STAFFSENATE.WCU.EDU | JULY 2015
THE WESTERN WAY
Your Staff Senate Newsletter – Your Voice, Your Vision, Our Community!
STAFF SENATE SCHOLARSHIP
HOLIDAY ORNAMENTS
ON-SALE
It’s never too early to start thinking about
the holidays! All proceeds from holiday
ornament sales go towards the Staff Senate
Scholarship. Ornaments may be purchased
in person at the Bookstore, at any home
football game, and select events around
campus. Talk to your local Senator for
more information, or visit the Staff Senate
Scholarship page.
SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT
UPCOMING EVENTS
Chancellor’s Opening Assembly
Wednesday, August 12, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
BAC Theatre, BAC Theatre Lobby
First Day of Fall Semester Classes
Monday, August 17, 2015, 8 a.m.
Employee Appreciation Day
Thursday, September 3, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
CONTACT US!
staffsenate@wcu.edu
staffsenate.wcu.edu
pinterest.com/wcustaffsenate/
The WCU Staff Senate scholarship fund provides financial support for the
children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews of SPA and EPA non-faculty
employees.
This year, three students received scholarships through staff senate. Hannah
Adams, a sophomore majoring in elementary education, is the daughter of Jerry
Adams. Tiffany Brown is a sophomore biology major, and the granddaughter
of Virginia Owen. Tiffany Frady, a sophomore math education major, is the
daughter of William and Lisa Frady. Each of the students received $1,000
toward their education at WCU.
Staff senators have raised money for the scholarship fund through a variety
of fundraisers, as well as by encouraging supporters to contribute via payroll
deduction. The most recent fundraiser, a ‘speakeasy casino night’ sponsored
by the University Club, raised $1,521 for scholarships. At the April 17th event,
participants dressed
in 1920s costumes
and played blackjack,
roulette, craps, and
poker. All proceeds
went toward the
scholarship fund.
If you would like to
donate to the Staff
Senate scholarship
fund, you can find
more information
HERE.
JANET B. ROYSTER MEMORIAL
STAFF SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY
The Janet B. Royster (JBR) Memorial Staff
Scholarship Fund was created in August
of 2011 by the UNC Staff Assembly in
memory of UNC-TV employee Janet B.
Royster. Janet represented UNC-TV on
the General Administration Staff Forum
and was subsequently elected to the UNC
Staff Assembly. She served as its first
Parliamentarian until her untimely death
in June 2011. This scholarship promotes
staff development for permanent, fulltime, non-faculty employees, as well as
recognizes and honors Janet’s leadership
and dedication to all UNC system employees.
The JBR Memorial Staff Scholarship provides
one or more annual awards, based on the
availability of funds. Scholarships provide
assistance towards earning a degree or other
professional certification.
The scholarship can be applied to the cost
of tuition, fees, books, or registration fees.
Click HERE for more details.
HOW BUDGET DECISIONS ARE DETERMINED ON CAMPUS
“The Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) is a budget transparency initiative
created by Chancellor Belcher and managed by Kristen Crosson, Director
of Budgets and Financial Planning. The intent of the BAC is to engage staff
and faculty in the campus-wide budget process and budget discussions with
campus leadership.”
Charge:
The BAC is composed of representatives from faculty, staff and students.
The BAC charge includes:
• Learn about budgeting issues at campus and statewide levels.
• Attend unit and campus-wide budget hearings to learn about budget
requests.
SCHOLARSHIP DONATIONS
Click HERE to donate to the scholarship!
COME TO A MEETING!
Staff Senate meets the second Wednesday of
each month at 8:30 a.m. in the UC Cardinal
Room. Meetings are open to all interested
SPA/EPA staff. Please come see what we are
doing, and get involved if you are interested.
MISSED A MEETING?
Check out the minutes from any previous
Staff Senate meeting by visiting our website,
staffsenate.wcu.edu.
WHEE FOR LIFE
Visit wheeforlife.wcu.edu for health and
wellness events, advice and resources.
• Participate in joint budget discussion with the CLC to develop
recommendations for budget priorities.
