Staff Senate
Full Senate Meeting
September 9, 2009
Senate Chambers
The meeting was called to order at 1:15 p.m. by President Clements. A quorum was
present.
Roll Call
Guests: Joe Montelongo, Human Resources Interim Director, Tonya Gerharter,
Advising and Career Services, and Winter Hansen, Financial Aid
Senators Present: Ginny Becker, Kara Bobbitt, Brandi Brewer, Angela Bules,
Christi Byers, Avery Cowardin, Al Emmons, Janean Forsyth, Cheri Frank, James
Fuerholzer, Stacy Lane, Jamie LeJambre, Lori Lewis, James Logue, Kelly
McMichael, Christy Nordmann, Kathy Norris, Linda Waggener, Maureen Walker,
Kathi Zubrod
Senators Absent: Cindy Cowardin, Carrie Hesco, Rachel Martin, Thyra Page,
Jauque Schuman, Tod Scott, Diana Waggener
Proxies: Tammy Scott for Tod Scott, Allen Tanner for Diana Waggener
Approval of Minutes and Agenda
It was moved and seconded to approve the August minutes by Senators McMichael and
LeJambre.
The September agenda was amended as follows: under New Business, ‘Christmas
Bazaar’ was corrected to read ‘Holiday Market’. It was moved and seconded by
Senators McMichael and LeJambre to approve the September agenda as amended.
Administration Reports
Vice President Doug Vinzant was unable to attend; no report was provided.
Joe Montelongo, Interim Human Resources Director, reported that his department has
processed hiring/benefits paperwork on approximately 90 new faculty or academic
professionals, two hundred work study students, and hundreds of temporary workers
who assisted with Summit 2009.
Human Resources continues to work on its portion of the Pandemic Plan. HR has been
charged with addressing two areas: the absenteeism/sick-pay plan and the
telecommuting plan. Mr. Montelongo indicated that HR will be proposing that staff and
faculty utilize their sick and vacation time first, and then be placed on administrative
leave with pay in the event of an extended absence due to a pandemic-related illness.
On September 15 or 16, 2009, a pandemic plan tabletop exercise incorporating every
functional area on campus will be conducted to address a multitude of potential
scenarios.
President Clements opened the floor for questions.
Senator LeJambre inquired about whether a date has been set for making the pandemic
plan available to the university public. Mr. Montelongo indicated that Nancy Fox,
Director of Environmental Health and Safety, is overseeing the planning process, and
she would be the appropriate person to address this question
Senator LeJambre questioned whether or not the H1N1 vaccine will be required of atrisk staff and faculty, and how might the plan address at-risk individuals who did not
wish to take the vaccine. Mr. Montelongo reported that this issue has not come up in
planning meetings. He referred the Senate to Ms. Fox and Dr. Joanne Steane, Director
of Student Health Services for more information. Mr. Montelongo did indicate that it is
his understanding that the H1N1 vaccine may require two shots, occurring a few weeks
apart. The H1N1 vaccine series will be separate from the flu shot given annually.
Senator Zubrod questioned whether Workers Compensation benefits would apply to
individuals who are in high-exposure positions and contract the virus. Mr. Montelongo
has discussed the issue with State officials, and it is his understanding that this is not a
covered illness under Workers Compensation. Senator Zubrod expressed concern for
the staff employed in high-risk areas; Mr. Montelongo indicated that he would inquire of
State officials again.
Allen Tanner, proxy for Senator D. Waggener, asked for clarification on whether the
pandemic planning team has determined the criteria for declaring a pandemic situation,
and whether a pandemic can be declared in one area of the university alone. Mr.
Montelongo indicated that the aforementioned tabletop exercise will likely expose issues
such as this. He indicated that the Albany County Department of Health may be
involved in declaring a pandemic and determining how agencies respond. Mr.
Montelongo suggested that the Senate invite Ms. Fox to speak to them on this important
issue.
Senator Norris requested clarification on whether the planning process is currently
underway, or if it will begin once a pandemic occurs. Mr. Montelongo indicated that the
pandemic plan is a work-in-progress that involves the collaboration of all university
departments/units.
Senator Emmons inquired about when the aforementioned absenteeism/sick-pay
proposal will go into effect. Mr. Montelongo indicated that the HR proposals, as well as
other pandemic plan proposals, will become effective upon the recommendation of a
university administrator. It is likely that the tabletop exercise will more clearly define the
specifics of the plan.
Click here for more information on the H1N1 flu.
Old Business
Senator LeJambre reported on behalf of the Communications Committee, which was
charged with authoring a Senate mission statement. Due to the lack of representative
participation in the brainstorming session held at the last full Senate meeting, it is the
recommendation of the Communications Committee that the Staff Senate Executive
Committee draft a statement that can be shared electronically with the Senate body for
comment. If electronic communication is not easily accessible for a senator, alternative
methods of distributing the draft will be available. It is hoped that the mission statement
will be complete by the end of September.
New Business
The Habitat for Humanity walk is taking place on Sunday, September 13, 2009, at 1p.m.
Eight Staff Senators will be participating and each has contributed $12 toward their tshirt. President Clements noted that the $96 raised from participating senators would
cover the $75 entrance fee; however, the Executive Committee would like Senate
approval to include the $75 fee with the $96 already raised. The Executive Committee
noted in their discussion that many university staff members would be eligible to receive
