OPERATING STAFF COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES 11/9/06
9 AM –
Present: Elizabeth Buck, Judy Burgess, Gay Campbell,
Sara Clayton, Marcia Dick, Linda Jennings,
Theresa Kinniry, Joe Koch, Jay Monteiro, Dorothy
Razniewski, Andy Small, Julia Sober, LaRonda Thuestad, Rachel Turner
Absent: Glenda Jones, Nancy Schuneman
Guests: Tim Griffin, Jodi Tyrrell
President Rachel Turner called the regular meeting
of the Operating Staff Council to order at 9 a.m. on Thursday, November 9,
2006.
A motion was made to accept the agenda with one
addition. The motion was seconded and
passed.
III. Approval
of Minutes of the October 12, 2006, Meeting
A motion was made to accept the minutes with minor spelling and grammatical changes. The motion was seconded and passed.
IV. Treasurer’s Report
The treasurer’s report was presented for discussion.
A motion was made to accept the Treasurer’s report. The motion was seconded and
passed.
A. Turner
passed around SAC notes.
B. Turner passed around the minutes and agenda from the Faculty Senate meeting on November 1. There was discussion about the NIUconnect fit gap, including issues with the online calendar, how to deal with transfer credits (i.e., how to accept advance placement tests from community colleges), and the current policies regarding re-taking a course. The Senate also discussed standardizing the use of clicker devices in the classroom.
Provost Ray Alden reported that there are 43 people on the Strategic Planning Task Force, including three from Operating Staff. Information from the task force meetings will be posted on-line.
The Faculty Advisory
Council to the IBHE presented a paper regarding teacher preparation in the
C. Turner announced that she will be meeting with the president’s of the SPS, faculty and SA councils to discuss any issues relevant to all employees. Turner suggested that Council members e-mail her if there are any issues they want her to bring to the table.
D. Jodi Tyrrell reported that the president has sent out a memo to all deans, directors and vice presidents discouraging hiring of new employees until after January 1. She said this is done each year so that new employees are not hired just prior to the holiday break and then are paid for a lot of time off even though they just started working here.
Tyrrell also said the e-testing is moving forward. She said the systems website is being updated daily and there is now a practice typing test on-line for clerical positions, as well as a study guide for exams on the clerical series.
E. Marcia Dick passed around the SUCCS annual report. She also pointed out that it was Deaf Awareness Week and there were a variety of activities on campus.
F. Dorothy Razniewski reported that her department was having an open house on November 10th from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A.
Personnel/Staff Developments/Benefits –
Judy Burgess reported that she attended the SURSMAC
meeting on October 3. She said Dan
Slack, executive director of SURS, gave an update on funding. She said that every five years, SURS does an
actuarial study. One will be completed
in late November and voted on in December. It will be available for review in
January. She said a number of factors are considered for the actuary including
longevity, income at time of retirement, how much the employee paid into the
system, etc. From there, a formula is developed to determine an individual’s
retirement benefit. She said if the
formula changes because people are living longer, some people may have to work
longer for the same retirement pay. Burgess
also pointed out that the annual increase for pensions cannot be eliminated,
but the amount can be changed. There is
also concern that if a constitutional convention takes place, employee benefits
could be greatly affected.
B. Elections and Appointments –
Sara Clayton said several interest sheets were
received for vacancies on several committees.
As a result, Allen Smith was elected to serve on the Campus Security and
Environmental Safety Committee and Nancy Overton was elected to the Parking
Appeals committee. Clayton will also recommend Smith to fill a vacancy on the
Presidential Commission on the Status of Minorities.
C. Special Events – No report.
D. Public
Relations –
Sarah Burke was presented
with a certificate as one of the winners of the dependent award. Burke and her parents attended the
meeting. The other winner, Steven Clark
was unable to attend the meeting, but will be presented the certificate at a
later date.
E. Visiting Committees/Guests. – None.
F. EAC
Clayton reported that
Alice Costa who had been a member of EAC
committee for 20 years and chair for eight years has been replaced by a new
representative at SIU-M. Clayton will
attend the Merit Board meeting on November 15.
G. UAC – No Report.
H.
University Council
–
- The president talked
about the Strategic Planning Task Force.
There are 43 people on the task force and the timeline for completing
their objectives is 6 months.
- Discussion is taking
place about whether or not there will be a mid-year salary increase in
January. It is hoped that an
announcement will be made by December 1.
- There is a rumor of a
capitol bill, but probably not until spring.
- The Rules and
Governance Committee is considering a recommendation from the Provost’s office to
rename the Provost’s Task Force on Multicultural Curriculum Transformation to
the Committee on Multicultural Curriculum Transformation and have it
established as a permanent category III committee of the university. The Task Force, which has been in existence
for over 10 years, does not have direct authority over curriculum, but serves
primarily as a means to coordinate annual workshops promoting effective
teaching in a culturally diverse classroom.
VII. Old Business
–
A.
SAC
Parking Permit Proposal
Turner encouraged the SAC
to contact the parking committee about the proposal. The SAC asked if a member
of the Council would attend the meeting once it is scheduled. Turner will send out an e-mail to Council members
asking for a volunteer to attend once a meeting date is determined.
B.
Strategic
Planning Task Force
There are 43 people. The SPS, OS and faculty committees all have
three representatives. The committee
will be posting information on line.
VIII. New
Business -
A. Web Page
Turner said that she is
in the process of updating the OSC website with the new NIU templates. It was decided that maintenance of the
website will be the responsibility of the PR Committee. Turner said she would be willing to conduct
training sessions for the members of the PR Committee, and any other Council
members who want to learn, so that the site will be maintained.
B. Razniewski asked if an employee is allowed
to use sick time following a personal
tragedy. A discussion followed regarding the use of
sick time vs. personal leave
time.
IX. Adjournment – A motion was made at 10:34 a.m. to
adjourn.
Respectfully Submitted,
Theresa
Kinniry
OSC Secretary