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Home > Staff Council > Minutes > 2003-2004
Staff Council Minutes 2003-2004
Staff Council Meeting 10-14-03
Attending:
Aime DeGrenier, Theresa Picard, Taryn Dunaj, Donna Russell, Patricia
O’Brien, Renee Sweeney, Rosanne Meczywor, and Carolyn Miller-Coulter.
Absent: Irasema Lewis, Bardee Sadlier, and Pat Serio
Aime
welcomed our new staff council members Rosanne and Carolyn and asked us
to introduce ourselves. They will be with us for a 2 years term.
Aime
solicited any additional items for the agenda to discuss. Items added
were 5th week vacation after 20 years, coat donation collection for
international students, and ideas for transportation for Rays of Hope.
Committee/
SC positions were discussed and the list brought up-to-date. Pat
O’Brien had previously volunteered to help Renee with communication.
Irasema is sharing Faculty Meeting duty. Rosanne volunteered to be our
events coordinator. Aimee is going to get more information on MCCL
because we need someone to represent us on that committee. I said I
would see if we could change to a bigger room – possibly 213.
Aime
shared a letter she received from Sandra Suarez who is on the FLPS
committee. A printed copy of the recommendation is supposed to be
coming out ahead of planned forums around the date of Oct. 21st. Sandra
is asking us to encourage participation in the forums in our areas. No
one present at the meeting had received information or heard anything
about this.
In preparation for our retreat on October 28th with
Lauren Turner, we talked about a tentative agenda and any staff
concerns we would like to bring to her. The following are some of the
agenda items/concerns: Update on budget concerning our January cost of
living increase, benefit review concerning additional vacation time
after 20 years and time off at Christmas, policy concerning breaks, and
reimbursement of education benefit. The retreat is 8:30 until 1:30 and
includes lunch.
Aime should be able to attend at least one of
the open forums. It was felt that after the retreat, we would have a
better idea about an agenda for this.
Aime said it was not
possible for her to attend the lunches at Willits. She proposed that
someone from council help Pat co-lead. Renee will help with the lunch
on November 17 and I will help with the lunch on 10/27.
Theresa shared information she collected about what other colleges are doing for vacation benefits.
The
information supported going further with the research about added
vacation for 20 year employees and eventually making a recommendation.
It was suggested we contact local colleges.
We discussed how to
proceed with coat collection for international students. Rosanne had
already explained that someone from her area had approached her with
the idea. She said many students come from a warm climate and will be
in need of winter wear. We discussed the components of the efforts,
which would be announcement, drop off and distribution. Taryn is going
to get more information for Student Government and we will discuss how
to go forward.
Rays of Hope walkers are in need of
transportation for a large group from MHC. There are at least 60
walkers from MAC. It was suggested that the coordinators of the effort
ask the President’s Office if they could pay for a bus, which would
cost approximately $100.
I gave a report of the 2nd half of the
Faculty Meeting, which included discussion about a change in format for
Faculty Meeting. It was felt that meetings needed to be more
stimulating. Faculty were also asked to propose scaled down academic
classes for one to two credits during Jterm.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Russell
Notes from 11-19-03 Forum
Pat
Serio, co-chair of Staff Council, started the forum by introducing
staff council members present and with an update of fall activity by
the Staff Council.
• We had 2 meetings since September and 2 half-day retreats with Lauren Turner.
•
We have met with the MCCL faculty committee concerning the Fair
Labor issue. An update was given that the MCCL is sending a letter to
President Creighton and community members will receive a copy.
• Pat also let the staff members know that the College is
projecting a million dollar budget deficit for this year and we have
been asked to think broadly about ways to save money and raise revenue.
• Staff Council has also asked for a meeting with the
SIS executive committee to get information on the impact staff can
expect as the new Student Information System is implemented.
Lauren
Turner, Director of Human Resources, had staff members introduce
themselves. She spoke on Dental coverage, FLEX Spending Account, and a
new initiative that would provide a retirement health insurance plan.
•
Dental – Mount Holyoke has committed to providing a Dental plan in
July 2004. Human Resources is reviewing information from vendors.
Bardie Sadlier from Staff Council is working with the committee.
Answering a question from the audience, Lauren said that staff who had
a FLEX Spending Account and who elect dental coverage could change
their flex elections at open enrollment in May 2004.
• FLEX
Spending Accounts – at this time there is about 25% of employees
participating in flexible spending account program. Lauren said that
the introduction of a new list of acceptable, over-the-counter items
should spur more to participate.
