July Retreat / Meeting Minutes
July 11, 2012
10:00-1:00 Education 241
I.
II.
Welcome & call to order: President Darlene Samson called the meeting to
order at 10:05 a.m.
Roll call: Carol Bates
Attendees: Senators: Andi Armstrong, Carol Bates, Jay Bruns, Lisa Coon, Kristine
Csorosz, Kennden Culp, John DeYoung, Molly Fishburn-Mathew, Phillip Flukas,
Chuck Harris, Shane Heivly, Natalie Hiller-Claridge, Maggie Linder, Becky Maier,
Maria Mangold, Jaylene Naylor, Sandi Nelson, Darlene Samson, Sharon Schneider,
Hannah Singleton, Jimmy Stevens, Kathie Tattory, Brandie Terpe, Maureen Ward,
Kelly Wasson, Administrative Assistant, Judy Wellert
Excused: Denise May, Maryann Robison
Absent: Slade Johnson, Gregg Potter
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
Approval of June minutes: President Samson presented the minutes of the
June 13, 2012 meeting. Discussion ensued regarding the verbiage in Article
III and Article XV of the Bylaws. The minutes are to reflect the exact wording
as is within the Bylaws. Motioned to approve with changes; seconded;
motion carried.
Financial Report: President Samson presented the financial report for June
and asked Financial Officer Coon to explain the report for further
understanding. There is still uncertainty (addressed during the June
meeting) as to whether Staff Senate will forfeit the $4,000.00 balance in the
general fund. Samson has a call into Vice President Duringer for clarification
and plans to have a clear answer by the August meeting. Motioned to
approve the financial report; seconded; motion carried.
New Senators: Molly Fishburn-Matthew and Kelly Wasson were voted in as
new senators by affirmation.
Opening Retreat Activity: President Samson introduced an icebreaker
activity so all senators would learn something about the others. Each
senator reported one truth and one lie about him/herself. Other senators
had fun guessing which to be true while learning something about each
other.
Senator Responsibilities Overview: President Samson reviewed Senators’
responsibilities as outlined in Article X of the Bylaws. She emphasized two
areas specifically: 1.The importance of contacting the secretary prior to the
monthly meeting if you will be absent (to be excused); and 2. The importance
of participating in and serving on at least one Staff Senate and one
University committee.
Senators volunteer to sit on SS committees. Regarding University
committees, Samson will receive a request for names from President
Engstrom who will then appoint a senator to the committee.
The committee chairperson or member (if the chair is not a senator) will
download and complete a report-form from the SS website following each
meeting. The chair or member will provide a brief report at the monthly SS
meeting.
All Senators were encouraged to review the Bylaws.
Administrative Associate Wellert will send a campus announcement out
prior to SS meetings inviting and encouraging visitors to attend.
VIII.
New Committee – Staff Senate IT Support: Senator Chuck Harris
proposed a new committee: Staff Senate Technology Solutions. The mission
would be to provide technology advice and solutions to aid SS business; and
to investigate issues that impact staff. A breadth of computer concerns
surfaced through discussion and questions (ie. No standing rule for
computer turn-over for staff, not all staff has access to computers, new
mode of communication campus-wide, etc.), which Senator Harris deferred
back to the need for a standing committee.
A motion was made to adopt a new SS Technology Solutions Committee.
Motioned to approve; seconded; motion carried. Senators signed up to
participate in this committee.
IX.
Committee Reports:
a. CVC - Senator Armstrong provided an overview of CVC which is to
promote the visibility and contributions of Staff. They also work closely
with the Fundraising Committee. Upcoming projects include the
Welcomefeast and Newsletter.
b. Fundraising - Senator Mangold reported that the goal in fundraising this
year was to raise $4,000.00. Revisiting the “Kettle House Night” idea and
doing a Holiday fundraiser are possibilities.
c. Bylaws – The Bylaws were revised in June 2012 so the committee will
not meet in the near future since they are revisited and updated every
two years.
d. Scholarship – Wellert reported that the Scholarship Committee will start
meeting after Christmas. There will be a need to solicit funds for
scholarships to be awarded during spring semester.
e. Staff Awards – President Samson gave a brief overview of staff awards. A
campus-wide call for nominations occurs in February. Two staff are
selected from the nominees.
f. Elections – Elections occur in the spring so the committee meets
beginning in March.
g. Survey – Senator Bates gave an overview of the survey committee, which
will begin meeting as soon as possible to organize a follow up survey (to
the one sent autumn 2011) to be launched in October.
Break: Senators were dismissed for a 15 minute break.
X.
Brain Storming Session: Groups of 5-6 people were formed with 3
returning and 2 new senators in each group. Using President Samson’s
brainstorming worksheet, senators were asked to discuss: “What can we do
to promote the needs of staff at UM”? Results of the group discussions:
CVC / Tech Committee
 Emails VS communication access
 Collaboration
 Access – laptops / tablets for checkout; Bonus: more efficient work
 Facebook – how many likes? (98); viral or dormant – need more daily
interactions & variety (i.e. “Did you know…” UM Facts, etc.)
 Newsletter – guest columns/letters to the editor
Recognition
 Variety in Events/Times
 Extra chairs at meetings; offer coffee during September / January
meetings; send invites in new employee packets
 More outdoor activities; another movie night (non-kid film)
 10 Spoon Winery
Other
 Get information out; find out the “why’s” & distribute
 Survey – professional development needs of staff (Cindy Bois)
o How can we advertise opportunities better? (CPR @ pool; IT short
courses)
o Work with HR & Cindy to provide professional development
o Knowledge is power
 How to connect staff back to the UM Mission
o Education & Technology
 Data gathering – proactive outreach, survey & reaching out to
departments
 Continuity of information – utilize past, present, future data
 Professional Development – not all positions relate to career ladder;
target specifically; provide skills based; more personal/professional
enhancement & job satisfaction
 Increase supervisor support of professional development (top-down)
XI.
Lunch - Provided by SS
XII.
Committee Break-outs
Senators separated into their committees to discuss activities for the
upcoming year. President Samson provided a handout draft with a timeline
for each month. Headings were listed for each of the following:
Meeting/Activities; Annual Activities; CVC; Fundraising; MUSSA & Guests.
Senators were asked to discuss / review committee goals for the upcoming
year and establish consistent monthly meetings.
Meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
Next meeting: August 8, 2012 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon; TODD 204