Draft Minutes

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

10:00am-12:00 noon by audio conference

Bridge: 800-893-8850, PIN 4236369

Fairbanks site: 212A Butrovich Building

 

1.                   Call to order and Roll Call

http://gov.alaska.edu/home/who/staff/

 

Jeff Stepp, Chair of the Staff Alliance and President, UAF Staff Council

Barb Rusher, Vice Chair, Staff Alliance and President, Statewide Administration Assembly

Rita Fuller, President, UAS Staff Council

Bob Kizer, President, UAA APT Council

Heather Swanson, Vice President, UAS Staff Council

Kim Stanford, President, UAA Classified Council

Vince Yelmene, Vice President, Statewide Administration Assembly

 

Others Present:

Jodi Bailey, Administrative Coordinator

Pat Ivey, Executive Director

Mike Humphrey, Director of Benefits

Debra Carter, Employee Communications Specialist

Jeri Cary, former President, UAS Staff Council

 

2.                   Adopt Agenda

http://gov.alaska.edu/staff/agendas/2006/10-17.html

http://gov.alaska.edu/staff/agendas/2006/10-17.pdf

 

                  MOTION:  Moved by Barb Rusher, seconded by Jeri Cary, passed without objection.

 

“The Staff Alliance approves the October 17, 2006 agenda.  This motion is effective October 17, 2006.”

 

3.                   Approve September 12, 2006 minutes                                              

http://gov.alaska.edu/staff/minutes/2006/09-12.html

http://gov.alaska.edu/staff/minutes/2006/09-12.pdf

 

                  MOTION:  Moved by Barb Rusher, seconded by Jeri Cary, passed without objection.

 

“The Staff Alliance approves the September 12, 2006 agenda.  This motion is effective October 17, 2006.”

4.                   Chairs Report                                                                                 

 

Jeff reported on his recent visit to Anchorage for the September Board of Regents meeting where he discussed the Staff Alliance issues and topics for this year.  He attended the ground breaking ceremony for the new Integrated Science Facility.  Jeff stated he was impressed with University of Alaska’s UAA Votes campaign and would like to create one for the Fairbanks campus as well.  He also reported that the Make Students Count Awards were distributed at the meeting to Jennifer Sandonato from UAS, Melody Monsoon from UAA, Julie Parsnick from UAF and Rhonda Ooms from Statewide.

 

Jeff also attended a search committee meeting for the Vice President for Academic Affairs vacancy while in Anchorage.  He stated that Provosts from UAA and UAS as well as faculty members from various campuses attended as Jeff being the only staff member.  The committee is currently generating applicants internally but the job description will be posted soon in the Chronicle of Higher Education publication.

 

Jeff also reported that the Denali Challenge has begun and Mike Humphrey will discuss it later in the meeting.  The health risk assessments will also roll out as well.

 

Jeff Stepp also spoke of the handouts received from the wellness program and requested they post it for staff to have easy access to them since they are informational.

 

He also spoke of his upcoming meeting with President Hamilton later this week to discuss general information and he also has a meeting with Wendy Redman tomorrow.

 

Jeff also spoke of his meeting with Kate Ripley and the committee regarding the employee appreciation campaign of which they brain stormed ideas.  The next meeting will be held on October 27th where more ideas will be discussed.

 

Jeff reported that Bruce Rowe from Corporate Programs gave a presentation to the business council to request the use of tuition waivers for the Certified Public Managers program.  Jeff stated that Michelle Renfrew gave a presentation to the UAF Staff Council in September and does not have an update to give as to the progress of Bruce’s request.  Barb spoke of the last SAA meeting where they discussed it as well and Mike Humphrey gave a description of the discussions being made in business council.  He stated that business council is looking into the idea and how it affects the funds that are already designated for training.  He stated the topic is becoming quite complex and there will hopefully be a decision soon.

 

Jeff stated that he is attending the Faculty Alliance President retreat tomorrow to discuss the sole item on the agenda which is student success.  He also informed the group that he posted items in regards to that topic on his blog, Uafstaffcouncilprez.blogspot.com.  This is where Jeff likes to communicate and provide information that members might find informational for their campuses. 

 

5.                   Public Comments

 

No public comments were given.

 

6.                   Staff Governance Reports

                                   

SW

http://www.alaska.edu/governance/saa/

 

Barb Rusher spoke of the last SAA meeting in September where Anne Sekemoto, the new Training Director attended. 

