Staff Senate Minutes
Members
Lance Alexis
Tammy Ammons-Hagberg
Suzanne Baker
Kay Benson
Mike Burnett
Mike Corelli
Keith Corzine
William Frady
Sheila Frizzell
Tammy Frizzell
Homer Harris
Alison Joseph
April Karby
Jason Lavigne
Eric Margiotta
Caden Painter
David Porter
Kathleen Prindiville
Will Shivers
Carrie Shuler
Laura Simons
Scott Swartzentruber
Jeff Tatham
Walter Turner
Shawna Young
Dianne Lynch (Ex-Officio Member)
Kathy Wong (Ex-Officio Member)
Erin McNelis (Faculty Senate Chair)
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Present
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Excused
Not Excused
April 14, 2011
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Approval of the April Meeting Agenda
a. Motion
Eric Margiotta
b. Second
Scott Swartzentruber
Approval of the Minutes for March, 2011
a. Motion
Jason Lavigne
b. Second
Jeff Tatham
Chancellor’s Office Report (Dianne Lynch)
a. New Chancellor, David Belcher and his wife Susan are excited about being here.
They have been to downtown Sylva and downtown Dillsboro. They have driven
through Cullowhee. Dr. Belcher will be back on campus at least one more time
before July 1, 2011.
i. When they return in July, the Belchers will move into the Chancellor’s guest
house. Work still continues on the Chancellor’s residence. They hope to
have the residence completed by September 15, 2011.
1. There was asbestos in the house.
2. The walls had to be taken down, no insulation.
b. Budget – The House draft called for a 15.5% cut for the UNC system. The Senate
may ask for a 13-16% cut (estimate). WCU has made provision for a 10% cut.
i. K-12 received a 9% cut in the House.
ii. Community Colleges received a 10% cut on the House.
Human Resources (Kathy Wong)
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April 14, 2011
V.
a. The Efficiency bill was filed on April 12, 2011. The Chancellor and Kathy Wong
hosted a forum on the issue on the 12th. If the bill passes, it will only be the
beginning of the process.
i. Perhaps a Faculty Senate and Staff Senate task force could be created if the
bill passes?
b. The Governor vetoed the State Health Plan. The Bill would –
i. Ask employees to pay a premium.
ii. Raises the cost of dependent coverage.
iii. Moves Health Plan oversight to the Treasurer’s Office.
iv. Annual Enrollment was set to go live at WCU on April 18, 2011. There is no
way to know how the veto will alter the timeline.
v. The Governor felt that the new bill “taxed” teachers and was unfair to
retirees. Under the bill retirees would have to pay premiums as well.
Retirees are often on a fixed income.
vi. The budget deficit must be made up somehow. The proposed Health Care
Bill would cover a ~$500,000 hole in the state budget. The dollars will be
taken from somewhere.
1. Employees are concerned because this opens the door. Once the
state begins charging employees for insurance, the employees see one
more benefit of state employment eroding.
c. The New Performance Management System has gone live.
New Business
a. Chancellor’s Search Committee (William Frady)
i. The committee has completed its duties. There was no further discussion on
the matter.
b. Staff Senate Elections (Tammy Frizzell/Eric Margiotta)
i. Vice Chair
Caden Painter
ii. Secretary
Shawna Young
iii. Treasurer
David Porter
iv. Motion to approve the slate of candidates
Homer Harris
v. Second
Jason Lavigne
vi. University Advisory Council Delegates from the Staff 1. Shandon Bates
2. Jennifer Bennett
3. Leah Hampton
4. Alison Joseph
5. Eric Margiotta
6. Shawna Young
c. Staff Senate Scholarships Awards (Tammy Frizzell)
i. Monies -The Staff Senate Scholarship Fund had $1088. $730.71 was raised at
the yard sale. That gave the committee $1818.71 to award.
