January Meeting Minutes
January 14, 2015 10:00am – 12:00pm
UC 330/331
Welcome & Call to Order
President Linder called the meeting to order at 10:12am.
Roll Call
Attendees: Andi Armstrong, David Crowley, Matt Filer, Molly Fishburn-Matthew, Grace Harris, Rochelle
Krahn, Maggie Linder, Mike Maas, Becky Maier, Maria Mangold, Denise May, Gloria Phillip, Renee Valley,
Angela Weisenburger, Jennifer Zellmer-Cuaresma, Judy Wellert (Administrative Associate)
Excused: Kris Csorosz, Maryann Dunbar, Jonathan Forrider, Geri Fox, Rozlyn Haley, Chuck Harris, Natalie
Hiller-Claridge (resigned), Lisa Marie Hyslop (resigned), Shaunagh McGoldrick, Denise Nelson, Paulette Nooney
(resigned), Chelsey Porter, Kathy Reeves, Brandie Terpe
Absent:
Jefferson Heath
Minutes of December Meeting
SB1 and SB2 PASSED during December meeting; updated versions should be posted/distributed and by-laws are
available online. Motion to approve minutes PASSED.
Financial Report
Dining Services will post up-to-date coffee sales report (expecting income from 98 bags of coffee sold). General
fund – late post for telephone/network port charge (should be monthly). Senator Krahn will double-check; she
reports that we’re fiscally on track and we may have extra money in our budget at the end of the fiscal year. The
Scholarship Fund should see a surge in the spring due to the timing of the Faculty and Staff Giving Campaign
through the UM Foundation. Motion to approve financial report PASSED.
University Committee Reports
(full report distributed prior to meeting; this info was discussed at the meeting)
Athletic Committee
Senator Weisenburger: at the last meeting, topics centered on equity in terms of gender access to sports and
coaching salary. The volleyball coach search is ongoing; football coach search complete.
Staff Senate Committee Reports
By-laws Committee
The committee received draft of SB3 and corrected some grammatical errors and missing data. Vote will be
called during the February SS meeting. Judy Wellert (speaking on behalf of Senator Csorosz) recommends that
SB authors meet with appropriate subcommittees prior to SB submission to wider Senate. Senator Filer disagrees
due to delays with SB1 and SB2. Senator Filer will follow up with Senator Csorosz separately. Senator Phillip
and Judy Wellert will work together to revise SB1 and SB2 (as amended and PASSED) and post to UM Box (not
Moodle) and online to the SS website. Senator Maas commented that Moodle contains in-progress files and
drafts of resolutions whereas UM Box stores final SB versions and revised by-laws. Judy Wellert will follow up
with Marlene Zentz regarding another Moodle training/short course for Senators to attend.
Communication and Visibility Committee
Judy Wellert will send out RSVP for Griz basketball game on 01/22. Claudine Cellier will write the next Ask-anexpert column for the next newsletter. UM Wellness will advertise and co-sponsor the spring hike. UM Dining
wants to offer a tour for staff of the vertical hydroponic garden. UM Relations’ graphic designer will design a
giveaway button SS can distribute to staff.
Fundraising Committee
The committee will meet later this week to discuss spring initiatives. Tamarack Pint Night is scheduled for
Tuesday, March 31st.
XO committee meeting with President Engstrom and his cabinet
No January meeting scheduled. Senator Filer led discussion at December meeting which included topics such as
promoting the SS scholarship via testimonials online, coordinating efforts with faculty to promote civic
engagement and volunteer opportunities, collaborating with Cindy Boies to implement staff mentoring program
(“networking” or brown bag group meetings), and advocating for the continuation of UM Staff Ambassadors
Program in light of Barb Denman’s retirement.
Peggy Kuhr is soliciting feedback about hard copy of directory (since an online directory also exists). SS should
bring more feedback for February meeting. Senator Linder will create a discussion topic on Moodle for Senators’
comments. Senator Fishburn-Matthew suggests drafting a resolution if SS wants to support retaining a hard copy.
President Engstrom is soliciting feedback regarding the Welcome Back lunch and the Holiday Party. Senator
Filer will report back with SS comments.
New Business
Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility (EITA)
Janet Sedgley joined the meeting to update Senators regarding EITA progress. Two deadlines have passed
(documents and website compliance). Upcoming deadlines include captioning accessibility (images require
alternative text; videos require synchronized transcripts). UM may purchase MathType software license after
testing it with volunteers. To become an Access Partner, send an email to eita@umontana.edu. To convert
documents to accessible formats, send them electronically to convertdoc@umontana.edu. Alternatively,
departments can create a folder drop-box which is more appropriate for larger volume of files.
Staff Senate Goals (Review and Assess)
Goals in Moodle (distributed prior to meeting); SS reviewed and commented on our progress for this academic
year.
Montana University System Staff Association (MUSSA) Summary on Professional
Development
MUSSA Summary in Moodle (distributed prior to meeting); Senator Maas noted that the Professional
Development Committee is no longer an ad-hoc but a permanent/official SS committee.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:58am.
Next meeting: February 11, 10:00am – 12:00pm in UC 332/333