STAFF EMPLOYEES' COUNCIL
August 19, 1998
Melton Media Center - Journalism
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Robert Boyd, Dorris McFall (proxy for Shirley Boyd) Robin Collins, Neileen
Dashiell (proxy for Debi Dearman), Joyce Duncan, Debra Estep, Ann
Ettinger, Stephanie Flatt, Billye French, Elizabeth Gadsden, Lorrie
Gaffney, Leon Garrett, Terri Garside, Gary Grant, Jim Henley, Larry
Hillerman, Gary Kramer, Tom Lean, Evelyn Martin, Betty Osborne, Jewell
Radcliffe, Sharon Smith, Kay Stone, Teena Tuttle, Diane Wagar
VISITORS: Patty Chambers
REPRESENTATIVES ABSENT: Nicole Aguilera, Shirley Boyd, Debi Dearman, Kristy
Forbes
I. MINUTES: Approved with one change. Under the Compensation Committee
report, the sentence "A motion was made to support Collective Bargaining as
a group." was changed to: A motion was made to support the three items
selected by the committee.
II. Guest Speaker: None
III. Chair's Report: The Chair introduced Lorrie Gaffney from Quality
Service who will be replacing Lee Ann Malone. Nicole Aguilera from Student
Services will be replacing Kathryn Menke.
IV. Committee reports:
Affirmative Action Advisory Board: The AAA board met and the plan is much
the same as last year. The training sessions for chairs and classified
staff are moving forward with the faculty members showing enthusiasm for
the idea.
Classified Employee Recognition Committee: Met and chose two people.
Ballots are kept for three months. Nominees cannot be chosen twice in one
year. Resend your ballot if your nomination was not chosen.
Classified Staff Development Fund: There is $3,153 left in the fund. The
committee met on 8/18/98 and decided to offer two recipients assistance
with funding of incidentals for classes. The committee will schedule a
meeting in September to clarify the guidelines for disbursement of these
funds. Nothing has been written since 1994. A new chairperson will be
appointed at the September meeting.
Compensation Committee: Only Stephanie and Joyce Duncan showed up for the
meeting. They did a draft of a memo to John P. Comeaux, Director of
Department of Administration from the Staff Employee Council regarding
Classified Salary Pay Scale. It reads:
As representatives of the 1300 classified employees of the University of
Nevada, we would like to state our support for modifying the current pay
scale that governs classified salaries.
_Presently, a classified employee is "maxed out" at step 15, which normally
occurs after eight years of continuous full-time employment. We encourage
the administration to implement an expansion of this range up to a step 19,
allowing for an additional two years of merit increases. We would also
propose an adjustment to the steps so that each merit increase results in a
5% increase in pay.
Currently, 39% of the University's classified work force is being paid at a
step 15. We believe classified employees are an important and integral
part of any state agency and that they deserve to be recognized for their
continued service. We also believe it is important for the state as an
employer to create and maintain a high quality work force and that one of
the best ways to accomplish this is to offer competitive salaries.
We appreciate your attention to this matter.
There will be graphs and more work attached to the letter. Next month it
will be read and voted on.
Facilities Planning and Management Board: Master Plan update: Buzz Nelson
gave the board an update on the status of the campus master plan revision.
The consultants will be hosting a series of review meetings with various
constituent groups on the campus.
PARKING GARAGE: Ahead of scheduled completion dates - October 1998.
STUDENT SERVICES: Scheduled to go to bid this fall.
FRANDSEN HUMANITIES: On schedule, work to begin this fall.
JTSU LOADING DOCK/KITCHEN RENOVATION: Will begin in October 1998.
REDFIELD CAMPUS PHASE I: On schedule.
LEGACY HALL: Work is progressing and the project is on schedule.
JUDICIAL COLLEGE: On schedule to be completed summer 1999.
Food Services: No meeting was held, but any feedback on food services is
very much appreciated and forwarded to Russ Myers. Send comments to Gary
Grant or Russ Myers. They are trying to keep prices consistent.
SEC Open House: The Chair had originally wanted to invite the top two
contenders in the governor's race to address the Council. He was told that
if one was invited, all had to be. He decided to wait until after the
primary and invite the Republican and Democrat nominees for governor. The
current Chair will work hard to help the new Chair with the Open House.
SEC Web Page: The committee did not meet. Ted Cook will take pictures of
the new officers and members as soon as we know who they are. The new
members will need to get a write up done for the Web page. The changes
are costing an additional $9. They will also need approval for Sergeant
Sullivan's picture.
V. Old Business: There was concern that Council members may have been
forced to resign due to a lack of support from their supervisors. This is
such a serious concern that it should not be dropped. The Council should
draft a letter to Ashok Dhingra's office and put something in Nevada News
(formerly Campus Connections). It is believed that some staff who would
have received awards did not go to the luncheon because of intimidation by
supervisors and a lack of support for the Classified Staff by departments.
VI. New Business: There was concern that because Liz was the Election
Committee Chair and running for Chair of the SEC, that there might be a
conflict of interest. All ballots mailed to Liz were placed in a box and
sent to Shirley Boyd, who was responsible for counting and compiling the
data for Ashok Dhingra's office.
Every year we have the same problem with sorting the data for ballots.
Some are by colleges, some by divisions, and others by departments. We
need a better way of sorting the data.
