A & P Council Meeting Minutes
August 21, 2012
3:00pm
Room: C430
Attendees
Katherine Gleiss, Karen Jackson, Hoa Khuong, Jennifer Kass, Dave Merrill, and Barb Sherry.
Luigi Pezzarossi sent his regrets.
Monthly Meeting Schedule:
It was decided that the Council will meet on the following dates in 2012 at 2:00 p.m.:
September 17, October 15, November 19, and December 10.
Jennifer will get rooms for these meetings.
BBQ Blowout and Future Socials
The Council received very positive feedback and had a strong turnout of attendees for this event,
including some who were very new to NEIU. These social gatherings seem to be increasingly
successful, and the Council plans more in the future. We discussed the need for a planning
meeting for the potential next social: a Thanksgiving lunch.
A&P Survey
Copies were distributed and discussed. Some key takeaways:
 Given the strong interest in these presentation topics, members would like the Council to
be a source of information about SURS and A&P benefits.
o There is currently no New Employee orientation handbook, although one is in the
works and has had input from Karen Jackson. The handbook was discussed as one
way in which we could help to disseminate information.
o We also discussed the current New Employee Orientation which is currently
conducted by HR with content focused on health insurance and completing
paperwork. We discussed that there is a need for additional information, such as
Novell logins, the Rec center, and all the other aspects of campus life.
o Also suggested was the idea of having a party/gathering at the beginning of the
school year to welcome new employees, to help create a sense of community.
o At the very least, we thought that sending new A&P employees an e-mail with a
link to our website would be beneficial.
o Other suggestions included an Ask Me table for A&P employees.
 The next highest interest was in a presentation on Change Management.
 The sick bank idea as stated in the survey was popular with respondents, with 50% of
respondents agreeing that they would like to participate, but a significant percentage
(41%) would like more information. Barb Sherry and Katherine Gleiss will follow up with
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Judy Brewer regarding the Civil Service experience with a sick back, including how much it
is used.
Grievance Policy for A&P
Survey respondents agreed by a wide margin (80% agreement) that a formal grievance policy is
needed for A&P employees. There is currently a discipline appeal policy, but not a formal
grievance policy, which is more proactive. Dave Merrill provided us samples of policies from
other institutions. Once we draft a policy, we will likely approach our liaison, Dr. Frank Ross, for
review and advice.
State Universities Annuitants Associations (SUAA)
We were approached by Alice Medenwald, the NEIU Chapter President of the SUAA. This
organization advocates on behalf of all faculty and staff of public universities and community
colleges, both retired and current employees, their spouses and survivors, all who are
participants in SURS. The NEIU chapter will have an information table on September 11 in Village
Square from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. They will have information regarding SUAA, the new
legislative districts, information on what people can do, and membership forms. A universitywide announcement of the information table will go out on September 5.
Presentation from Brad Ginn, new NEIU Ombuds
Brad came to introduce himself and to familiarize us with his role at NEIU. He has 19 years’
experience with conflict resolution in a variety of settings. He can be reached at 773-442-4527,
and his office is in LIB 216.
His role is primarily to help in conflict resolution by being a sounding board for NEIU employees,
and to provide training to help to reduce the level of conflict on campus. He emphasized that his
services conform to professional Ombuds standards and are defined by being:
 Confidential – he will never share who comes to see him, only broad categories of issues
discussed.
 Informal – he is not part of any official University process.
 Impartial – he is not an advocate and has no stake in the outcome of any conflict
 Independent – he reports to the President, but only for budgetary purposes, he is wholly
independent.
He does not provide legal advice, NEIU policy advice (yet), therapy, or decision-making. In
addition to acting as a resource for employees, he plans to implement training in conflict
resolution and listening skills in the future.
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