Role in Budget Process:
The BAC attends the unit hearings by sending at least one member to each
hearing. All members are encouraged to attend hearings to learn more about
campus budget issues.
The BAC does not advocate for individual budget requests. It does not have
power to “approve” budget requests. The BAC attends hearings in order
to learn about unit requests to enable a productive joint discussion with
the Chancellors Leadership Council (CLC) in developing recommended
budget priorities.
Staff Senate Members: Pam Buchanan; Pam Degraffenreid; Robin Hitch;
Galen May; David Rathbone
Faculty Senate Members: Kristin Calvert; Brian Gastle; AJ Grube; Dan
Grube; Roger Hartley; Judy Neubrander
Graduate Student Association: Alecia Page
Student Government Association: Alex Wright
For more information check out budgetprocess.wcu.edu for the 2015-16
Campus Budget Process!
DISCOUNTS FOR STAFF
Did you know that several area businesses
offer special discounts for WCU employees?
We’re in the process of compiling a list of
discounts, a few of which are listed below,
that we’ll keep up on the Staff Senate
website. If you know of an area business
that offers a discount for WCU employees,
send us an email (staffsenate@wcu.edu)
and we’ll be sure to add the information to
our list. We cannot guarantee the accuracy
of this listing. You may want to call the
business prior to your visit to verify that
the discount still applies. If you are aware
that any of these discounts are not longer
available, please let us know so we can
correct the list.
Restaurants in Sylva offering a discout:
Bojangles’, 828.586.6529
Discount: 10% (show Cat Card)
Dairy Queen, 828.586.5327
Discount: 10% (show Cat Card)
Dunkin Donuts, 828.586.3355
Discount: 10% (show Cat Card)
Ryan’s, 828.631.2520
Discount: for dinnertime only, $9 incl.
drink, buffet and tax (show Cat Card)
Tuck’s Tap and Grille, 828.293.5400
Discount: excludes alcohol, 10% (show
Cat Card)
Waffle House, 828.631.1525
Discount: 10% (show Cat Card when
ordering)
NC LEGISLATION UPDATE: SB663 OSHR MODERNIZATION/
TECHNICAL CHANGES BILL PASSES HOUSE AND SENATE
A bill is moving through the North Carolina General Assembly that would
modify the State Human Resources Act, the law that provides the rules and
protections associated with SPA employees in the state of North Carolina.
Introduced in the NC House of Representatives, HB495: OSHR Modernization/
Technical Changes, passed the House and recently passed the Senate
(now SB663).
The Senate version of the bill includes the following: decrease the probationary
period from 24 months to 12 months (SPA employees would receive career
status at 12 months instead of 24); strike a previous provision that prohibited
incentive pay programs to now allow for researching new compensation
systems including the potential option to establish incentive pay; change
grievance case reporting from quarterly to annually; provide the option to
create policy and procedures for a reorganization through voluntary separation
program; changes reduction in force (RIF) priority to end if a RIF candidate
declines an interview (previously only ended when a RIF candidate declined
a job offer); shifts authority over state human resources from the Department
of Administration to the Office of State Human Resources; changes the rules
governing political hiring and the violations related to political hirings, so
that what constitutes a violation and what could be a grievance may change;
and allows access to employee personnel files by other states agencies if that
employee applies for a job in that agency. If you would like to read the current
bill in its entirety, you can visit http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/
BillLookUp.pl?Session=2015&BillID=S663.
The bill returns to the House, and a joint House-Senate Committee will
negotiate the differences between the two versions of the bill before a final
vote. We still do not know if the bill will pass in its current form, or if it will
be sent to the Governor. So far, we do not foresee any changes that cause
concern regarding protections to SPA employees. We will keep you updated
of any news on this bill.
Zaxby’s, 828.631.3100
Discount: Tuesdays all day, 25% (show
Cat Card)
CONTACT US!
To view additional discounts, visit
If you have an article, announcement or suggestion relating to this
newsletter, contact staffsenate@wcu.edu to have it included.
staffsenate.wcu.edu