• Health Insurance in
retirement – Many employees are interested in finding a way to get
affordable health insurance in retirement. A group of Higher Education
institutions, funded through a Mellon research grant, has looked into
this issue. The process is similar to the way TIAA was created as a
retirement plan for Higher Ed institutions. Irasema from Staff
Council, Lauren and Michele Markley, a Faculty member, are attending a
forum at Harvard to discuss this. The idea is to set up a
collaborative that could establish a contract with an insurer to
provide quality, comprehensive cost-effective coverage. The employees
would voluntarily contribute post-tax money while working and the money
(and interest) would be tax free when used for health insurance.
Institutional Funding (given the current climate) is a the hitch. One
way to solve this would be for the ½ % that was an increase in the
college contribution to retirement fairly recently could be used as the
institutional funding for this initiative. The exciting part of this
plan is that you could live anywhere in the country and use the plan.
Lauren said that she met with the faculty conference committee and
faculty planning and budget and that they are interested in this
proposal. Look for more information on this possible benefit.
Lauren took out the Plan for 2010 and encourages staff to read the plan. She went quickly over the 8 sections of the Plan.
1.
Academic – looking at the outcome of a Mount Holyoke education and see
if changes need to be made to ensure that students graduate with the
skills needed.
2. Curricular/Co-Curricular – provide students to develop as a whole person, not just academically.
3. Engaging with the World – what needs to be implemented to ensure they get the skills to live in the global community.
4.
Renewing Campus – next area is the residence halls and landscape of the
campus. Lauren talked about the new Ice Skating Rink that will be
located by the patio outside of Blanchard and that it will be the size
of Rockefeller Center rink. We thought that it should open with an Ice
Sculpture like the sculpture at Rockefeller Center.
5. Connections Beyond the Gate – encouraging connections with alums, parents, 5 colleges.
6.
Sustaining Strong Resources – This section is talking about the human
resources of the college and speaks directly to staff. We need to find
ways to turn the words in this section into actions. This is already
happening with the Orientation Committee forming an orientation process
for incoming staff. Programs already in place are Art at Work and
Tuesday Staff Performances in Blanchard. Kris from Student Programs
was applauded for her work on the staff performance series.
7. Visibility – Patricia VandenBerg has been working on this and most staff have met with her.
8. Assessment Section – value assessment.
Lauren
talked about the budget. The salary increase in January is happening.
Although we ended FY 2003 with a balanced budget, we knew that this
year would be tough. We currently are projecting a million dollar
deficit in this budget year. Staff council and all departments are
thinking about sustainable changes that can be made. Position
evaluation should be done when a position is vacant.
Lauren then opened up the floor to questions.
•
What is happening with the ombudsperson search? It is felt that
this position needs to be filled as soon as it can. Training in
conflict resolution is something that one staff member (who deals with
students) said is missing from campus. Lauren let the audience know
that a search committee has been formed. It includes 2 staff, 2
faculty and 2 students along with Linda Samano from Human Resources.
This is a working committee that will look at over 100 resumes which
have come in. A broader part of the community will be involved in the
other stages of the search. These committee members are from the
representative bodies of Staff Council, SGA and Faculty Meeting.
•
Parking – there were several parking questions at the forum on
Tuesday so Paul Ominsky was there to answer any questions. Handicapped
parking at Ciruti was questioned. Spaces were changed from 15 minute
parking to handicapped this year and if some temporarily disabled staff
recover, would spaces be changed back? Paul said that these spaces
are part of the handicapped parking for Ciruti, Central Services and
Blanchard. He believes that these spaces will remain handicapped
parking. He reminded us that parking is slowly moving to the exterior
of campus.
• Blanchard – we talked about lines at lunch and
whether it is still difficult for staff to get lunch. Students are
really utilizing Blanchard for lunch on the meal plan. Grab & Go
and the menu at Uncommon Grounds have helped. Kris Bergbom from
Student Programs reminded us that the Green Room on the lower level
(off the stage) is reserved for staff from 11:30 – 1:30.
• A
staff member wanted to know which organizations that staff would be
donating to at Winterfest this year. The committee met last week and
food for local kitchens seemed to be most needed item this year.
Donations of non-perishables will be collected for Kate’s Kitchen, Open
Pantry and the Western Mass Food Bank. Winterfest will be on Dec. 17th
11:30 – 1:30. Invitations will be coming.
Staff Council Meeting 01-13-04
Attending:
Teresa Picard, Renee Sweeney, Donna Russell, Bardee Sadlier, Aime
DeGrenier, Taryn Dunaj, Roseanne Meczywor, and Carolyn Miller-Coulter
Review of minutes from 11/11/03 meeting with Lauren Turner passed.
Budget: there is a lot of anxiety over the news of the 15% cut over three years issue.