assistance from Habitat for Humanity (based on income levels and other Habitat
eligibility criteria), and that three current staff members have received assistance in the
past. Senator McMichael inquired about the amount available in Senate’s support
budget? Lou Ann Chakmakian reported that the Senate has $800 from fiscal year 2009
to spend. Senators Lewis and LeJambre offered support for spending the additional
funds, and Senator Frank reminded the Senate that participation in the walk, which
included the $75 fee, was approved by the Senate in the August meeting. Senator
Brewer echoed their sentiments, indicating that if visibility is important to the Senate,
then the extra gift will help achieve that goal. Senator Zubrod inquired about the
decision-making process for choosing one charitable cause over another. Currently,
there is no official policy or procedure for making charitable donation decisions. Tammy
Scott, proxy for Senator Scott, suggested that a general donation amount be allocated
for charitable events, or that a percentage of the Senate budget could be allocated for
charitable donations, and interested parties could apply for the available funds. Senator
LeJambre suggested that interested charities may need to be required to meet with the
Senate Finances Committee so that a consistent decision-making process is in place.
Senator Lane, Chair of the Finances Committee, suggested that her committee be
charged with drafting a policy and procedure to address charitable giving; President
Clements agreed to the charge. Senator Walker suggested that the committee consider
including the types of organizations eligible for charitable contributions from Senate, and
Senator Forsythe recommended that the committee consider privacy issues often
associated with medical conditions when drafting the policy. Senator Lewis made a
motion to pay the additional $75 for the walk; the motion was seconded by Senator
LeJambre. Motion passed with majority vote. Mr. Tanner, Mrs. Scott, and Senators
Zubrod and Byers abstained.
Senator Lane reported that the Fundraising Committee met to discuss Senate’s
participation in the Holiday Market, to be held December 3-4, 2009. Senator Lane
requested $120 from fiscal year 2009 funds to pay for two tables at the Market. Motion
to approve expenditure of funds by Senator McMichael and Mr. Tanner was approved.
The Fundraising Committee has charged each senator with the responsibility to
contribute at least one item to the Senate’s table. Smaller donations are welcomed, as
they can be paired to make gift baskets. Items will be sold in a silent auction. A donation
sheet (see Attachment A) was provided for Senators to track donations and provide the
committee with a starting bid for the silent auction. Senator Lane asked that senators
inform potential donors that funds raised at the Holiday Market will be used to support
Senate activities and events. Senator Lane requested that donation sheets be turned in
by the next full Senate meeting on October 14, 2009. President Clements suggested
that the committee also consider doing a 50/50 raffle. Mr. Tanner also suggested that
senators consider donations such as gift certificates for snow removal or other
‘homemade’-type certificates. Senator LeJambre inquired about whether duplicate
donations are acceptable. If a donor wishes to donate multiple items, that is fine, but the
committee requests that senators do not make multiple requests of the same donor.
President Clements charged the Communications Committee with publicizing the event,
so that other staff may have the opportunity to donate items.
President Clements reminded the Senate that Mary Chinnock Petroski has extended an
invitation for all Staff Senators to attend the Advanced Leadership Training (ALT)
sessions, which will begin this Friday, September 11, 2009. Prerequisites including
attendance at the Managers and Supervisors Training (MAST) and occupying a
supervisory position will be waived for senators. Senators Lane and LeJambre, as well
as Lou Ann Chakmakian will be attending; Senator McMichael may attend. Human
Resources is in the process of developing Internet courses so that individuals offcampus can participate in trainings.
President Clements reported that she sent UW President Tom Buchanan a letter
regarding brown bag luncheons (see Attachment B). President Clements suggested that
senators bring their own lunches, and that the meeting location be changed. President
Buchanan expressed support for President Clements’ suggestions. The brown bag
luncheons will be scheduled soon. The Senate discussed the pros and cons of
determining a list of questions ahead of time that could direct the conversation during
the luncheon. It was decided that determining a list of ‘hot topics’ and providing it to
President Buchanan prior to the luncheon would be an acceptable practice.
The Fall Convocation will be held on Thursday, September 10, 2009. All senators are
encouraged to attend to support President Clements. President Clements plans to
highlight the tuition waiver, University Plan Three staff development objectives, and
cooperation with ASUW and Faculty Senate on issues that affect all representative
bodies and their constituents.
Committee Reports
ASUW: Senator LeJambre will be reporting on issues discussed at ASUW that are
directly related to staff. If senators would like her to report on any other topics, please
contact her. At recent meetings, ASUW has been filling their Executive positions and
learning about the proposed tuition increase from Sara Axelson, Vice President of
Student Affairs. ASUW is also drafting a ‘how to’ document to assist in writing
legislation; this document will be shared with Staff Senate. The Staff Senate seat in
ASUW has been assigned an ex-officio position on the student radio advisory board.
President Tom Buchanan will be visiting ASUW on September 27, 2009; if there is a
topic of relevance that the Senate would like Senator LeJambre to mention in her report
