Minutes of the Meeting, August 11, 2004 Union 404 A & B
Present: Hilarie Bain; Pam Barefield; Shannon Beeman; Rachel Bost; Brenda Brannan; Nina Cheshier; Kim Chrestman; Paige Davis; Judy Fos; Corrie Free; Mary Harrington; Shellie Harrison; Carra Hewitt; Jeff Howell; Melissa Hudson; Buddy Kahler; Ron Kitchens; Shannon Lovejoy; Judy Mills; Ardessa Minor; Traci Mitchell; Jennifer Pardoe; Paula Park; Deidra Phillips; Randall Pinion; Tony Seaman; Patti Welch
Excused: Joey Brent; Bettie Puckett
Unexcused: James Akey; Sue Hodge; Renee Moore; Paula Park; Kathy Sanders
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President Mary Harrington. President Harrington thanked all members for attending, and then introduced Rebecca Harvey of Human Resources as the guest speaker. Ms. Harvey discussed upcoming training and development programs and opportunities that will be available to staff in the coming year. Speakers from different departments around campus are scheduled to speak on such issues as how to develop effective written and verbal communication skills, how to prepare budgets, and how to write resumes and interview for jobs. The HealthWorks Committee is also sponsoring several programs this year. Adult, child, and infant CPR classes will be offered during the fall and spring, a tobacco cessation seminar will be offered in January, and Team Trim, a weight loss competition, will also begin in the spring. Other activities include bowling leagues, indoor volleyball, a racquetball tournament, and group aerobics classes. Registration for HealthWorks programs begins on September 7. A complete schedule of activities and registration information will be mailed to staff in the coming weeks.
Ms. Harvey announced that applications for MASH, a supervisory certification program, will be available in December. MASH is held each spring for four months. Participants will attend two four-hour sessions per month. Program graduates may be eligible to receive a $250 per year professional development pay increase. Additional program information and course descriptions can be found on the Human Resources web page.
This year, Student Employment will be offering incentives for student employees to come to the office and complete their paperwork in a timely manner. From August 23 to September 8, those students who completely fill out all paperwork may be eligible to win daily giveaways and door prizes.
Approval of Minutes: The July minutes were approved with one correction. Traci Mitchell noted that she is not a member of the Lion’s Club.
Treasurer’s Report: Information on the current Staff Council budget was distributed to members. The vote to approve the Treasurer’s report was postponed until the next meeting.
Introduction of New
Members:
President Harrington introduced two new members to the Staff Council:
o Judy Mills, Staff Assistant in Athletics (replacing Joni Camp)
o Jeff Howell, Environmental Health and Safety Specialist (replacing Gina Starnes)
President Harrington also announced that Barbara Leeton has resigned her position. Debbie Bishop, Clinical Records Coordinator for Communicative Disorders, will assume Ms. Leeton’s position on September 1.
Committee Reports:
·
Meet and Greet,
coordinated by Ron Kitchens, will be held August 23 and August 24. This program is designed to help new
students locate buildings and classes on the first two days of the fall
semester. Volunteers typically hand out
campus maps and give directions.
T-shirts and campus maps may be picked up at several central
locations. Mr. Kitchens passed around a
sign-up sheet for volunteers. The
schedule will be available on his web page.
·
Judy Fos,
coordinator of New Employee Orientation, reported that about 110 employees have
been hired since online orientation began.
Ms. Fos plans to mail letters and brochures to these new employees to
inform them about Staff Council.
Subsequent letters to new employees will be mailed every two weeks. Ms. Fos is also identifying the costs
involved in having t-shirts made to distribute to all new staff.
·
Ardessa Minor,
coordinator of the Staff Council Awareness Initiative, stated that the purpose
of this initiative is to promote visibility of the Staff Council and its
services to staff, and to increase involvement in Staff Council. The committee is currently working to
organize Fall Kick Off, to be held in October.
·
The Publicity
Committee, coordinated by Jennifer Pardoe, is exploring the possibility of
purchasing a digital camera for the Staff Council, so that pictures of members
and events can be posted on the website.
The committee is also investigating publishing pictures and articles
about Staff Council in the Daily
Mississippian or Inside Ole Miss. Tony Seaman suggested that the Council begin
to publish its own monthly or bimonthly newsletter. The newsletter could contain information of interest to all staff
members, plus items of personal interest such as new hires, births, and
anniversaries. With approval from the
Council, Jennifer Pardoe agreed to help develop the newsletter.
·
Joey Brent and
Mary Harrington attended the last MASCO meeting.
Old Business:
·
Mary Harrington
thanked all those Staff Council members who volunteered to serve on standing
committees this year.
·
Ten Staff
Council members have currently signed up to help with Move-In. Other members expressed a willingness to
help, but were unable to leave work to participate.
New Business:
·
The Textbook
Scholarship Committee is currently working on changes to textbook scholarship
policies and procedures. Further
discussion was tabled until the committee can finalize the proposed changes.
·
President
Harrington announced a proposed Staff Council Member of the Month Initiative,
designed to recognize members for their contributions to Staff Council. Each month, the Executive Council will
nominate one person as Member of the Month.
The proposed initiative was approved by the Staff Council.
·
Because of all
the new initiatives being launched this year, President Harrington suggested
that the Staff Council develop an overall theme for this umbrella of
activities. Members were asked to
submit their ideas by September 1, so that they can be presented and voted on
at the next Staff Council meeting. The
member who comes up with the winning theme will be awarded a $25 gift
certificate to a local restaurant.
Concerns
Some staff members
have expressed concern that the envelopes in which their pay stubs are mailed are
too thin, and that information on the pay stubs is visible through the
envelopes. Joey Brent will meet with Al
Fenger in Payroll and other staff in Human Resources to discuss the issue, and
will have a response from them by the next meeting. Tony Seaman stated that security envelopes are available from
Printing Services, but that the costs for printing these envelopes will be
higher.
Announcements:
· Therese Hanna, State Insurance Administrator, will be the guest speaker at the next Staff Council meeting. Mary Harrington will send an email to all staff to invite them to the meeting. Extra chairs will be set up in the back of the room to accommodate visitors.
· Traci Mitchell announced that she is chairing the Commission on the Status of Women this year, and asked a Staff Council member to serve on the committee. Deidre Phillips volunteered to serve.
· Staff Council meetings have been scheduled through June 2005. All meetings will be held at 2:30 pm in Room 404 A & B of the Student Union unless notified otherwise. Meeting dates are as follows:
o September 1, 2004
o October 6, 2004
o November 3, 2004
o December 1, 2004
o January 5, 2005
o February 2, 2005
o March 2, 2005
o April 6, 2005
o May 4, 2005
o June 1, 2005
Meeting adjourned, 3:20 pm.
/s/ Mary Harrington, President
/s/ Joey Brent, President-Elect
/s/ Shannon Beeman, Secretary
Staff Council e-mail address: staffcouncil@olemiss.edu
Staff Council Homepage: http://www.olemiss.edu/orgs/staff_council
Staff Council Webmaster: dptjb@olemiss.edu