WCU Staff Forum Meeting Minutes
Hinds University Center – Cardinal Room
November 11, 2004, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Present:
Dawne Coward, Ronnie Amster, Marvin Bumgarner, Ronnie Deitz, Lisa
Frday, Debbie Justice, Cory Causby, Irene Welch, William Frady, Terry Riouff; Julie Walters-Steele
Non-Members Present:
Kathy Wong, Dianne Lynch
Absent:
Alicia Estes (excused); Clifton Fisher (excused); Larry Hammer
(excused); Scott Powell; Bill Studenc (excused); Michele Sutton (excused)
Members were welcomed and the meeting was called to order by Terry Riouff.
Approval of Agenda: The agenda for today’s meeting, as well as the agenda for the October
meeting, were approved (no quorum present in October).
Approval of Minutes: The minutes from both the September and October meetings were
approved (no quorum present in October).
Information Items: The next Executive Committee meeting is scheduled forThursday,
December 2, 2004, 2:00-3:00 p.m., in HFR 350. The next Staff Forum meeting will be held
on Thursday, December 9, 2004, 8:30-10:30 a.m., in the Cardinal Room of the UC.
Human Resources Report: Kathy Wong reported that the health insurance satisfaction survey
was emailed and literally thousands of responses have been received so far. However, at this
time Kathy is unsure about the WCU response rate. The Office of State Personnel wants to know
if our campus would be willing to host a town hall meeting to discuss with them and with the staff
from the Office of the President our current health insurance situation. Kathy suggested that it
be a jointly hosted town hall meeting of the Staff Forum and the University Advisory Council.
Terry will discuss this with Keith Stiles. Additionally, Kathy said that 450 people have signed up
for the NCFlex Program.
Chancellor’s Office Report: Dianne Lynch reported that we now have a provost, Dr. Kyle
Carter. Dr. Carter is in the process of meeting with folks across campus to get acquainted.
Dianne also said that Dr. Bardo is spending much time on legislative matters. The WCU Board of
Trustees is scheduled to be on campus December 2-3, 2004. Finally, Dianne said that enrollment
continues to be a huge issue.
Campus Committee Reports: University Advisory Council – Cory said the Committee met on
Tuesday of this week. A proposal was put forth by the UAC Professional Development
Committee; i.e. there needs to be special one-time mandatory training. The UAC will forward a
formal recommendation to the Executive Council. The calendar committee has a formal calendar
that will go to the Executive Council for Fall 2005. As previously mentioned, a committee has
been formed to look at the general employee morale on campus.
Other items mentioned at the UAC meeting are as follows: 1) The UAC is updating its website to
provide some new features. An electronic bulletin board was discussed; however, IT Services has
taken on this issue. They will research and make recommendations through the IT Advisory
Council. 2) Keith Stiles provided an update on the First Year Mentoring Program. Keith said it
has been described as a rousing success by the program coordinator. 3) “Beat App” t-shirts are
available. 4) Dr. Bardo was at the meeting and talked about several issues. One of these
includes ways to improve 2-way communication between staff and administration. Another
includes the fact that if enrollment reaches 9,000 as expected, this could mean $10 million more
in funds, which would, of course, mean more staff positions. Calendar Committee: No report.
SF Committee Reports: Human Resources: Irene reported that Kathy Wong ran a couple of
different reports concerning the $125,000 the Chancellor has designated for SPA increases. She
states that we need to move on this as quickly as possible as Chuck Wooten would like the
increases to be reflected in January paychecks. After some discussion concerning the different
scenarios, it was decided that we will forward a recommendation to the Chancellor that
employees with 3 or more years of service, who are qualified, receive the increases. Kathy Wong
will draft a letter of response to the Chancellor from the Staff Forum, and since she has a meeting
already scheduled with Mr. Wooten today, she will inform him of the Forum’s decision as well.
Irene also said that the Committee continues to work on a flex schedule for the summer months.
Resources and Environment: Nothing new to report. Public Relations: No report.
Scholarship: No report. Governance: Julie said this Committee is still working to fill two
vacancies. Julie asked whether it is more appropriate to select folks from the most recent
election to fill these vacancies, and it is the feeling of the group that this is appropriate.
Issues Status Report: All current issues have been covered. Terry did say that we need more
ideas for a scholarship fund raiser. Marvin Bumgarner mentioned having a yard sale, and it was
felt that this might be worthwhile. We will discuss it at a later time, and it was mentioned that
we might want to join the outdoor yard sale the University Center sponsors each year.
Old Business: None.
New Business: We need to elect a new vice-chair. Larry Hammer has indicated his willingness
to serve in this capacity if no one else wants to do it. However, due to the nature of Larry’s job,
he could possibly miss several Staff Forum meetings, and he said that if the Forum has concerns
regarding this, then he will certainly understand if we feel the need to elect someone else.
Following a brief discussion, Terry called for a motion to elect Larry to this position with the
understanding that he might have to miss a few meetings. The motion and a second were
received, and it carried unanimously. Congratulations, Larry – we’re happy to have you as our
new vice-president!
Open Comments: Terry, along with representatives from the UAC, the Faculty Senate, and the
Student Government Association are now having monthly lunch meetings with the Chancellor and
the new Provost (Kyle Carter) to discuss various issues. Terry says that one of those issues is
morale, and he asked that any Forum member who hears morale issues come up in
conversations, etc. around campus inform him of these matters so that he can take it to the next
lunch meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:32 a.m.
Respectfully submitted: Dawne Coward