on that day, please let her know. ASUW meetings are held every Tuesday at 7:00p.m.
in the Union Senate Chambers, and are open to the public.
President Clements mentioned that she has discussed Staff Senate’s involvement in
ASUW’s Safe Ride project with ASUW President, Matt Haigler. Volunteering to be a
‘sidekick’ for Safe Ride is a way for Staff Senate to further promote itself to the
university and Laramie communities. Sidekicks ride in Safe Ride vans and keep riders
from distracting the van drivers. Volunteers are asked to ride from 10:00p.m. to
3:00a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. ASUW will be implementing a Game
Day Safe Ride for home football games, beginning this Saturday, September 12, 2009.
Faculty Senate: Senator Brewer reported that the first Faculty Senate meeting will be
at the end of September.
Communications: Senator Lewis highlighted the comments outlined in the
Communications Committee report (see Attachment C). Senator LeJambre reported
that nearly all of the available time slots for the Trustees meeting have been filled, but
that additional senators are welcome to attend.
Compensation: Senator LeJambre requested additional senators to attend the Human
Resources meeting on September 15, 2009, at 9:00a.m. She would like to see a strong
showing for the meeting, because the topic will be on employee relations (grievances,
employee rights, etc.). Senator LeJambre reported that she will be allowed to see the
revised Employee Handbook; she welcomed all senators to assist in identifying the
changes. It is important to communicate with constituents that Staff Senate fought to
see the Employee Handbook before it became finalized, and that our request was
accommodated. A written report was provided post-meeting (see Attachment D).
Credentials & Elections: Senator Lane reported that two potential senators were in
attendance at the meeting (Tonya Gerharter, Advising and Career Services, and Winter
Hansen, Financial Aid). Human Resources will be providing a finalized list of employees
on September 22, 2009. Upon receipt of this list, Senator Lane can determine the
allocation of representation for Senate.
Employee of the Quarter: Friday, September 18, 2009, is the deadline for submitting
nominations for the Employee of the Quarter. All forms and nomination details can be
found online.
Finances: Senator Lane reported that the committee is focusing on the Holiday
Market. They will also be decorating boxes for the holiday food drives, and hope to
distribute these boxes by the November full Senate meeting. Senator Lane welcomed
all senators to help with decorating the boxes; she will provide details at a later date. A
written report was provided post-meeting (see Attachment E).
Ad hoc Presidency Position: President Clements plans to begin work on this
important ad hoc committee now that she will have regular office hours in the Staff
Senate office.
Ad hoc Policy and Procedures: Senator Logue reported that the committee hopes to
have a final draft for the Executive Committee’s review in October. Senators LeJambre
and Bules expressed concern about the fact that Senate policy and procedure
documents were being revised by a single committee, rather than the Senate, as a
whole. Discussion followed. It was decided that the committee would provide the Senate
with a completed draft, and the Senate would be given the opportunity to comment on
each section. In the interim, Senator Bules confirmed that legislation can be presented
and passed based on the existing governing documents. Any adoptions would then be
incorporated into the proposed draft of changes.
Recognition: Senator Frank reported that the committee’s first meeting will be Friday,
September 18, 2009, at Noon in the Ross Hall cafeteria.
President’s Report: President Clements reiterated the importance of Staff Senate
attendance at the Fall Convocation.
The meeting was adjourned by President Clements at 3:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Lori J. Lewis, Staff Senate Secretary
Attachment
A
Back to minutes
Attachment B
Staff Senate
Dept. 3413 • 1000 E. University Ave. • Room 201, Merica Hall •
Laramie, WY 82071
(307) 766-766-5300 • Fax (307) 766-5315
August 31, 2009
Thomas Buchanan
President
Old Main, Room 206
Campus
Dear President Buchanan:
We would like to set up the brown bag sessions again if you are willing. I think there
was a good exchange of ideas and hopefully in the future we will have even more
fruitful sessions.
I would like to suggest a couple of changes. In these economic times, even though I
know buying us lunch does not cost very much, we would rather bring or buy our
own lunches. I do wonder if the Trustees Board Room does not overwhelm and stop
some of our members from speaking up. Could we meet in the Union again and I
would be glad to get us a meeting room?
Thank you,
Chris Clements
Staff Senate President
From: Thomas Buchanan
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 8:59 AM
To: Christine Clements; Shannon Marie Sanchez
Subject: RE: Schedule for Brown Bag Lunches and suggestions for some changes
Christine -
Thanks for the note. I'll leave the scheduling up to you and Shannon. Meeting in the Union is just fine
with me. As for the lunch, I will ask Shannon to arrange for Panda Express to provide a lunch for any
Staff Senate members who would like one. Those who would like to bring their own lunch are always
welcome to do so. Be assured, I won't take funds away from anyone else to pay the bill! I appreciate
your sentiment, but I also want to recognize that Staff Senators give of their valuable time. It's the least
we can do to recognize your continuing efforts on behalf of UW's staff.
Best,
Tom
Back to minutes
Attachment C
Staff Senate Communication Committee meeting
August 25, 2009
11 a.m.-12 p.m.
Chair: Diana Marie Waggener
Present: Jim Fuerholzer, Jamie LeJambre, and Lori Lewis
The purpose of this meeting was to:

