Minutes
Employee Assembly
March 4, 1998
Day Hall Board Room
12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

I. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 12:19 p.m. by M.Overstrom.

II. Open Forum

a. Networking at Lunch -

M.Overstrom stated that there would be another Networking at Lunch on Tuesday, March 10. She asked that members join her at that meeting, which may become an annual event.

b. CRC Annual Picnic -

M.Overstrom stated that the CRC annual picnic will probably take place on Saturday, June 13. EA members and former EA trustees will be asked to volunteer their help for one of three meals at a later date.

c.April Hosting Period -

G.Brandt stated that in April, the prospective freshmen and their parents will be on campus.  Previously, the EA had requested how they could help out with this event.  Therefore, he has asked Joel Siegelman, Director of Campus Information and Visitor Relations, to attend the next meeting so that he can make a short presentation on this event.

d. PawPrint Insert -

T.Hoebbel stated that there will be a feature highlighting the committees in the next issue. However, the insert could not be finished by March 19. If the EA still wants to have one, it is important to make sure that the work is done in advance.

III. Minutes

The minutes were approved as amended: InfoBytes was changed to InfoBits in the Open Forum.

IV. Announcements and Reports

a.Report from Trustee -

Cyndy Tkachuck, employee-elected Trustee, stated that she is currently waiting for final clearance for having an EA presentation at the March meeting of the Board of Trustees.  The presentation will take place in May if it does not occur in March.  

C.Tkachuck distributed the February P2K status report, which she received at the last meeting of the Campus Advisory Group. She noted that the HR system will be implemented in the fall and suggested that members know who the implementation team is in their departments. The undergraduate system is the next one to be implemented after HR.

C.Tkachuck noted that the budget of P2K is discussed on the bottom of page one. In there, it states that the project still needs $30 million.

Peter Tufford stated that the plan is to have this money come from attrition, and not from laying people off. P2K is to make the University run more efficiently, and thereby saving money. He noted that there is currently no attrition plan.

M.Overstrom stated that it is difficult to convince the deans to buy into attrition, and they are still currently filling vacancies that they should not be billing. If this practice continues, then people may get laid off.

P.Tufford noted that the deans do not feel comfortable with choosing which vacancies to fill. Another difficulty is that curriculum is also being redesigned at this time. A group has been formed to help make attrition plans.

b. Opperman/Rogers Meeting -

The next Opperman/Rogers meeting will be held on March 16. A sheet was passed around for questions.

c.Leadership Meeting -

M.Esposito stated that at the last Leadership Meeting the topic of supervisors preventing employees from serving on committees and the EA was brought up.  The administration was very supportive; F.Rogers and M.Opperman agreed to initiate a letter addressed to the DDD mailing list.  University Citizenship will also be incorporated into supervisor training.  Also, the UA intends to write a resolution addressing this problem.

Another question was the possibility of adding more campus representatives to the Board of Trustees. The SA requested that their number of trustees be increased, due to their size and the money they provide. It was suggested that additional representation can occur by adding Trustee Fellows. Trustee Fellows cannot vote on any items; however, they can still participate on committees, where most of the actual work is done. The EA may want to follow this issue because employees are the second largest constituency, but only have one Trustee.

The SA also asked how they could be involved in making investment decisions for campus. F.Rogers replied that social issues and investment issues are different items. Investments are business decisions and so it is unlikely they will be allowed to participate in the decision-making process. However, information can be made available for any group that is interested.

The UA requested how the assemblies could ensure a safe Slope Day. L.Clougherty and C.Gardner are currently writing a resolution addressing this topic.

V.Business of the Day

a. Report by the Internal Group -

T.Hoebbel stated that the Internal Group has yet to choose a leader. During the meeting, the question of the budget came up. There is a lot of EA items that are currently being paid for by the Office of Assemblies. The question is whether or not the EA wants to take over payment of all these items, or if the EA only wants a budget for special projects.

M.Overstrom stated that she does not want to use the Office of the Assemblies’ Budget for EA items. Events such as the Open Forum, the DSA reception, and Employee Week should be included in the budget. Because the EA does not have a budget, any time that the EA wants to do something, they had to request the funds from F.Rogers.

M.Esposito asked whether or not the Assembly would pay for items such as copying.

G.Brandt stated that such items will still be paid for by the Office of the Assemblies. However, there needs to be budget in order to pay for other things, such as the Open Forum.

T.Hoebbel stated that L.Clougherty is currently taking notes on previous expenses. Hopefully, the Office of the Assemblies will be able to give the relevant information.

M.Overstrom stressed that having a budget would ensure that the EA does not have to rely on someone else in order to pay for events that it would like to hold. She requested that the Assembly discuss what items should go on the budget, and noted that it is important not to leave anything out.

L.Clougherty stated that the following items are currently on her list for the budget: the EA Open Forum, mass mailings, the EA retreat, the hockey tournament, handbooks for all EA members and committee members, a reception for all committee members, an Employee Art Show, and refreshments for EA meetings.

