Iowa State University
Professional and Scientific Council
Regular Session
Council Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, November 6, 2002
Cardinal Room, Memorial Union
2002-2003
President: Rex Heer
Vice-President: Kevin Kane
Secretary/Treasurer: Cathy Good
Call to Order and Seating of Substitutes
The November 6, 2002 P&S Council Meeting was called to order at 2:10 p.m.
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Becker, Tom
Brink, Marcia
Brinkmeyer, Linda
Brotherson, Dave
Brueland, Brent
Cooney, Sarah
Doty, Ann
Eggers, Tim
Good, Cathy
Heer, Rex
Hintz, Roger
Jensen, James
Joiner, Stacy
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Kane, Kevin
Kapke, Paul
Marks, Del
Mayer, Marie
McCool, Kelly
McCroskey, Barry
McManus, Barb
Mumm, Lynne
Nelson, Mark
Patton, James
Peters, Beverly
Peterson, Teresa
Riedemann, Trevor
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Roberts, Kurt
Sorensen, Jeffrey
Strah, Pat
Strand, Judy
Van Beek, Brenda
VanGinkel, Margaret
Wood, Douglas
Woodin, Dan
X = Present
A = Absent
S = Substitute
Guests were Carla Espinoza, Assistant Vice President for Human Resource Services and Director of Equal
Opportunity & Diversity; Carrie Haefner, Human Resource Specialist, Human Resource Services; Cheryl Kamman,
Licensing Associate, Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer; Marlise McCammon, Associate
Director of Human Resource Services and Director of Employee Relations; Ellen Rasmussen, Assistant Provost;
Karen Zunkel, Director, Program for Women in Science and Engineering. Substitutes: Daniel Crim, Analyst,
Administrative Data Processing, for Dave Brotherson; Jim Gaunt, Manager, Engineering Research Lab, Civil and
Construction Engineering, for Douglas Wood; Lynette McBirnie, Administrative Specialist, Biochemistry,
Biophysics and Molecular Biology, for Paul Kapke; Kelley Miller, Enrollment Services Advisor (Admissions
Counselor), Admissions, for Tom Becker; Belva Weers, Administrative Specialist, Central Stores, for Pat Strah;
Barb Wollan, Extension Field Specialist, for Margaret VanGinkel.
Following general introductions, all substitutes were given full voting rights and privileges.
Establish a Quorum
A quorum was present.
Presentation of Committee Motions
None
Approval of the Agenda
The agenda was approved as presented.
Approval of the Previous Meeting’s Minutes
The minutes of the October 6, 2002, Council meeting were approved as corrected. Corrected minutes have been
forwarded for posting on the Council web page.
Provost’s Office Report
Ellen – Three provost candidates will be on campus during the next couple weeks. Also, regarding the motion
Council passed about the ombuds office, Ellen encourages Rex and the Council to think about what they would like
and how that position would service P&S staff, interact with the Peer Advisory Committee, etc. Faculty Senate is
doing something similar and she thinks it would be advisable for P&S Council to do the same. Ellen would be happy
to help with this.
Q: What sorts of things should P&S employees think about in evaluating provost candidates? An ideal provost is
someone who has some vision about what academics can and should be, especially in a changing world, and who
can articulate that. They need to be a good administrator and know when or when not to step in, administrate, etc.
The person needs to fit in well with the central administration cabinet group, have energy and want to try new
things, and have respect in general for the role everyone has in the institution.
Human Resources Report
Carla – Reminded Council that we are in the period of open enrollment for benefits; if there is a change you want to
make in your benefit packet, do so as soon as possible. Also, flu shots are being administered at TASF at no cost to
employees. Flu shots have been shown to improve the well-being of employees over the last few years.
The Board of Regents was intended to vote on the Supporting the Arrival of Children Policy, but the Board
came back with specific questions to be answered. They are still in the process of gathering that information. There
is no other public institution of higher education that has such a program. This may be something we all need to
rally around in some fashion. It is very difficult to justify this as a “best practice” that we are trying to emulate. We
are checking everywhere for comparable programs, including with private companies. Unfortunately, legislature
does not look at private companies the same way they look at public institutions of higher education. Ellen
commented that the University of Iowa is not really interested in partnering with us on this effort. We are out there
in front of others, and what’s wrong with that? This is the right thing to do; the right thing for our work
environment; the right thing for our employees.
If you have a way to save the university money, what would it be? You may get a request from the provost,
president, or budget advisory committee. We do not always get a lot of warning for responding to this type of
question. Give it some thought and be prepared.