SIS:
the meeting with the SIS Steering Committee and the Staff Council will
be 1/21/04 at 10am in Blanchard room 318. The groups will mostly
discuss the impact the new system will have on staff. Please be sure to
bring any questions that you or your department may have.
Packages
to U.S. Troops: Donna will keep the Staff Council updated on if
supplies can be sent to troops overseas and what exactly this
organization needs from the Staff Council- endorsement, advertising,
etc.
Ombudsperson: Donna reported that 30 resumes have been
reviewed. Once all the committee members are back on campus, candidates
(exact number unknown at this time) will be brought to campus for
interviews.
Respectfully submitted,
Bardee Sadlier
Secretary
Staff Council Meeting 02-10-04
Attending:
Teresa Picard, Renee Sweeney, Bardee Sadlier, Aime DeGrenier, Pat
Serio, Taryn Dunaj, Pat O’Brien, Roseanne Meczywor, and Carolyn
Miller-Coulter
Announcements
Bardee
Sadlier announced that the Athletics Department would not be sponsoring
a varsity softball team beginning next academic year (2004-2005).
Budget
It
was decided that Mary Jo Maydew should be invited to be the next Staff
Council Luncheon speaker. Pat O’Brien and Renne Sweeney would only need
a week to get the flyers out and publicize the event. Information would
also be included that any staff member wanting to ask an anonymous
question could email any one of the Staff Council members who would
present the question to Mary Jo Maydew (the author of the question
would remain anonymous).
Communication
Aime
DeGrenier urged all Staff Council members to concentrate on
communication with staff in the member’s area(s). All Staff Council
members should work to keep lines of communication open and remind all
staff that the Staff Council is here to listen and help.
SCA
Sarafeena
Youngdahl-Lombardi (’04) met with the Staff Council to discuss the
Student Coalition for Action promotion of the Code of Conduct for Mount
Holyoke College. The Code of Conduct was deemed “unnecessary” and “not
wanted” by staff of the College last year and again this past fall.
Sarah explained that the SCA was not trying to impose a Code of Conduct
on MHC staff but for the College when contracting outside companies.
The SCA would like the College to only hire companies for projects that
have outsourced and/or contracted workers classified as employees and
who make at least $12.00/hour.
Respectfully submitted,
Bardee Sadlier
Secretary
Staff Council Meeting 03-09-04
Attending:
Teresa Picard, Bardee Sadlier, Aime DeGrenier, Pat Serio, Taryn Dunaj,
Irasema Lewis, Donna Russell, and Roseanne Meczywor.
Agenda: The difficult situation that occurred on 2/19/04 involving a number of MHC community members.
The
Staff Council met and discussed the role of Staff Council in the
process of investigation, solution, and support of all involved. The
Staff Council believes our role is to be an advocate and support to the
non-union staff at the College. We need to discuss, outline and
publish the process of Staff Council notification when any incident
which involves MHC Staff members occurs. This process needs to be
confirmed by Senior Staff and Human Resources.
The Staff
Council is not a legislative body and cannot make statements in support
or against the actions of staff but will help to make sure the proper
procedures and policies are followed when staff members are involved.
The
Staff Council (or members of) will be present both at the rally on
3/10/04 and the all-campus forum called for by the President on 3/10/04.
The
Staff Council appreciates those in the MHC community who reached out to
us and to our colleagues during this difficult time. We are confident
that the administration will act swiftly and justly in their
investigation.
Respectfully submitted,
Bardee Sadlier
Secretary
Staff Council Meeting 04-13-04
Attending:
Teresa Picard, Bardee Sadlier, Aime DeGrenier, Pat Serio, Taryn Dunaj,
Donna Russell, Pat O’Brien, Renee Sweeney, Carolyn Miller-Coulter, and
Roseanne Meczywor.
Budget meeting with Lauren Turner and Jan Albano
Lauren Turner and Jan Albano met with the Staff Council to discuss the 2004-2005 budget and the facts about it.
These are the facts:
• The final budget will be presented for approval to the Board of
Trustees in early May. Senior Staff continues to make adjustments until
that time.
• Health Insurance costs will be increasing again.
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield Point of Service -- 27.5%
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield HMO Blue -- 16.7%
• CIGNA Point of Service and HMO -- 31.1%
• Lauren is still in negotiations with the companies.
• The College WILL be adding a dental plan next year. It will be
through Guardian Insurance with a single coverage at approx.
$4.00/month and family coverage at approx. $30.00/month.
• The College is likely to defer salary increases next year that may be similar to what was done last year.
