office. But, we will name our group, "Staff Ambassadors".
We need to form a committee to present to the President's Office.
President Barnhill will discuss this idea with Paula Miles (Institutional
Advancement). (5) Free events on campus. We could negotiate
ticket prices for staff but this can be complicated. We need to form a committee
to check to see if this is possible.
Joe Rolfe from Physical Plant Locksmith said he would agree to speak
to Tim Dean (Convocation Center) and Jerry Biebesheimer (Fowler Center). Senator Halcom
said he would help Joe. We could attempt to ask for discounts on single tickets but not season tickets.
(6) Summer Hours: This is a mute issue. You can work any hours desired as long as you have permission
from your supervisor. This
was discussed at President's Council meeting previously. (7) Staff
Retreats: An employee (Patti Reed in Arts & Sciences) recommended at the Town Hall Meeting that departments
schedule Staff Retreats. Arts & Sciences has a retreat once a year and is
very well attended. President Barnhill will call Patti for more information. Other: Joe Rolfe mentioned
that the University of Texas has some employees trained as EMT's who can be on a scene within 10 minutes.
This may be a good
thing to begin here at ASU.
VIII. Fringe Benefits Committee: This
committee should consider extended long-term care. We may need a long-term care policy. It was discussed that we have
already explored this previously. We asked employees if they were interested. It was recommended
to the Vice President for Finance (Jennus Burton) through Payroll Deduction. This included dependents
and parents. Senator Hannah
said he would write a letter for the Staff Senate support on this issue.
Long-term care is a supplemental for employees. The senate also discussed the situation
where children above the age of six (6) are required to have more immunizations which are not covered
by our insurance policy. We need a "cap" for a child's age on this policy. Should we cover
this until a child is 16 or 18 - this needs to be defined. We may consider an Immunization Policy for students.
It was suggested that President
Barnhill write a letter to the Fringe Benefits Committee endorsing
these concerns. Dr. J.W. Mason (Human Resources Assoc. VP) reminded the senate that these extra issues
may add 5% to our insurance deductions. He said that the Fringe Benefits Committee
is looking into employees receiving insurance benefits that cover physical examinations and colonoscopy.
Senator Fowler remarked that the Division of Student Affairs is seriously examining the expansion
of the Pharmacy for
employees located in the Student Health Center. No decision has
been made at this time.
IX. Annual Staff Senate Retreat: Scheduled at UALR on Thursday, November 30th.
X. Election of Part-Time Representative: Darrah Williams was elected at the last Staff Senate meeting but there were no new recommendations for another part-time rep. at this meeting.
XI. Other Business:
- Senator Faulk informed the senate of the need to
assist ASU employees who are struggling financially during the holiday season. Staff Senate could assist
employees with clothing, food, toys, etc. The question was how do
we identify employees who are in need. Mike Ring is chairing this
committee but we need more committee members. The Jaycees could work
together with this committee. We will need criteria as to how an ASU family member
qualifies for this assistance so there is no discrimination. A long discussion was held on
how to identify employees in need through co-workers and supervisors.
An application was suggested. We may have to follow the "first come/first serve" policy. Senator Faulk had agreed to serve on
this committee along with Senator Sue Southard and Senator Tami Murray. This committee needs to discuss
this program with the President's Council. Students should also be involved in this
endeavor.
- Senator White read a thank you card from Human Resources staff thanking the senate for participating in the Benefits Fair.
- Senator Southard stated concerns from her constituencies regarding the closing of the Reng Center parking lot. We lost 150 parking spaces. Reng Center also receives parking from students who live at Collegiate Park. We're experiencing growing pains and shuttles should be considered. Senator Southard mentioned an issue about the parking lot located down from Chickasaw Building is reserved for Collegiate Park residents. This does not seem fair. Another concern was the need for an area on-campus where nursing mothers could breast feed their babies. We need to have a child-care program where we can provide a place for nursing mothers (possibly Student Health Center). Additionally, we need to keep the Staff Senate Website up-to-date.
- Senator Phillips remarked that during the recent President's Council meeting that they had mentioned free tickets are available for the November 11th Football Game. We simply need to send name, address, number of tickets to President's Office by November 7th.
XII. Next Meeting: Thursday, November 16, at 9:00 a.m. in the Testing Center, Chickasaw Building, Room 403.
Meeting adjourned at 10:15 a.m.