What should P&S employees care about in a provost? 1) ISU needs a provost who will articulate policy in such
a way that it address the unique employee population that we are. P&S is a unique, special interest group that
provides a service to the institution that isn’t well understood. 2) Someone who is willing to speak to the Board
Office, which has historically articulated in the interest of merit employees. More time needs to be spent educating
that office about what P&S employees do. ISU insists that all communications with the Board Office takes place
through the President’s Office (Mark Chidister). The Provost has everyone’s ear. Can we request to make a
presentation to the Board Office staff so we can educate them about who and what we are? We need to have
someone (the Provost) who recognizes the scope and depth of P&S contributions and can convey that. Perhaps P&S
should partner with P&S from other Regents institutions, but we would need to have a specific agenda. Regardless,
the more we can learn about P&S at other institutions, the better off we will be.
Trevor posed several questions: The salary report used to summarizing the status of P&S pay system notes that
caution must be used in drawing conclusions from the data. What future plans does HR have for enhancing,
supplementing, or replacing the Annual Salary Report? We have no short term plans to replace the report. We have
been talking for some time about building the resource databank that tells people what we used to generate the
report. The report is just information, not solid conclusions. Human Resource Services added the cautionary
statement about how to use the report at the request of the P&S Council Compensation and Benefits committee, so
folks would not use the report as the sole source of information to benchmark their own personal situation. Where
else should P&S employees look? Individuals must identify these themselves. The information in the report is as
complete as they can get, but does not always include matches (or a very large number of matches) elsewhere in the
market. It is hard to find matches for soft money positions. Professional organization salary surveys are another
option. Faculty Senate does its own salary review via Institutional Research; does IR contribute to the P&S salary
report? No. There is more diversity in the kinds of P&S assignments. We will invite Carrie Haefner to an upcoming
Comp & Benefits committee meeting.
Carla: We are a source of information for you. With the turnover of people on Council, the same questions
come up again and again. You need to think about where you want to be, rather than where you have been. What
would you like to see in the report? If we can do it, we will. The report needs to be interpreted by a majority of the
population, but it should be an information guide.
Council President’s Report
Rex – We will follow up on Carla’s suggestion that we be more specific about what we want, in the salary report as
well as Ellen’s comments regarding the ombuds office.
President Geoffroy and Ben Allen both thought the ombuds idea was pretty good, though we need a little more
focus on what we expect the office to do for us. The Council Policies and Procedures Committee will need to get
pretty involved in this.
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Arrival of Children Policy – is waiting for answers to Board of Regents questions; in the meantime, the Provost
has sent around a memo to deans, directors, and chairs updating them and encouraging them to accommodate people
who are dealing with the arrival of children.
Provost’s office response to the status of women report – The provost has responded with recommendations,
including acknowledging that lower P&S positions have a lower concentration of male employees, but the higher
P&S positions have a higher concentration of male employees. Rex has not yet reviewed the report very thoroughly,
but the University Committee on Women will be following up. Is the report available on the web? Don’t know. The
report can be requested from HR.
More than one male has asked how P&S Council could endorse a policy for mentoring women only.
There will be a holiday reception for Faculty Senate and P&S at the Knoll, December 12, 7:00–8:30 p.m., for a
dessert reception. Official invitations will be sent out closer to that date.
Rex has followed up on the potential get-together at the butterfly wing of Reiman Gardens. Cost would be
$100/hour to rent auditorium space, plus a contract with university dining service for catering. If we do this, we
would not have enough money to do two events this year. There had been a suggestion to have an open house at the
Knoll. Dr. Geoffroy thought that was a great idea, but funding for that would need to come out of P&S budget, and
we don’t know how much that might cost. We will probably have to decide between the two events.
The co-chair of Supervisory/Confidential Council asked Rex to come to their next meeting to talk about P&S,
Council and how we might be able to communicate more than we have been in the past. He will be going to their
next meeting in a couple weeks.
Council Secretary/Treasurer’s Report
Cathy Good reported the following balances:
General Fund: $2,437.81 Campus Organization: $436.23
Professional Development: $845.03
Council Officer Reports
Lynne – The campus leaders breakfast was October 15. President Geoffroy provided an update on events since the
last breakfast. Other topics discussed included adding provisions to the merit contract to curtail scheduled increases
in the event of state funding cuts (IDOP – not ISU – negotiates the AFSCME contract); the merits of an external
review of the P&S salary structure; and what university employees, including the Extension network, can do to
solicit support for the university (we can inform, educate, and urge others to lobby). The next breakfast is in a couple
weeks. If you have any ideas for questions, please forward them to Lynne.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Compensation and Benefits
Trevor – Thank you, Carla, for taking the time to answer our questions. We would like to have you and/or your staff
come to a committee meeting to educate us on things. Jim Jensen – overall things have improved considerably since
a few years ago in providing health providers who are convenient and accessible to extension staff. He received 8–
10 responses from folks still having problems and will forward those to the University Benefits Committee and to
Carla to let them know where problems have been identified.
