MINUTES
Employee Assembly Meeting
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
12:15 - 1:30 p.m.
316 Day Hall

I. Call to Order

T. Grove called the meeting to order at 12:18 p.m.

Present-D. Brooks, P. Dongtoe, C. Ferguson, T. Grove, L. Howell, L. Meyerhoff, L. Morris, G. Osborne, C. Philips, J. Seymour

Absent- K. Coldren, T. Denesevich, G. Stewart, A. Brokman

Also Attending- A. Epstein, A. O’Donnell

II. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda

T. Grove called for two late additions to be added to the agenda. Soup and Hope and Civil Behaviors were added to the existing agenda.

III. Business of the Day

a)Tim Marchell, guest

T. Marchell gave a powerpoint presentation and explained he would be giving a general overview of the mental health initiatives taken by Cornell University. He mentioned the new approach towards mental health can be defined by a wheel which include multiple components such as: foster a healthy educational environment, promote life skills and resilience, increase help seeking behavior, identify people in need for care, provide mental and medical health services, deliver coordinated crisis management, and restrict access to means of suicide. T. Marchell went on to explain that Cornell is taking a comprehensive approach to preventing suicide, not just building fences on the bridges. He cited research shows if access to a means of suicide is restricted suicidal people are less likely to take their lives. C. Philips questioned if, although most of the attention is for student safety, was there evidence as to whether there is a need for staff? T. Marchell stated about fifty percent of the suicides that occur are students (and 50% of these are bridge related) but the other fifty percent are from the community, which includes staff members. Therefore, the university is taking a comprehensive approach to preventing suicide by restricting means of suicide. D. Brooks asked if there was a seasonal trend for the suicide issue. T. Marchell said that February and March are typically the months when the suicides occur.

b)Gilbert Delgado, guest

G. Delgado explained there are three bridge types and 3 alternatives for each one. The first stage of the bridge project is complete, which involved collecting public input and feedback. The next phase that is currently being worked on is deciding which materials to use and how to design the fences so they will not take away from the landscape. The ideas mentioned included glass, tensile steel mesh netting, and fully enclosed fencing that is artfully displayed thus making the bridge a place for people to linger instead of just walk by. G. Delgado went on to say that March 2, 2011 is the date for the pre-schematic submittal, which will include pricing. After L. Morris asked if there would be campus forums, G. Delgado explained there would be presentations on campus and in town so the community opinions could be voiced. D. Brooks asked if they predicted any issues with the city accepting the plans. G. Delgado answered that the project managers have been working with the city so there may be questions but there should not be any major issues. He emphasized that care has been taken to consider people, the environment, and preservation of the natural views. Other questions posed included whether the idea of fencing underneath the bridges would encourage littering or harm the local environment and whether the city will contribute to the cost of the bridge renovations. G. Delgado mentioned that these issues have been brought up however no definitive action has been made regarding these concerns at the current time.

c)”Shoe-leather Outreach”

T. Grove said since the EA membership is being expanded and there will be thirteen seats to fill, more outreach needs to be done. L. Meyerhoff compiled a list of the major areas where there is no EA representation. L. Morris has sent out flyers to the HR representatives in the area and it was mentioned more EA information would be discussed person-to-person instead of by e-mail. T. Grove will be assigning all the EA members to go to at least one person on L. Meyerhoff’s list as well as sending a couple EA members to the HR meetings.

d)Employee Engagement Survey Resolution

T. Grove thanked members for feedback and thanked A. Epstein for writing the resolution. She questioned if anyone had any additional feedback about the changes that were sent out. D. Brooks asked whether “campus wide” should be one or two words. L. Morris stated it is considered one word. T. Grove made a motion to approve the Employee Engagement Survey Resolution. C. Ferguson seconded the motion. By a vote of 10–0−0 the resolution passed.

IV. Report from the Chair

a)Meeting with Mary Opperman

T. Grove said it was discussed in the last meeting they had with Mary there needs to be additional awards for staff besides the service awards and the George Peter Award. The George Peter Award would remain under the EA but other awards could be added such as “Employee of the Month” or “Supervisor of the Month” Awards. L. Meyerhoff noted the EA could become involved with administering the Employee of the Month Awards but should not become involved in the Supervisor of the Month Awards. The idea of birthday recognition, anniversary recognition and accomplishment (degree, training, etc.) recognition was also discussed. G. Osborne asked if Geneva staff could be included in the “kudos” program, and all agreed yes.

V. Approval of Minutes

a)February 2, 2011

The vote to approve the minutes was postponed until the next meeting due to numerous revisions that were requested.

VI. Committee Reports

a)Academic Calendar Committee

L. Meyerhoff said the changes will be discussed by administration staff, then stakeholders. She said this will be difficult process due to the complexity of the New York State rules and other complicated guidelines which have to be followed.

b)Faculty Senate

L. Meyerhoff attended the last meeting. She said it is very different than she expected and stated they have voted on six resolutions this year, one at the meeting she attended. She noted they vote by a clicker process.

c)Retirement Plan Oversight Committee

T. Grove said the retirement plan is required to change soon. This is so the government can help employees select better options and choices. The committee will vet the options and provide more guidance to staff. She expects more decisions on retirement plans will be made in the coming months.

d)University Assembly Subcommittee

L. Croll Howell spoke on behalf of two committees, Childcare Committee and Family Services. She explained that the Childcare Committee would like to explore the idea of syncing the Cornell University calendar with the school calendars. She said they may need EA support at some point. L Meyerhoff asked if they were expecting Cornell would change or the school schedules to change. L. Croll Howell stated that hopefully the districts would work to change. L. Meyerhoff said she would communicate with the calendar committee regarding this issue. The representative for Family Services Committee mentioned the tax burdens on same sex partner benefits and the hardship for the partner who does not work at Cornell University. The matter will be examined more closely and compared to the policy from Syracuse University in the coming months.

VII. Old Business

a)Elections

L. Morris gave updates on EA elections plan. She said flyers are being distributed and an e-mail from the president will be coming out in the following weeks.

b)Soup and Hope

L. Croll Howell said the EA is scheduled to help out at the Soup for Hope event on March 31, 2011, they only need four people. After some discussion, March 17, 2011 was added as an additional date since they had more than enough volunteers.

c)Civil Behaviors

L. Croll Howell said the committee has met, they are developing a plan, and there will be more information is to come in the coming months.

d)L. Morris

L. Morris mentioned the articles about staff reductions in the Sun, and encouraged members to read. B. McKinney said she had received a couple of calls on this. For the Sun to say that the staff is down 800+ and the work is going fine is very controversial. This matter will be discussed under “Business of the Day” at later meetings.

VIII. Adjournment

J. Seymour made a motion to adjourn the employee assembly meeting. L. Morris seconded the motion. The EA meeting was adjourned at 1:32 p.m.