 

She also reported that SAA is creating a welcome home banner for 172nd Stryker Brigade for their upcoming homecoming which is being funded by President Hamilton.

 

Barb also reported that the annual winter service projects have begun.  The canned food drive will begin on November 17th which is the Thanksgiving potluck and it will end at the Christmas potluck.  They are also doing the adopt a family program through Love Inc. for this Christmas holiday.  A member of SAA is going to create a list of other local organizations that employees can donate to if they choose not to participate with Love Inc. 

 

Martin Kline who is the Director of Transportation also attended the meeting to discuss the most recent changes to the shuttle system for the UAF campus.  He also informed the group that the transportation department has just received two hybrid vehicles which are available for departments to rent.

 

Barb also stated that there is no new information regarding the retirement tuition waivers for employees as she had thought.  She also offered the idea for SAA and Staff Alliance to create a work group to discuss this particular topic. 

 

UAS

http://www.uas.alaska.edu/staffcouncil/

 

Jeri Cary informed the group they have held their elections and Heather Swanson is the new Vice President with Rita Fuller as the President.  Jeri stated that she will help the two begin their term since they are starting so late this year.

 

Jeri also reported that she and Heather have been helping coordinate a 50 year anniversary reunion holiday party as an open house for all former employees, students as well as the current members.  It will be held on Dec 9 on the Juneau campus at the new recreational center.

 

Heather has also been working with electronically notifying staff of their meetings and the scheduled events on campus since she works within the UAS Information Technology department.

 

UAA

http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/governance/classified/

http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/governance/apt/

 

Kim reported that she is currently sitting on the hiring board for the Officer of Diversity Compliance and Director of Human Resources positions.

 

She reported that they just held their annual chili feed and it was a success. 

 

Kim also stated that she is working on staff training and is looking at what is currently offered and she found that their Human Resources department has created a Professional Development program that is being offered as modules.  They found through the research that was previously done by the Classified Council showed a high demand for more training for staff.  She stated that she is hoping they’ll be available online and eventually on a CD to allow others to participate as well.

 

Kim reported that the Assembly last met on October 12th and they discussed the FY 06 performance measures and those are now posted for viewing on the Chancellor’s website.

 

USUAA has forwarded two resolutions to the Assembly which Kim there for forwarded to the Faculty Senate stating they want a faculty name to be listed in the class schedule instead of a TBA and they want the faculty to be available online as well.  The topic was discussed and the Assembly hopes that USAA will continue to meet to discuss any issues.

 

Bob stated that he has been participating in the new training modules that Kim discussed and spoke highly of them.  Bob actually did not attend the APT meeting but he did state that they primarily worked on their goals which will carry over to the next meeting.  There is a candidate fair for the upcoming elections today and he is going to attend that event even though it was coordinated by USAA.     

 

            UAF

            http://www.uaf.edu/uafgov/staff/index.html

 

Jeff stated they their last meeting was held on October 13th and their retreat followed.  They began the retreat by doing some ice breakers to get to know each other better.  For the working lunch the group broke into three groups and discussed a particular issue.  The issues that were discussed were student success, fair process and opportunities for staff council for the upcoming year with fair process being the most popular. 

 

They also had a presentation given to them named “Find Your Passion and Live Your Dream” which discussed employee strengths and how they can be integrated into their job.

 

They are also holding a gubernatorial debate on October 24 with Tony Knowles and Andrew Halcro in attendance.

 

The UAF Votes campaign is beginning which has been collaborated by Faculty Senate, Staff Council, Alumni Association and the student union.

 

Jeff also informed the group that Chancellor Jones will begin having listening sessions and on November 7 he’ll listen to the Staff Council about their issues.

 

The elections will take place in November but the online version will not be available this year as hoped.

 

Staff Council was also invited for the first to meet with the accreditation board to discuss the issue of creating a staff handbook and how they would like to proceed with it. 

 

Jeff also stated that December 5th is the Chancellor’s holiday party this year. 

 

At their last staff council meeting on Friday they spoke to the chancellor about him giving a progress report on the recruitment and retention of women and minorities in staff positions as stated as one of the goals in the UAF strategic plan.   They also asked for a status report on the progress of staff excellence, staff development activities and improve performance measures for staff which is also a goal in the UAF strategic plan.