• Lauren strongly encourages employees with possible financial
hardship due to the health insurance increases and salary increase
deferral to meet with her.
• Staff Council will organize one
or two “Coffee Breaks” in Blanchard over the next few weeks that will
address budget issues and rumor control.
Meeting with the new Ombudsperson Adrianne Andrews
Adrianne
Andrews stopped by the Staff Council meeting to put faces to names.
Adrianne also explained/clarified her role as Ombudsperson as a fully
confidential and independent source to all members of the MHC
community. She offered her services in any way she could be of help to
the Staff Council and to all MHC staff members.
Staff Council Scholarship
Donna
and Carolyn will work organizing the information, mailings,
applications, etc. for the Staff Council scholarship. The scholarship
is a minimum of $200.00 awarded to a high school senior son, daughter,
or other dependant of a MHC staff member (the recipient cannot be
receiving any other college financial assistance from MHC). Pat O’Brien
will get labels for flyers for all staff.
Benefits Fair
The Benefits Fair will be held on May 13, 2004. Pat Serio and Pat O’Brien will be organizing the Staff Council’s participation.
President’s Luncheon
Renee
will talk with Irasema to find a date for the President’s Luncheon and
then make up and send out flyers. Pat O’Brien will get labels for
flyers for all staff.
Elections
Nominations and ballots will
be sent via Campus Mail. Nominations will be mailed out soon and
returned by Friday, 4/23. Ballots will be out by Friday, 4/30 and will
be due back by Friday, 5/7. The Staff Council will meet on 5/11
(regular meeting date) to count ballots and inform winners. Pat O’Brien
will get labels.
This year’s final Staff Council meeting has
been scheduled for 5/25 at 1:30pm to welcome the new members and say
thank you to the outgoing members.
Respectfully submitted,
Bardee Sadlier
Secretary
Staff Council Meeting 05-11-04
Attending:
Teresa Picard, Bardee Sadlier, Aime DeGrenier, Pat Serio, Pat O’Brien,
Renee Sweeney, Carolyn Miller-Coulter, and Roseanne Meczywor.
Counting Ballots
A
total of 180 ballots were returned for next year’s staff council
members (out of 681 total staff). The winners in DI & II, D III
& IV, and D VI will be called by Aime and Pat Serio to confirm they
want the position and tell them about the last meeting, the President’s
Lunch, and committee vacancies. The new members will then be introduced
at the President’s Lunch.
Scholarship Review
Applications will be available at the Staff Council table during the Benefits Fair.
Benefits Fair and Schedule
The Benefits Fair will be Thursday, May 13, 10:30am-3:30pm.
The
Staff Council table will have applications for the scholarship, Staff
Council pens with the web address on them, and two baskets to raffle
off (from Deb Harbison).
10.30-11.30-Bardee/Donna
11.30-12.30-Pat O./Taryn
12.30- 1.30-Aime/Pat S.
1.30 - 2.30-Teresa/Rosanne
2.30 - 3.30-Renee/Carolyn
President’s Lunch
New
Staff Council members will be introduced. Last count of RSVPs was 111
and Rachel Osborne from Willits says room will hold 170.
Committee Vacancies
• 2004-2005 Committee members (current council members)
• Pat Serio
• Pat Serio
• Faculty Mtgs
• Communication/email Carolyn Miller-Coulter
• Human Resources
• Drug & Alcohol
• MCCL
• Events Coordinator Roseanne Meczywor
• Web Site/Secretary Bardee Sadlier
Aime will talk with current members not at the meeting to see if other spots can be filled.
For
the next meeting, all new members’ names will be on a ballot for
co-chair. Any new member can ask for his/her name to be removed if
he/she does not wish to be co-chair. At the end of the meeting, a vote
will be taken by all members to determine the next co-chair.
Staff Council Budget
The
staff council budget is $750.00 which includes all events and all
copying costs. The costs of making copies of flyers, etc. has become
very high and we are looking at ways to save to money. The issue is
trying to reach all staff members on campus which is a monumental task.
One idea proposed is to make the Staff Council website the main
mechanism for information for staff. This will help save money on
flyers to all staff members. Flyers will be sent to each department to
be posted that will advertise the event and give the website.
Next Year (2004-2005) Projects
We
will look into reducing the cost of copying with flyers as well as
looking into more detail putting the nominations of new members on-line
(including a brief description of each nominee).
We will look
into the flow of information to the Staff Council and from the Council
in more detail and how we can better improve it.
We will update the counts for each division.
The next and last meeting will be May 25, 2004, from 1:30pm-3:00pm, in Blanchard, room #213.
Respectfully submitted,
Bardee Sadlier
Secretary
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