Policies and Procedures
Dan – The committee has reviewed the on-line handbook several times and thinks it is ready to go. The search
feature is a little difficult because of the number of links. A new index has been developed to help with this. They
plan to send the URL to Council for a one-to-two-week review, then to release it for general use with a mechanism
for feedback. The end is in sight. Still working on how to keep the site updated on an ongoing basis, rather than a
major overhaul once every so many years.
They are also starting to review materials Carla has given them on the conflict resolution policy. Other issues on
their agenda include committee structure, work-at-home policy, and the ombuds position.
Representation and Awards
Judy – reviewed time lines for awards. Due dates are out on both the P&S Council web site and the Provost web
site. Provost’s office sent out a memo this week on awards. The committee is working on changes for our web site to
improve it so it will be more helpful for people looking for assistance with nominations (with FAQs, etc.). The
University Councils & Committees web site has been updated. The elections subcommittee has started discussing
time lines. They are still looking for ways for no- or low-cost employee recognitions. Send ideas to Judy or Bev.
Communications
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Marcia – They are looking for feedback on the first e-newsletter. Also, would like to know if there are any problems
with the updated email tree; it is being reworked to make sure all email messages on the email tree go out at the
same time. Jeff – if anyone is getting bounces on expired email addresses, send them to him. They are still looking
for ideas for a fun, entertaining speaker for the April open forum. Send any ideas to Marcia. Updates to web pages
have been made. If you want photos added to your web page, send them in. How do new P&S employees get name
tags. A Sign-up sheet was passed around; Marcia and Barb will figure it out. Ask your coworkers to bring someone
along to the forum; it increases awareness and makes it a little easier to get nominations for council slots.
Retention and Recruitment
Kelly – no report
Peer Advisory
Brenda – one contact last month
Ad hoc committee
Kevin – The ad hoc committee on President/president elect – met last week to talk about if and how it should be
done. There are issues with both the bylaws and the constitution. The group will likely recommend that we go to a
president/president elect, but these recommendations are not complete.
Kevin – The ad hoc committee on representation (size of council and if representation at 75:1 is appropriate) – Leigh
hasn’t been given a defined charge, so if you have any input on representations, when elections are done, how many
representatives from each sector, what to do with External Affairs, email your comments and ideas to Bev or Judy.
Awards & Rep will collect these ideas, put together a charge, and send this to Leigh.
Old Business
No old business
New Business
Rex – Feedback to the University Library Committee on serials budget – The new P&S rep on Library Committee
asked us to provide her with feedback on various models for addressing the cuts going through.
The models are: 1) Across-the board cuts (which has been used in the past but is thought to be inequitable,
especially to departments who use journals that haven't skyrocketed in cost). 2) Inflation-indexed cuts. 3) Zerobased budgeting (each subject area would make a case for retaining a share of the serials budget). 4) Protect the
“strong” subjects (strength would be determined by a formula considering national reputation, enrollment figures,
etc…). 5) Hybrid (a model recommended by library officials that would use a formula based on historical allocation,
rate of inflation, measures of program strength, etc.… In essence, this would be a combination of Models 2 and 4).
Comments: #4 has to be part of the criteria, if we are going to excel in those areas to be part of a premier land-grant
institution. Interlibrary loan system works really well and is a nice backup for those journals that are no longer
carried. Email Rex with any comments.
For the Good of the Order:
P&S Executive Committee has been invited to meet with each of the Provost candidates. 10:00-10:50 a.m. on the
second day of each visit. If anyone has any questions they want asked of the provost candidates that are relevant to
the P&S employee group, please forward to Rex. This is also an excellent time to educate the candidates on who we
are and what we do. Carla recommends some visual aids (e.g. an organization chart that identifies where P&S
Council is, something that identifies the three employee groups) to give them a quick view about where P&S
Council and their constituency is. A handout of a couple pages from the Council web page might also be useful. We
might be able get it to the candidates ahead of time. When Presidential candidates were here, there were varying
degrees of understanding about how P&S Council worked. Ask them if they have questions about us. Do not
compare ourselves to faculty because we will loose. Perhaps indicate that good faculty become even better because
of the contributions of P&S staff.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 3:51 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Cathy Good
P&S Council Secretary/Treasurer
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