Guest Speakers

Minutes

Committee Involvement and Staff Appreciation Week

• Traci Mitchell thanked the election committee for their work on the recent Staff Council Elections. She proceeded with a brief orientation for new members, including handing out copies of the by-laws, explaining about excused and unexcused absences (and how they can be a cause for dismissal from the Council). Members will receive an excused absence so long as they notify an officer BEFORE a meeting to be missed. She noted that members are expected to serve on committees, both within and outside the Council and to volunteer for various functions, such as Staff Appreciation Week, University Commencement, etc.
  
  
• Staff Appreciation Week: Traci announced that Clay Jones has graciously agreed to serve as Chair of the Staff Appreciation Week Committee, which held a meeting this morning. A conflict has arisen because the Chancellor will be out of town during the week this event is scheduled, and the first available time on his calendar is the week of June 12. A motion was made and approved that Staff Appreciation Week be held as scheduled and that we ask Dr. Carolyn Staton, Provost, to officiate at Awards Day, May 16, for this year only. A motion was made and approved that Traci and the Staff Appreciation Week Committee meet with Dr. Kellum next week regarding future plans for this event.
  
  Thelma Curry and Lucienne Savell are in the process of working on committees to run the tournaments, such as 3-on-3 basketball, spades, etc. They have volunteered to be co-chairs and have other staff members who have volunteered to help with this effort. It was moved and approved to add the tournaments back to Staff Appreciation Week and to appoint Thelma and Lucienne as co-chairs of the tournament committee.
  
  
• When the Executive Committee met recently with Chancellor Khayat, he made a commitment of $7500 to support the picnic and other Friday events during Staff Appreciation Week. Clay Jones announced the chairs of the various Staff Appreciation Week committees:
  • Picnic, Laura Gillom;
  • Games (at picnic), Onice Carter,
  • Awards, Donna Patton,
  • Outstanding Staff Awards, Theresa Knight.
  • Anne Klingen volunteered to do the plant swap,
  • Sherry Wall will head the Prize committee, and
  • Melissa Hoskins will organize the blood drive.
  
  
  
• Election Committee: Floyd Klepzig will serve as chair of this committee to select a slate of officer nominees (must have been employed one year at University and must agree to serve). The deadline for nominations is April 15. Anyone with suggestions or nominations should contact Floyd or Melissa Hoskins.

Announcements

• The Frist Student Services Award committee is now accepting applications for outstanding faculty and staff member awards for service to students. Nominations are due by April 3, with forms available in the Chancellor's Office and on-line.
  
  
• Census 2000: During the last week of March and first week of April there will be a big push in Lafayette County to get everyone counted, especially the students. Please encourage students to complete the census forms. The census counts those who actually live here as of April 1, 2000, which would be most of the students, and this figure could be very important to the city/county/state because many kinds of funding and legislative representation are based on census counts.
  
  
• CARE Workshop: Dr. Joanne O'Quinn has asked for Staff Council sponsorship and support of this all-day workshop, including a luncheon, to be held on April 25. The workshop, which will focus on caring for aging relatives effectively, will be free to University employees and will cover such topics as exercise, end of life issues, legal issues, diet and nutrition, long-distance caregiving issues, alternative living options. Human Resources will provide help with registration but other volunteers are needed. Interested staff should contact Traci Mitchell.
  
  
• Brown Bag Luncheon: On Monday, March 20, from noon to 3 p.m., Law School Prof. Debbie Bell and several of her advanced law students will offer a program in Isom on family law issues. They will answer questions and offer free and confidential legal counseling.
  
  
• Jean Jones Memorial Walk/Run for Cancer: This event will be held April 1, the day of the Red/Blue Game, and sponsors hope to have 500 participants. The run is 3.1 miles and the walk is 2 miles. Registration is a 7 a.m., with a fee of $15, and T-shirts will be provided.
  
  
• MASCO: The next MASCO meeting will be held on March 2 at Mississippi State University. Traci Mitchell will attend.

Committee Reports

• Anne Klingen reported on the Law Librarian search, which has resulted in the hiring of a new Law Librarian for the upcoming year.
  
  
• Judy Fos is serving on the University Museums committee.
  
  
• Woodson Boyden reported that the Artists Series Committee would like to have suggestions and input from faculty/staff about the performances.
  
  
• Conny Parham reported that she is serving on the search committee for the new Executive Director of University Advancement. This search has been on-going for several months, and currently two candidates are in the process of coming for interviews.
  
  
• Day Care Committee: Clay Jones, Vic Sullivan and Jonnie Manning comprise this group. Clay reported that there are currently two other day care initiatives being discussed and explored: (1) Dr. Staton is working with the current day care program in Meek Hall, which is administered by Continuing Studies, to expand and improve that program, and (2) Chancellor Khayat, Dr. Kellum and Don Fruge are seeking a major donor for a new day care center on campus. The Staff Council committee has met with Jennifer and Tim Angle and Charles Clark from the Institute for Continuing Studies to discuss day care issues. Dr. Staton's committee has already allocated enough funds for an additional 4-year-old class at Meek Hall, and although there are some obstacles to building expansion, the money is there. Another idea being discussed is moving the day care center to Kinard Hall, which would provide more space and allow expansion of classes and additional classes. Clay Jones reports that he expects there to be some very real progress in this area very soon, although not this next year. The committee suggested that the Staff Council could make an impact in this area by going on record in support of expanded day care, and a motion was made and approved to forward a memo from the Committee to Dr. Staton. One particular concern was that University employees and students be given some type of preferential treatment for enrolling their children in the day care center.
  
  
• Legislative Committee: Mary Chrestman reported that plans are going forward for the public forum on health insurance issues, to be sponsored by Staff Council and the Faculty Senate. Public school teachers will also be encouraged to attend, and it is hoped that Jay Eads, Gray Tollison and Teresa Hanna will be able to attend. Possible dates include March 13, March 20, or March 27, depending on the schedules of the invited guests. The suggested format is a panel discussion, with questions submitted in advance.
  
  
• Concerns Committee: Clay Jones announced that a concern had been raised that the Medical Center no longer allow discounts to University employees in the state insurance plan. The discount is still in effect on hospital charges, but federal legislation has prohibited such discounts on individual physicians' bills.
  
  
• Executive Committee; The Committee met with the Chancellor on February 22. As previously mentioned, the Chancellor pledged $7500 toward Staff Appreciation Week. Also discussed were health insurance coverage and representation on all Standing University and search committees. The Chancellor readily agreed to appoint staff representatives to all such committees. Chancellor Khayat suggested that Andy Mullins could provide the Council with a legislative update, possibly at the May meeting following the end of the legislative session.. Also discussed was the issue raised by Sister Mary of the Social Concerns Committee of St. John's Church regarding the employees of Aramark, greek organizations, etc., who are not paid during holiday periods, and who are thus forced to seek assistance from local charities. The Chancellor and the Executive Committee agreed that it would be best to work within the existing framework of such local agencies as The Pantry to provide assistance for the working poor on campus.