Minutes of the Meeting, February
5, 2003 Union
404 A&B
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT:
Valentine’s day has come and gone and we have made our obligatory expressions of love, affection and thoughtfulness to all those for who we care. Would it not be wonderful if we kept that spirit EVERY day, not just an occasional day? It is hard to show an expression of gratitude each and every day, but I challenge you to try. Try to see the best in people every day and make the effort to tell that person how you appreciate them. We are blessed with many staff members who come to work every day with that kind of outlook. It is those people I ask you to focus on now. Now is the time to be considering whom you would like to see being recognized as the outstanding staff member in your EEO category. Think of the person who influences you positively every day, who goes the extra mile, who does it with a smile, willingly, without the need of a reward. If you know of such a person, submit their name to be recognized. We also have to consider the overall outstanding staff member. The person who exemplifies the ideal employee, for all EEO categories. This outstanding person can only be recognized if someone submits his or her name. Look for nomination forms coming soon from the staff council nominations committee. After you receive your nomination forms, take the time to complete and submit the person of your choice. Looking forward to a record number of nominees. Will you be one?
PRESENT: James
Akey, Rachel Bost, Joey Brent, Joni Camp, Nina Cheshier, Matthew Deming, Judy
Fos, Brenda Brannan, Regina Jordan,
Earlene
Foster, Mary Harrington, Shellie Harrison, Buddy Kahler, Cathy Laswell, Shannon
Lovejoy, Steven Maples, Jean Pinion, Michelle Mize, Renee Moore, Tony Seaman,
Doug Stuart, Jeanette Wells, Conny Parham, Hilarie Pryor, Rosa Vance
EXCUSED: Amelia
Rodgers, Melissa Hudson, Karen Tuttle
UNEXCUSED: Dino
Johnson, Sam Johnson, Dennis Bullard, Dave Sagaser
2:38pm. Welcome made by President Tony Seaman followed by the
introduction of the guest speaker, University Police Chief, Randy Corban. Chief Corban addressed the Council regarding
UPD’s normal duties, such as patrolling and campus safety, and then described
their involvement in the community. UPD
is involved in many outreach programs.
They do events for children in the Village such as Village Fun Day and
annual Christmas program. UPD also
offers “Adopt-A-Cop,” a program that partners an officer with fraternities and
sororities on campus and talks with them about issues ranging from parking to
alcohol and drug abuse. UPD also
participates in many fund raising events each year such as fraternity softball
games, Cops on Bikes, Relay for Life (April 11 & 12, 2003) and the Jean Jones
Walk/Run for Cancer (April 12, 2003).
The University Police Department is proud to be active participants with
the United Way and Special Olympics as well.
UPD is a member of the Lafayette County Law Enforcement Association and
is involved with the Lafayette County 911 System. They have helped provide 911 poles for elderly individuals in the
county. UPD also offers programs for
local public schools where they will bring a K9 dog into the classroom and
speak to the children about the dangers of drugs.
After addressing the Council,
Chief Corban opened the floor for questions.
Brenda Brannan asked about a possible change in the speed limit on Old
Taylor Road. Chief Corban said a
recommendation has been made to raise the speed limit from 18 to 30 mph. Buddy Kahler wanted to know if UPD still
conducted campus safety surveys. Chief
Corban replied that they haven’t done one in several years, but that they would
probably do one soon. On a related
note, Mary Harrington wanted to know how the UM campus crime rate compared to
other colleges. Chief Corban said that
the University’s crime rate was low and comparable to other schools in the
Southeastern Conference. Chief Corban also
mentioned that the campus’ highest crime statistics involved petty theft and
auto burglaries. Doug Stuart asked
about the Rebel Patrol and Code Blue.
Chief Corban stated that Rebel Patrol is still active. People on campus can call UPD at night and
request an escort to their automobile or campus building. Code Blue is also still active on
campus. The campus has 15 Code Blue
poles. Each pole has push buttons and
blue lights which can be activated by anyone in the event of an emergency and
police officers respond in minutes.
Many thanks to Chief Corban for being the Council’s guest speaker. Following Chief Corban was the Council’s
approval of the January 2003 minutes.
The approval of the minutes was unanimous.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Approved with no
corrections.
OLD BUSINESS:
NEW BUSINESS:
·
President Tony Seaman stated
that clarifications and changes to the Staff Textbook Scholarship program will
take effect as discussed in the January Council meeting. The Bookstore is also going to help enforce
the policies related to the scholarship to only allow purchases of textbooks
and acceptable supplies. Acceptable supplies does not include notebooks, pen,
paper, etc. The staff members who have
purchased school supplies with the textbook voucher will be required to
reimburse the scholarship fund.
·
University Creed Focus Groups
- A request was made of the Staff Council to evaluate and possibly endorse the
new University Creed. A request for
volunteers was made to serve on one of two committees to review the Creed.
·
The Staff Council Executive
Committee received information from Vicki Mahan, EAP Coordinator/counselor for
the University Counseling Center. Tony
Seaman gave an overview to the Council about the information sent to the
Executive Committee. Tony spoke of what
a great resource the Counseling Center offers to University employees by
providing counseling services to faculty and staff. The EAP (Employee Assistance Program) will be discussed more at
the next Executive Committee Meeting.
·
President Tony Seaman has
been asked to serve on a committee for the Frist Award. This is an award given to both a faculty and
staff member for outstanding service to students. Mr. Seaman will be asking for a volunteer to take his place on
this committee.
·
The issue of Donated Leave
has come up again. A proposal has been
made to the Legislature by Senator Bill Thames which would allow persons who
had utilized all their personal/medical leave to have leave time donated by
other individuals on campus who have acquired an excess of personal time. This practice was allowed several years ago
and was discontinued.
·
A discussion was held about
the many upcoming events involving Staff Council. Mary Harrington stated that ballots had been mailed to members of
EEO Categories 1, 3 and 7 for Staff Council member nominations for those
categories. Nominations for
president-elect and treasurer will take place at the March Council
meeting. A call for volunteers was made
to assist with Outstanding Staff Member elections.
·
Jeanette Wells asked if a
date had been set for the Staff Council Blood Drive and Tony Seaman said that
he would be getting back to her about a possible date. Judy Fos wanted to know if the Council would
be soliciting local venders for prizes for Staff Appreciation Day. Tony responded that the Council will not be
soliciting venders. Further discussion
about Staff Appreciation Day will be in the near future.
CONCERN:
·
At the January Council
meeting, there was a concern that since Jonnie Manning is retiring this year,
the Council would be losing its webmaster.
Joey Brent showed an interest in assisting or becoming the new Staff
Council webmaster. Joey has contacted
Jonnie regarding assisting her with these duties, and it has been agreed that
both of them will be S/C webmasters.
Jonnie will continue from home after she retires. Staff Council appreciates Jonnie and Joey
for their hard work.
·
An issue was brought to the
Council regarding half-priced basketball tickets for retired employees of the
University. The concern was that
half-priced tickets are only made available to persons who have retired from
upper EEO categories. President Tony
Seaman will be doing further research on this issue.
COMMITTEE REPORTS: No committee reports.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Meeting adjourned. 3:48 pm.
/s/Tony Seaman, President
/s/Joni Camp, President-Elect
/s/Steven L. Maples, Secretary
Staff Council e-mail address:
staffcouncil@olemiss.edu
Staff Council Homepage: http://www.olemiss.edu/orgs/staff_council