MINUTES
Employee Assembly
October 15, 2012
12:15 — 1:30 p.m.
Yale Room, Staler Hotel

I. Call to Order (0:00:10.0)

T. Grove called the meeting to order at 12:22 p.m.

Present: N. Bell, J. Boodley Buchanan, A. Capogrossi, B. Cristelli, L. Croll Howell, B. Esty, C. Ferguson, T. Grove, E. Lee, G. Mezey, L. Morris, G. Osborne, L. Sayam, B. Schaffner, M. Stefanski Seymour

Absent: J. Ambrosetti, R. Blanco, D. Brooks, M. Kitchen

Also Present: N. Doolittle, A. Epstein, C. Lender, B. McKinney, A. O’Donnell, M. Opperman, D. Skorton

II. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda (0:00:16.5)

There were no late additions to the existing agenda.

III. Business of the Day (0:00:22.6)

a. Conversation with President Skorton & Vice President Mary Opperman (0:00:26.8)

T. Grove thanked M. Opperman and President Skorton for meeting with the Employee Assembly today.

D. Skorton began by thanking the EA for having him. He explained he has received a number of emails from employees with questions as a result of the Employee Survey. He then opened the floor for discussion and questions.

B. Schaffner said an employee asked her if there were any plans for another early retirement incentive program. D. Skorton stated there are currently no plans for this. M. Opperman added that it is not very likely.

B. Cristelli asked what the university is doing to improve Cornell’s reputation with regard to mental health/ bridge suicide. Based off of the number of applicants and incoming students, Cornell’s reputation is as strong as ever. D. Skorton then said it is important to be open, to let people know the university does not have all the answers. In terms of the suicides and mental health, D. Skorton commended M. Opperman and her colleagues for making great strides on the issue. In regards to the sexual assaults and the bias incidents, the solutions are still up in the air since they involve some very large decisions that require careful consideration.

C. Ferguson voiced a concern the bias incidences have been addressed by student affairs but not truly by Cornell as a whole. There have been a lot of emails but none directed specifically at the staff or the faculty. M. Opperman said she and K. Zoner have sent out campus wide emails regarding the issues. C. Ferguson clarified those emails seemed to be geared for the students. D. Skorton agreed with C. Ferguson and said he would add something into his column for the Daily Sun. A. Capogrossi asked if there was a “neighborhood watch” group that members of the community could become a part of? M. Opperman said the Cornell Police have a version of this in the auxiliary police. A. Capogrossi asked if the group has specific marketing efforts to get more members. M. Opperman did not have the answer but will look into the subject and email the EA.

A. Capogrossi said he heard someone was apprehended for the bias incidences but was looking for verification on this fact. M. Opperman stated for the original bias incident the person was caught immediately and identified as someone from outside the Cornell community.

C. Ferguson then asked about affordable housing for staff. He then said the university continues to recruit younger staff; however, it is difficult for them to find suitable housing for an appropriate price. M. Opperman answered the university is currently working with the Work Force Housing Initiative on this issue. There are condos going in by the Ithaca Farmer’s Market as well as one other location, with the intention of being staff housing. She said she would talk to the Real Estate Office and see if they could create a central location with listings of available locations so people searching could find all the info in one spot. B. Schaffner stated along with affordable housing the other issue for staff is the tax burden. D. Skorton stated he couldn’t see taking money out of the university to pay for this, especially when the university budget has just barely come into balance. He explained we are just now beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and taking on more of the tax burden would push the university backwards.

B. Schaffner said it would be good to inform the employees the university is out of the bad times and transitioning back to a balance position. M. Opperman said the community is not quite as effective at celebrating when the point is Cornell. Since we are often the generators of the problem analysis she stated we could also become the generators of celebration. She stated that we make the choices about how to frame the university, which refers back to B. Cristteli’s question about improving Cornell’s reputation. There is a lot of work to be done and since it is such a small community, the university is the source of the news.

T. Grove asked about any positive feedbacks since release of the Employee Survey results. M. Opperman said this information hasn’t yet been presented to D. Skorton. She said most leaders did not see or hear what was happening “in the trenches” of the organization. However, since the survey people have been complaining more — which M. Opperman said she views as a positive sign — as it shows people are no longer afraid to voice their comments.

D. Skorton asked T. Grove a question regarding interaction between the EA and the other assemblies, particularly the Faculty Senate. T. Grove said the EA has a representative who attends faculty senate meetings. D. Skorton suggested trying to bring together some of the assemblies since they have many similar issues they could collaborate on.

L. Sayam asked if the administration has been able to use the skills of the student leaders in regards to the sexual assault and bias incidences. D. Skorton said he has been working with the central student leadership but it was not until recently someone brought to his attention there are additional student organizations that may be willing to help. D. Skorton said he will discuss with VP Murphy some way of contouring the leadership meetings to be able to bring someone in from one of the many student groups.