G.Brandt stated that there are two types of activities that should be placed on the budget. The first of these two are events that the EA has done before and done well. The second type are events, old or new, for which the EA can show matching funds.

C.J.Lance-Duboscq suggested that the employee recognition receptions, such as the DSA, be funded. Also, funds for a biannual EA newsletter should be included in the budget, as well as publicity materials, such as brochures and pencils.

M.Overstrom asked that any additional ideas be e-mailed to the Internal Group.

M.Esposito noted that if the EA has a budget, then a financial officer may be needed. This could lead to a charter change.

M.Overstrom asked that the Internal Group select a leader by the next meeting.

In response to members’ concerns about the three empty EA seats, M.Overstrom stated that C.Gardner suggested that there be a line on the ballots for employees to apply for one of those three seats. If there are more than three employees who asked for the seats, then the IOC will compile the information on the various candidates so that the EA may vote on them.

M.Esposito stated that it might be a good idea to review the structures of committees in general. This can be done by either the IOC or an ad hoc committee formed for this specific purpose.

M.Overstrom suggested that the Internal Group may want to split into two or more groups in order to work on several items at the same time.

M.Esposito stressed the importance of reviewing the committees, whether it be the IOC or another committee.

M.Overstrom agreed with M.Esposito, and that the appropriate committee to handle this is the IOC.

M.Purvis stated that the IOC is rather busy currrently, and suggested that the Internal Group start working on this. Eventually, the IOC will take over this function from the Internal Group.

M.Esposito stated that the IOC needs to start reviewing committees early on in the year.

M.Overstrom agreed, and stated that she will place this issue on the summer slate. Any other items concerning the budget should be e-mailed to either G.Brandt or L.Clougherty.

b. Report by External Group -

J.DeMarco decided to join the External Group.

The EA decided that the subject of communication will be handled exclusively by the External Group.

M.Overstrom stated that the leader of the External Group is L.Caswell.

T.Calvert stated that the External Group had prioritized their goals as follows:

• 1)Communications
• 2)Certification Program
• 3)Frontline Feedback

It was also decided that a survey was not in the domain of the EA. However, the EA may want to suggest one to HR.

L.Clougherty noted that a survey by HR may not be very successful.

C.J.Lance-Duboscq mentioned that there is a professional survey creator in the ILR school. Also, there are surveys already made that are used by various institutions across the country.

M.Overstrom suggested that the focus of a survey be on what employees would like the EA to do.

M.Esposito stated that if this is done, then a disclaimer should be made as to what the EA cannot do, because people do not know the limitations place on the EA.

T.Calvert stated that the External Group came up with the idea for a biannual newsletter. The first issue would hopefully be out in June. She noted that this item should be worked into the budget, since funding for it is needed. Also, the newsletter could be used to ask employees what issues they would like the EA to address, along with a disclaimer as to what the EA can and cannot do.

G.Brandt suggested that the EA attempt to find employee satisfaction surveys that have been used by other higher education institutions.

M.Esposito noted that the EA already knows what issues that employees are concerned with, and therefore, a survey is not needed.

T.Calvert noted that asking such questions in the newsletter, would let employees know that someone is listening to their concerns.

J.DeMarco stated that it is important to remember that there are many jobs on campus, and employees in different positions have different needs.

M.Overstrom suggested that the ILR person should be invited to speak to the group, in order to explain more about surveys.

J.DeMarco stated that there is greater response to a survey when an incentive is offered. He noted that PawPrint has asked for readers’ responses in several issues, and received the greatest amount of replies when a prize is offered.

M.Overstrom stated that the ILR person will be asked to attend the next meeting.

C.J.Lance-Duboscq stated that surveys are useful tools. However, the EA needs to gain more information on the actual mechanics of surveys.

P.Tufford stated that it is important to ensure that the data gathered by the survey can be acted upon by the EA.

T.Calvert stated that C.J. Lance-Dubsocq is currently working on the certification program.

C.J.Lance-Duboscq stated that the state of the program is currently in question. She is meeting with M.Opperman on March 6 to discuss her role in the program.

M.Overstrom asked that both groups be ready to make another report at the next EA meeting, on March 18.

VI. Committee Reports

a. SA -

G.Brandt stated that the SA discussed how dining facilities could be more environmentally-correct.

b. Faculty Senate -

G.Brandt stated that there was a candidates forum for the position of Dean of Faculty held at Rockefeller Hall. There are four candidates for the position. Approximately forty professors attended the forum. Each candidate stated why they wanted the position, and a question-and-answer session followed.

c. Communications -

M.Purvis stated that there is a meeting on Friday to make a decision for the first DSA for this year. The committee is also currently reviewing the EA brochure distributed by the Office of Assemblies.

VII. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 1:29 p.m.