Elections will be held at the next meeting: The candidates and their
statements are as follows:
CHAIR: Neileen Dashiell and Joyce Duncan
Neileen Dashiell: The Staff Employees's Council plays a very important roll
here at UNR. In our bylaws we are charged with certain duties. We need to
follow through with those duties, and grow as an organization.
We meet once a month for about two hours. The cost in man-hours is
substantial. I would like to see our meetings be more productive. I think
that at the end of each meeting we should have something useful to take
back to our constituents. I would like to see us do more as an
organization. Why not offer picnics or fun activities for campus
employees? We could do it at lunch hour so as not to take away from work
time, and it would not cost UNR anything because we would bring our food.
I think it would be good to add to campus with a community service such as
a canned food drive in memory of Vada Trimble. It would be a nice way to
help out students in need. We could do some other types of service
projects also. We should have a goal each month to make a difference, to
help, to guide and to remember all those we work with here at UNR. We are
here as their representative and we should make sure we are giving them
something in return. Our Web page is going to be a great start in being in
better contact with our fellow workers. We should continue to grow and we
can come up with even more fantastic ideas to help out our fellow coworkers.
I would like to become your Chair. As your Chair I would work closely with
you to help make the Staff Employees' Council an organization to be proud of.
Joyce Duncan: I am the current Treasurer of the SEC and would like to be
elected as Chair of the SEC. As Treasurer I have served on the Executive
Board, which has been very active this past year. The Committee
participated in the interview process of the hiring of the new V.P. of
Student Services and met with Buzz Nelson regarding the Campus Master Plan.
I am representing the SEC on the search committee for an Assistant Police
Chief. This position requires heavy commitment and I believe I can do that.
Vice Chair: Liz Gadsden and Gary Grant
Elizabeth Gadsden: "In the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair will assume
the duties of the Chair and is responsible for other duties as assigned by
the Chair. If the Chair position becomes vacant, the Vice Chair assumes
the duties for the remainder of the term year."
My personal points of interest:
_
1) To establish time lines to accomplish the major functions of the
Council; for instance, meeting the standards set forth in the Bylaws by
reviewing the bylaws.
2) Tracking the attendance of the Council members
3) Ensuring that SEC events, i.e., luncheon, open house and elections are
planned and carried out in a timely manner.
4) Aid in ensuring that meeting times are managed in a timely manner.
5) Make a point of familiarizing new council members with their
responsibilities to their constituents, i.e., reviewing the by-laws,
committee membership and council expectations.
I have a genuine concern for the classified staff of the university and
believe that I can work with the council to continue to research, develop
and improve the campus work environment for the classified employees.
I have made an effort and commitment to make myself a visible part of the
university by developing a good rapport with other classified staff in
multiple departments. I have a strong background in the university in that
I have worked with faculty and staff in research administration, travel
funding, housing and food service liaison between student, parents and the
university. I have served on the Junior Research Faculty Award Committee,
Campus Food Service Executive Committee, as well as Search committees for
professional and classified staff.
I believe that by applying some very basic but needed organizational
talents, we can better utilize our time and be able to better represent the
needs of our constituents at the council meetings.
Gary Grant: Supervisor I at the Learning Lab at Getchell Library. I have
been on the Staff Employee Council for 2 years.
Committees I have been on: UNR Safety, Food and SEC Web Page Committees.
Inside and Outside Activities: UNR Radio Pack Club, SNEA (State of Nevada
Employee Association) Vice President of Washoe Chapter, part time
instructor at TMCC instructing Radio Communication, volunteer for the Red
Cross, volunteer for Dawn Gibbons campaign.
Hobbies: Amateur Radio, camping.
Needs and Goals: Better communications between Faculty and Staff,
Communications skills between University departments, improvements of the
food on campus, parking situation: I don't believe it is right for our
employer (UNR) to charge staff to park on campus.
Education: AA Glendale Community College, BA Public Administration, MPA
Public Administration, Chico State.
Staff Needs A Voice.
Public Relations Coordinator: Shirley Boyd and Nicole Aguilera
Shirley Boyd: ( A letter written by Shirley Boyd) Hello! My name is
Shirley Boyd and I would like to apologize for my absence due to the
registration rush in my work area. Dorris McFall is here on my behalf.
Thank you Dorris!
Please accept this as a formal petition to seek the position of Public
Relations Coordinator. My experience consists of various volunteer
positions working with the public as well as with different media. I
currently sit on the Little Flower School Craft Fair Committee in which
I've been the Public Relations Coordinator, contacting the media to promote
our events.
In the past I've worked with the American Red Cross, Navy/Marine Corps
Relief in Japan and New Jersey in a public relations capacity corresponding
with head government officials, as well as keeping the public informed of
events.
I would be an asset to your Executive Board. My communications skills
speak for themselves. I would appreciate the opportunity to be your Public
Relations Coordinator.
Thank you!
Secretary: Lorrie Gaffney and Robert Boyd
Treasurer: Teena Tuttle and Gary Kramer
Jewel Radcliffe volunteered to help SEC members in any way that she could.
VII. Meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m.
Prepared by:
Approved by:
___________________________
Sharon K. Smith, Secretary
_________________________
Tom Lean, Chair
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Sharon Smith
mailto:sharonk@med.unr.edu
University of Nevada, Reno
(702)784-6031
Department of Biochemistry/330
Fax: (702)784-1419
Reno, NV 89557