Employee Assembly Meeting
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
12:15–1:30 p.m.
316 Day Hall
MINUTES

I. Call to Order (B. Cornell)

B. Cornell called the meeting to order at 12:20 p.m.

II. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda (B. Cornell)

B. Cornell called for late additions to the agenda. L. Lawrence asked to add “Soup & Hope” to the agenda. Brian said this would be put at the end of “new business.”

IV. Report from Chair (B. Cornell)

B. Cornell mentioned the following in his report;

1. The George Peter Award for Dedicated Service was awarded last week to David Kalb from Plant Sciences and the luncheon ceremony included his family and it went well. He was very surprised.
2. In the officers meeting they discussed the idea of an EA Handbook, they are working to update some old materials.
3. There will be an EA retreat on Friday, January 11th, more information to come later.
4. The EA has received a committee application to the University Benefits Committee from Debbie Hunt. This was voted on, and there were no objections.

V. Business of the Day (VP Mary Opperman)

Vice President Mary George Opperman mentioned the following;

1. The Childcare Committee is now an official committee. August 2008 is the planned date for opening the new daycare center. She said she anticipates the center filling to capacity fairly quickly. Licensing has reviewed the plan and made a few minor changes to the infant room. Also, the Childcare Grant has been increased to accommodate the expenses of the new center. The center will accommodate children from 6 weeks-6 years when they start school. She also answered several questions from the membership.
2. She then asked to discuss “Cornell as a Caring Community” at the next meeting due to time constraints.
3. Lastly, she agreed to allow the EA to use the HR list-serve for election publicity, can discuss this more at a later time.

M. Opperman wished everyone a good holiday break, and asked that no one work over break. She made a special point to say that the winter break is important to take advantage of since everyone is out at the same time and there is no other break like it.

VI. Report from Employee Trustee (M. Esposito)

M. Esposito said the Trustees had committee meetings two weeks ago. The Buildings & Properties committee met during this time and it was reported that waste management and Food Sciences will be renovating. There will be more to report in January after the next meeting.

VI. Report from UA representatives (B. Liddick)

B. Liddick gave a report from Rodney Orme of the following;

1. The UA has re-submitted R6 Supporting TIMS at the President’s request and he has accepted the new version.
2. They have also submitted R9 on the Adoption of the Master Plan to the President.
3. They are going to have future discussions about the Master Plan, and the Provost is scheduled to attend to discuss this topic at the next meeting of the UA on January 30, 2008.

VII. Approval of Minutes

a. October 3, 2007 Minutes

B. Cornell asked everyone to review the minutes. I. Mahler made a motion to approve the minutes. B. Liddick seconded. The minutes for October 3, 2007 were voted and approved as is.

b. October 17. 2007 Minutes

B. Cornell asked everyone to review the minutes. D. Goss made a motion to approve the minutes. B. Liddick seconded. The minutes for October 17, 2007 were voted and approved as is.

VIII. Committee Reports

a. Executive Committee

B. Cornell said the Execs met and discussed the retreat and the employee handbook. One major concern that needs to be discussed with Mary Opperman at a separate meeting is the issue of participation. Some EA members find it difficult to participate and/or volunteer due to release time issues with their supervisors. It has affected several current and former members recently.

b. Staff Award Recognition

D. Stein said the group had met and reviewed the nominations. It was decided that 3 of the 4 current nominations would receive the award and the other one would be considered again in the spring. One of the winners received the award last week and the other two will be awarded in the winter or early spring.

c. Communication

B. Cornell said that K. Howell was ill and could not attend. He asked the other members to report on her behalf. P. Korolov reported that the committee met last week. B. Liddick added that the goal tracking is in place as agreed. He said he will distribute this to the membership in January. P. Korolov finished by saying that the report from the “Listening to Leaders” lunches is almost finished, and he will email this to membership after the holiday break. We will need to publicize this.

d. Finance

B. Liddick said there have been several items that have come up. He will put together a “mid-year” report and send this out next week.

e. Emergency Grant Fund

D. Stein said there has not been a meeting in a long time. They still need to review the criteria.

f. Personnel Policy

D. Goss said that the committee has met with Beth McKinney and are planning to put something together to support a forum on the topic of the Wellness Release Time idea. This can also be discussed more in depth at our January retreat. Also, there are changes coming on the Bias Response Policy. The committee is working on rewording what is in place now. Finally, the policy on religious holiday displays/decorations needs to be discussed more as the committee would welcome input. This could also be discussed more at our retreat.

g. IOC

P. Korolov suggested the committee meet in January to discuss elections, and there will be more information available on this soon. Many committees also need staffing. He asked the membership to please make sure they are actively contributing to at least one committee as stated in the charter.

h. University Benefits

D. Goss said she is no longer chair of this committee. She said she knows that medical reimbursement, particularly for retirees and prescriptions has been on for a while.

i. Employee Education

D. Goss said she met with Maureen Brull who manages the Tuition Reimbursement program for the university. She said the committee is waiting on information from Paul Bursic that can be shared. Hopefully, there will be another update in January. Kelly Speiser (guest) said she would be interested in joining this committee.

IX. Old Business

There was nothing reported.

X. New Business

a. Finalizing appointment of Debra Howell to EA

B. Cornell said that Debra will sit in the Contract Exempt seat and her appointment will expire in 2008.

e. United Way speakers

Jennifer Streid-Mullen from Suicide Prevention gave a presentation about her agency and how the United Way funds help them because their services are confidential and their clients are diverse so there is no one face that represents them.

James Brown, Executive Director of Tompkins County United Way, said that the United Way is the best way to make a difference in the community. There are many programs they have put in place; Urgent RX, the food security backpack program in the schools, and food programs for seniors are three examples.

b. Re-appointing Leon Lawrence to EA

B. Cornell explained that Leon Lawrence has decided not to resign from his position at Cornell and has asked to be reappointed to the EA. He will sit in the Contract at large seat for the time being. The group welcomed him back.

c. Discussion of appointment of new EA candidate Julie Magura

B. Cornell said that Julie has been interested in the EA for quite some time, she has attended several meetings, and has now turned in her packet of information for membership consideration.

Julie briefly discussed her history at Cornell and her hobbies and interests. The members asked her a few questions and then Julie left the room while the membership briefly discussed her candidacy.

When Julie returned she was told she is the newest member of the EA, and that she will sit in the Endowed Non-Exempt seat, and her term expires in 2009.

d. Winter Retreat on Jan. 11, snow date Jan 18

Already discussed.

f. Review of Executive Handbook announced

Already discussed.

g. EA Elections

P. Korolov said we will discuss this more next time since we are short on time.

h. Soup & Hope

D. Stein explained in L. Lawrence’s absence about this program. It is a series of inspirational speakers held during lunchtime starting in January. There are many sponsors across campus. Cornell dining will provide the soup and bread. They are looking for moral support from the EA and the membership agreed this was a good idea. He will bring posters to the next EA meeting.

1.

XI. Open Forum

Due to time constraints, there was no open forum.

XII. Adjournment

P. Korolov made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 1:52 p.m. D. Goss seconded. There were no objections.