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April 14, 2011
VI.
ii. Awards - The Scholarship Committee awarded $909.00 each to Kristen
Arrington and Adam Ray.
iii. As the awards are made at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee, it
was decided to allow the Scholarship Committee to have oversight over the
number of awards made and the amount of the awards. Previously,
scholarship awards had been capped $500.
iv. The Scholarship Fund is now once again generating revenue. This was
reported by the Development office at the beginning of April, 2011.The
Scholarship committee chose 2 recipients on Monday, March 7, 2011. Each
recipient was alerted via letter of their $500.00 award. However, the letter
had a caveat. It stated that fundraising efforts for 2011 were not yet finished.
Therefore, monies raised by the yard sale would be used to augment their
awards. They would be alerted to any further awards via letter.
d. Yard Sale (Tammy Frizzell)
i. We raised $730.71 at this year’s yard sale.
ii. The books generated a great deal of money. Perhaps the Staff Senate should
consider placing an emphasis on book donation for 2012?
e. Meeting with UNC President Ross on March 31,2011 (Jason Lavigne, Shelia Frizzell,
Jeff Tatham, Tammy Frizzell and Eric Margiotta)
i. The President of the UNC system was very interested in talking to students
and staff.
ii. One of his last sessions was packed full of students. The students were
bright, articulate and represented the University well.
f. Meeting with the New Chancellor Belcher on April 12, 2011(Tammy Frizzell, Eric
Margiotta, Jeff Tatham and William Frady)
i. The new chancellor seems to value input. He was knowledgeable, humble,
and open to suggestions/new ideas.
ii. He is interested in the voice of all the campus groups, students, faculty and
staff.
iii. Susan Belcher was very open and warm. WCU is getting a team - Team
Belcher.
iv. Dr. Belcher wants to improve football.
v. We need to talk to the new chancellor about a salary study.
vi. There are no plans for sweeping changes in WCU administration. However
interim positions will need to be filled.
1. Provost
2. Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance
Discussion
a. Why does WCU lag so far behind salary-wise? It is not an easy question to answer.
i. WCU has not had a lot of money with which to give out raises.
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April 14, 2011
ii.
In 1991 the state issued the Comprehensive Compensation Plan. That plan
is what setup in-range growth and cost of living tables. It was passed but
never funded. It has never been revised.
iii. WCU grew a lot in the 1970s. We are now seeing a wave of retirement.
Recently, our student numbers have been mostly level. There has not been
much enrollment growth funding.
iv. We do not have an up-to-date salary assessment.
v. Career banding was mandated but it was not funded.
b. The New Efficiencies Bill has been given the number 75120. WCU Staff Senate
disused the matter but could not reach a consensus on the bill.
i. The proposal to move all University employees under the prevue of the
Board of Governors is a small piece of a much larger bill.
ii. There is no guarantee that if the bill passes, there could not be some
unforeseen negatives.
iii. The passage of the bill would only be the beginning of the process.
iv. There are dollar savings contained in the other portions of the bill.
However, those provisions are not receiving the same level of attention.
v. The protections that employees enjoy now will still be in place. Most of
those are tied to federal legislation.
1. Fair Labor Standards Act
2. Age Discrimination in Employment Act
3. American with Disabilities Act
4. Civil Rights Act
5. The Immigration Reform and Control Act
vi. One UNC campus has passed a resolution against the bill.
vii. President Ross has stated that he promised the Governor; if the bill passed,
he would not pull University employees from the state health plan. (The bill
does open the door for that to happen in the future.)
viii. We can let our voices be heard.
1. It is not a bill yet. If you do not agree, now is the time to lobby.
2. If it passes, we can make our voices heard in shaping the University
system’s terms.
ix. Would you rather be an employee of the Office of State Personnel or an
employee of the Board of Governors?
1. The Board of Governor is made up of 32 members elected by the
Legislature.
2. OSP has 9 members appointed by the Governor.
c. The Staff Senate is a forum for open discussion. Representatives and employees
should always feel free to voice their opinions and concerns.
d. The new chancellor’s pay rate will not be higher than Dr. Bardo’s salary.
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