Jeff reported that the office of development has released a brochure to UAF faculty, staff and students but does not mention staff as a contributor yet staff members received the brochure.  In the next printing of the document staff will be mentioned since it was not intentional.

 

7.                   Employee Relations

 

7.1    Employee Relations Update- Beth Behner

 

Not available for comment.

 

7.2    Staff Training and Development- Ann Sakumoto                           

http://gov.alaska.edu/staff/2006-08-01.trainingdirectorhire.pdf

 

Not available for comment but Barb Rusher informed the group of the previous SAA meeting that she attended where she discussed a survey that she is formulating for staff and supervisors requesting information into what type of training they would like.

 

7.3    Wellness Program- Lisa Sporleder and, Mike Humphrey         

http://gov.alaska.edu/staff/2006-08-15.WIN-Alaska.pdf

 

Mike Humphrey stated that thee health risk assessment began October 9 and has been distributed to employees and the paper version has to be received by Summex by October 31 in order for them to receive the $100 rebate. 

 

He also stated the on site Wellness Plan coordinator request for proposal is out for bid and is hoping that the business who receives the bid will start distributing programs to the campuses by January 1.  WIN Alaska is a contender and has given presentations to the University and visited campuses to see if this type of program would fit the need and desire of the employees. 

Mike stated that in February they will have a completed report on whether the health insurance claims have decreased due to the increase in the wellness programs that have been created to help lower them.   

 

He reported that the walking program was successful and they had over 1000 people login the first day.  They have not formulated a formal evaluation on the program or the success but it seems as though it was a success by the overwhelming amount of participants and requests for changes to the program. 

 

The newly created walking program offers certificates for the varying steps instead of a prize given every time but the grand prize are either a jacket or a messenger bag.  Debra Carter informed the group that 90 individuals have already signed up for the new program. 

 

7.4    New Hire Retirement data on ORP versus PERS/TRS

 

Mike Humphrey informed the group that the ORP tier 3 is still being worked on but since it’s been available to employees, 81 have chosen it over the new PERS/TRS program.  He stated that the individuals who chose the PERS/TRS program are technically in limbo due to computer system difficulties between the University and the state so he does not have statistics on its progress yet.  He stated the majority of the individuals that have attended the new employee orientation have been choosing the ORP tier 3. 

 

Jeff Step asked Mike that if Tony Knowles is re-elected whether his idea on how to save the PERS/TRS system of revitalizing the retainable sustainable defined benefit plans.  Mike Humphrey responded by stating that the state needs to contribute to the program to stop the employer contribution rates from rising.  Mike stated that it will all depend on the new legislature and how it will be comprised.

 

Mike also informed the group that he attended the committee meeting where they decide the next year’s retirement contribution rates and the FY 08 TRS rate, which is spread across all employers who participate in the program, will rise to 54.03% from the current 21 or 26 percent.   He stated that the FY 08 PRS rate, which is based on each employer, will rise to 33-36 %.

 

7.5    Retirement Committee/ HR Council activities

 

There was no discussion.

 

7.6    Retiree Tuition Waivers                                                              

http://gov.alaska.edu/staff/projects/2006-05-23-tuitionwaiver-retirees.pdf

 

                  Barb Rusher informed the group that she spoke with Gwen White from Budget and Institutional Research in regards to the data being collected and Gwen requested that Human Resources release the information to the various governance groups.

 

7.7    Employee Recognition Project Update

 

Jeff informed the group that the next committee meeting to discuss the program will be October 27th. 

 

7.8    Other Employee Relations Issues

 

There was no discussion.

 

      8.           Alliance Objectives 2006-2007                                                        

http://www.alaska.edu/bor/2009Plan.xml

 

Pat Ivey stated that the main objectives that were discussed prior are employee relations, fair process, communications and student success and retention.  She also informed the group that the Faculty Alliance is also focusing on student success and retention and how staff and faculty can attribute and integrate with that idea at the upcoming Faculty Alliance meeting. 

 

      9.          Agenda items for next meeting, Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Job reclassification program, grievance process, Employee relations, fair process, communications, student success and retention

 

      10.        Other items of interest

 

                  No other items of interest.

 

      11.        Comments

 

                  No comments were given.

 

12.                 Adjourn

 

Meeting adjourned at 11:32 AM.