Minutes of the Meeting October 05, 2005 Union 404 A&B
Present: James Akey, Dotty Baker, Debbie Binkley, Robert Bishop, Rachel Bost, Brenda Brannan, Joey Brent, Nina Cheshier, Kim Chrestman, Corrie Free, Mary Harrington, Carra Hewitt, Jeff Howell, Ron Kitchens, Patti Mooney, Paula Park, Randall Pinion, Bettie Puckett, Laurie Richlovsky, Amy Saxton, Karen Tuttle, Timothy Woodard
Excused: Pam Barefield, Debbie Bishop, David Blackmarr, Cathy Grace, Ann Mason, Traci Mitchell, Jerry Moore, Susan Neal, Jennifer Pardoe, Deidra Phillips,
Unexcused: Ardessa Minor
President Brent introduced the guest speaker, Lorinda Krhut, the Director of Housing.
Lorinda Krhut came from the University of Southern Mississippi where she has had dealings with the Staff Council as the President of Staff Council at Southern was on her housing staff. Mrs. Krhut has attended some IHL meetings.
Mrs. Krhut gave a brief history of her previous employment and how she first became interested in a housing career when she was a RA in graduate school in Alabama. She describes how she became the housing director of her alma mater, University of Southern Mississippi. Mrs. Krhut said that coming to Ole Miss was an opportunity to take one last chance at making a difference and to be a positive influence. Mrs. Krhut also stated that the transition has been wonderful and that she has a wonderful staff.
Mrs. Krhut discussed the challenges that she faces in the Housing Department. Mrs. Krhut has been in housing for almost 30 years. Mrs. Krhutt informed the Staff Council that the Ole Miss Housing Department receives no state funding therefore making it a true auxiliary. The housing department is fully funded by student rent. Mrs. Krhut stated that the maintenance of the dorms is an awesome task since most of the buildings are over 40 years old. Money for repairs is very limited so it is a big challenge but Mrs. Krhut feels they will get through it. There are 3500 students living in 10 resident halls, Northgate, and Village apartments. Mrs. Krhut is unsure of the number of apartments in Northgate and the Village. The total capacity is 3700 and they have reached 95% capacity. The 5% vacancy gives them the opportunity to offer students private rooms.
The housing department is broken up into three sections: resident life, administration, and operations. Resident life consists of programming, staff development, training, and anything else that has to do with students living in resident halls. There are 76 resident assistants, 12 hall directors, and three area coordinators.
One resident assistant (R.A.) lives on every floor in the dormitories. The resident assistants are a part of the resident education program. The resident assistants are required to put on programs with different themes in the dormitories. There is one hall director per dormitory. The area coordinators are on call for any and every emergency that may occur in the dormitories 24 hours a day/ seven days a week.
The administration area is responsible for all room assignments, room changes, support staff supervisions, appeals to housing contracts, and anything else related to students once they move into the dormitories as far as where they are living physically. The operations area deals with facility issues and budget concerns. The housing department also consists of a secretarial support staff of eight and a maintenance staff of eight with help from the physical plant.
The housing department has a budget of $10 million.
Approval of Minutes: Minutes were approved without any corrections.
Treasurers Report: Nina Cheshier reported that expenditures were made in Contractual Services for staff health screening for Staff Appreciation day. Significant expenditures were also made in the textbook scholarship account for purchases for the fall semester; a $194.98 reimbursement was received. The treasurer’s report was approved with no corrections.
Committee Reports: President Brent asked Corrie Free to give an update on Katrina relief efforts. She reported that there were twenty-one kits completed and $80.00 was made in cash donations.
Ron Kitchens reported that the United Way met last Monday and set a goal, which he states that they will be announcing. The committee is seeking volunteers for the Halloween carnival, roadblocks, and other projects. The Stone Center/Katrina relief center has closed, but will be reopening on October 10, 2005 for victims of Hurricane Rita.
Old Business: “Staff Council deeply thanks Robert Khayat” is the wording on the brick that the Staff Council purchased in Chancellor Khayat’s honor. The brick will be in section three on the Walk of Champions. President Brent read a thank you note that the Chancellor had sent stating that he appreciated the gift as well as being highly complimented by the gesture.
Nina Cheshier stated that she is gathering information from prior committees concerning staff daycare facilities to ensure that there is not a replication of information.
President Brent discussed some fundraising ideas for Staff Council activities, which included selling parking spaces on game days, selling t-shirts, etc. Corrie Free and Kim Chrestman volunteered to chair and co-chair a fundraising committee.
New Business: Paula Park and Kim Chrestman reported that they plan to chair and co-chair a holiday reception on December 13, 2005 and the exam breakfast on December 7, 2005.
Rachel Bost proposed changing the wording of the criteria for staff development textbook scholarship eligibility, which is on the web. The proposed changes were approved unanimously. The criteria will now clearly state that only non-faculty employees are eligible. In addition, the criteria will now clearly state that scholarship recipients must successfully complete all courses in a semester to be considered for future scholarships.
There was additional discussion concerning eligibility of employees on the other University of Mississippi campuses. The criteria will no longer list the other campuses by name, but as the “satellite campuses”. A motion was made and approved to clarify that Medical Center employees are not eligible for the textbook scholarship.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 P.M.
/s/ Joey Brent, President
/s/ Ron Kitchens, President-Elect
/s/ Paula Park, 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