C. Ferguson asked if M. Opperman would be willing to talk about the new changes in healthcare. M. Opperman stated there is an increase in premiums since the university is dropping HealthNow. The increase is small (about 1%) if people are moving from HealthNow to the Aetna plan. N. Doolittle said the numbers were printed in the last PawPrint. M. Opperman continued by saying nothing has increased by more than 5% due to the university picking up a higher share of the cost.

C. Ferguson asked for D. Skorton’s and M. Opperman’s advice for young staff who are trying to save. M. Opperman said it is difficult since our health plans are so comprehensible. She said the best advice is the university is following Obama-care and has made large strides to increase the preventative care. D. Skorton said the wellness initiatives done on campus are very important and the younger you are the more important it is for you to take advantage of them.

T. Grove then thanked D. Skorton and M. Opperman on behalf of the Employee Assembly for their time and information.

IV. Approval of the Minutes from October 3, 2012 (0:48:01.5)

L. Morris made a motion to approve the minutes. T. Grove seconded the motion and the minutes from October 3, 2012 were unanimously approved.

V. Report from the Chair (0:48:49.2)

a. Employee Celebration Day (0:48:53.7)

T. Grove thanked the EA members that attended. T. Grove said if they do this again, there should be a small giveaways at the table to lure people over. There were two questions asked by the people who visited the table. One person asked if the EA publicizes the President’s Address to the Staff and T. Grove explained the numerous outlets that have published it. The second person came up and explained she was a non-tenured track employee and believes she is not adequately represented.

b. E.S.T. Update (0:50:45.0)

T. Grove said the team will be meeting with M. Opperman on October 19, to go over the briefing and the recommendations. T. Grove said the wellness recommendation will be reevaluated. The team has been looking at a wellness initiative and are now going to bring it back with a broader definition. Instead of a pocket of time to do wellness it may be pocket of time for a class, gym, etc. B. McKinney said it has to go through the deans and other approval agencies.

VI. Old Business (0:52:56.5)

a. Open Forum (0:53:57.8)

There was no Open Forum for this meeting.

b. CARE Fund (0:53:05.3)

B. McKinney the auction will be running from November 1st thru November 15th. There are currently 150 items for bid. B. Cristelli asked if they could give money through United Way. B. McKinney said United Way is for a group and this is individual. N. Doolittle said The PawPrint is intensely advertising the auction. B. Kinney explained there is an online link similar to an eBay auction. This year the items will be ending at different times, which will ensure people can bid on more than one item. B. McKinney urged the EA members to encourage their departments to donate. T. Grove said the EA has a line item in the budget for pizza donation and asked if it could be “a pizza party” for an office. T. Grove asked if there was money in the budget for if the EA members would be agreeable to this donation-members agreed this was a good idea.

c. EA News Spotlight (0:58.22.4)

E. Lee passed around a sign up sheet and asked the EA members sign up for a date for a spotlight in The PawPrint. B. Cristelli said the “spotlight” articles are difficult to find. N. Doolittle explained she will be trying to place the spotlight into a column by the wellness and the other columns on the right-hand side of the page.

VII. New Business

a. President’s Address debriefing (1:00:42.4)

T. Grove asked if the mini survey the EA conducted went smoothly. Some of the members said it held people up at the door but it was better in the plaza area. She also said next year the EA will need to move people to the front of the auditorium. B. Schaffner said during the broadcast some people were unable to hear the questions. She said people have to use the microphones. T. Grove said the turn out was great and it was likely due to the nice weather and the early date. B. Schaffner explained more outreach should occur in the dining units since they were on fall break and many missed the advertising.

b. Sick Leave- Employees would like the option to use sick time for time off to assist others. (1:05:30.0)

T. Grove asked J. Boodley Buchanan if she would like to talk about sick leave. J. Boodley Buchanan said no but rather the Personnel Committee needs a topic to focus on. T. Grove explained they were going to look at sick leave but this policy may be changing soon. L. Morris said she noticed training classes have a fee but they are necessary therefore it may be interesting to looking into this issue.

T. Grove presented the outstanding service award to B. McKinney while the members applauded.

B. Schaffner asked for any topic ideas for the Infrastructure Committee. There was some discussion on bringing up the Blue Light and the crosswalk illumination. There was another topic about bringing up what is occurring to help the on-campus incidences. A. Epstein explained there is a Public Safety Advisory Committee for which the EA has a representative, B. Esty. A. Epstein said there will be a meeting within the next month and this committee will be a venue for these issues. A. Epstein also said it might be good to talk about IT issues and possibly to have Ted Dodds or someone from the IT department come to an Infrastructure meeting. T. Grove asked B. Esty to bring up at the Public Safety Advisory that an email should be sent regarding if someone is apprehended in a particular building.

B. Schaffner thanked B. Esty for all of his help with the President’s Address.

VIII. Adjournment (1:12:22.0)

T. Grove made a motion to adjourn. It was seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 1:33 p.m.