Discuss administration of and details regarding what needs to be placed
on the Staff Senate Web site

Talk about the purpose of the Staff Senate newsletter

Brain storm the content for the Staff Senate newsletter

Touch base about communication survey results
Fuerholzer will take responsibility for designing the Staff Senate Web pages,
and LeJambre will continue to administer the site. In addition, Fuerholzer
will create the design for the Communication Committee Web site that also
will be made available to other senate committees. This work is scheduled to
be complete at the end of September.
Lewis finished all officer biographies except for Angie Bules’. The
Communication Committee needs photos of all officers. UW Photo Service will
take photos free of charge, and Ted Brummond suggested that folks come as a
group. Otherwise, Lou Ann can bring the Staff Senate Camera to the fullsenate meeting and Lori or Jamie will take photos of the officers who have
not had photos taken. The goal is to have photos of all staff senators for
the purpose of face-name recognition.
The Communication Committee would like all senators to start thinking about
documenting actions with photos. For example, someone will take photos at the
Habitat for Humanity Walk. Staff Senators who attend the President’s
Convocation will be photographed, as well. Photo opportunities are
everywhere, all senators are encouraged to look for those moments and take a
picture for possible inclusion on the Web site.
The purpose of the Staff Senate newsletter is to inform ALL UW staff about
issues and events in which Staff Senate is involved. The purpose is not to
entertain, as people are inundated with information from multiple media every
day.
Waggener is creating a template for the two-page newsletter, which will be
sent to UW staff through e-mail in a PDF file with hot links. All senators,
especially those who represent constituents who do not have easy access to
computers are asked to print the publication and post it or route it among
those staff members whom they represent. The publication will come out every
other month.
Regular features in the publication are:

Current issues and events Staff Senate is addressing or hosting (Lewis,
LeJambre, and various committee chairs will contribute as appropriate)

The Faces of Staff (a photo of a staff person at work with a brief
description of that person’s job, etc.)

Interview with an Administrator (Waggener will be responsible for this
feature. The first administrator featured will be Doug Vinzant.)

List of Committee Chairs and their contact information

Open Forum (an invitation to UW staff to write about their concerns and
interests)
Formal survey results are pending.
Also, the Communication Committee reiterated the fact that Staff Senate
presence at the UW Trustees meeting and the President’s Convocation make a
statement that no other communication can.
Back to minutes
Attachment D
Staff Senate Compensation
Committee Minutes
September 2, 2009
Human Resources Meeting – August 18 @ 9:00 am
Committee members met with HR Director and HR Manager in Wyo Hall from 9:00 am - 10:30 am. The theme of
this meeting focused upon the training division of HR. Topics included new training programs focused on the
development of leadership and management skills regardless of current employee supervisory capacity, support of
staff in offering specific themed trainings including time and stress management and the possibility and past use of
video sessions and outreach for off-campus employees. Next month will focus upon employee relations - please
contact Jamie if you are interested in attending these meetings.
We also requested the employee handbook again and were again told that changes were limited to rewording to
match Federal legislation changes and removal of procedural wording. It continues to look as if an advance copy
will not be available to the Senate.
Regular Committee Meeting
Topics covered at the regular monthly meeting of the committee included:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Use of the WyoWeb group has increased and it works very well in between meetings to share ideas and
update the rest of the group
The committee will plan to read through the revised handbook as soon as it is available to us, and prepare
a statement regarding the changes. Our goal is to highlight changes depending upon the extent of
updates. If we are not allowed to see it by full Senate in September, we’ll be asking for a final charge to
draft legislation
Without access to the handbook, one topic that cannot be verified as updated is the tuition fee waiver
policy, but the committee is moving forward with an outline of the report and survey questions with a
goal of having it ready for submission by the time the new VP of Human Resources is hired and on campus
We will be one of the first committees with a page in the updated web template. Please send updated
pictures and ideas to Jamie or the WyoWeb group
Members met with VP Doug Vinzant for our annual conversation with administration. Last fall’s meeting
assisted in building a team for the breast feeding task force and explained in more detail the
classification/evaluation update process. We spoke about the meetings with HR each month, how useful
we feel they are for all parties and how available the Director has been to us. He inquired about some
recent issues and we shared the RIFed employees, tuition waiver and staff handbook concerns with him
HR Liaison Meeting
No meeting was held in August.
Back to minutes
Attachment E
September 3, 2009
9:00 – 10:00
Ross Hall
Attendance – Kara Bobbitt, Tod Scott, Stacy Lane
We did some brainstorming about how to get Holiday Market off the ground. We
discussed some of the locations that donated in the past and maybe ones that will
donate this time. Silent auction items and selling raffle tickets for a big item will be done.
We worked on a handout to give staff senate to have completed by Oct 14th with the
item(s) they found to be donated. The form will help us with advertising what items were
donated and donor’s name. This will also keep the committee organized.
(Comments added since Sept 9th meeting – add 50/50 drawing to Holiday market)
We have decided to decorate boxes for the Thanksgiving and Christmas food drives.
These boxes will be available at the Nov 11th senate meeting. The date hasn’t been set
of when we will be decorating boxes. The hope is to have boxes ready so there will be
more participation in the food drive.
For the spring project we discussed the success of the bike raffle from the previous
spring. This project is on the committee’s radar and will probably be repeated this
spring.
Future meetings (with more being added later)
Oct 1st – 9 – 10 Ross Hall
Nov 5th – 9 – 10 Ross Hall
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