Staff Council Meeting Minutes
MARCH 19, 2015
Attendance
OFFICERS
Amanda Lippincott, Tim Clark, Karenn Reeter, Candy Ross, Mark Ross
REPRESENTATIVES
Kat Burton, Craig Canfield, Jean Celeste-Astorina, Rosemary Cobane, Will Dawes, (ResLife proxy: Alex Devers),
Peter Earle, Jan Favaro, Jill Fisher, Gary Goss (proxy: Mike Lupo), Christine Gregory, Christine Haase, Staci Hall,
Joan Hurley, Michele Lang, Clint McCartney, Brenda Mikula, Rosane Mordt, Kristin Morse, Suzette Moschetti,
Virgilio Pinto, Sean Reilley, Beth Reynolds, (proxy: Melissa Morenus), Victor Rosa, Candy Ross (proxy: Leslie
D’Arcy), Mark Ross, Laurie Shaw, Cindy Smith, James Underwood, Jennifer Wofford, Tiffani Ziemann.
Opening of Meeting
 Meeting called to order by Tim Clark at 2:03 pm.
Announcements
 Welcome and introductions for proxies.
 Carl Cohen, Parking Services Supervisor, will give a brief presentation and Q&A at our April 16th meeting.
Constituents may submit questions in advance to their representatives.
Committee Reports
 Ad-hoc Smoking Policy – committee is researching policies at other institutions and plans to meet with Terri
Stewart, Director of Public Safety, to discuss potential enforcement issues.
 Benefits – committee met with Mark Coldren and Cheryl Thomason on Thursday 3/12/15 to review current
retirement benefits offered to IC employees. We also discussed Victor Rosa’s request for action, and I will
be submitting our official response to the request after the next benefits committee meeting (hopefully by
beginning of April).
 Blood Drive – Next blood drive is April 10 in the Fitness Center – Mondo Gym. Contact Cindy Smith, if you
are available to volunteer at the registration table for an hour between 9am-4pm.
 Parking Appeals – February meeting minutes listed: 10 appeals denied; 1 appeal granted; 512 warnings
issued
 Parking Policy – committee is working on issues regarding shuttle service, contractor parking, and
motorcycle parking.
Executive Committee Report
 Treasurer’s report – No expenses since last meeting.
 Representative elections – Numerous areas are due to elect representatives. A list of representatives and
term expiration dates was distributed. Executive Committee will email call for nominations to constituents
and follow up to distribute ballots where necessary. Terms begin June 1, 2015 for two years. Hard copy of
elections documents may be requested via staff council representatives for areas if necessary.
 Officer elections will take place at the April 16th meeting for the position of Vice Chair and Recording
Secretary. Terms begin June 1, 2015 for two years. Interested persons are welcome to contact executive
committee members for information about the responsibilities and time commitment.
 Caring & Sharing
Under the leadership of Michelle Rios-Dominguez, the Caring & Sharing Committee developed guidelines for
qualification, and initiated a formal application and review process. The executive committee met with
Michelle upon her resignation from the Committee to discuss its current status and future. As part of the
overall review of the Staff Council committee structure, the executive committee recommends that Staff
Council sunsets the Committee’s mission and goals at the end of this fiscal year (May 31). This rationale is
based on several factors:
o Resignation of committee chair
MARCH 2015 STAFF COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
o Members cycling off the committee as terms ended
o Reduced number of qualified applicants
We’re investigating opportunities for IC to partner with charity organizations in the greater Ithaca
community. Anyone interested in helping move this forward may contact the executive committee.
Many, many staff (and faculty) members are responsible for the success of Caring & Sharing over the years.
We extend our gratitude to everyone who contributed time and effort and donations.
 President Rochon addressed a question about Employee Appreciation at the January 2015 All College
Meeting and tasked Staff Council to collaborate with Human Resources. Executive Committee met with
Mark Coldren and Tanisha Graves and discussed the current program, concerns and positives, and ideas for
improvement/changes. We provided them with feedback that constituents have shared with
representatives to date. Representatives are encouraged to gather ideas/suggestions from constituents,
supervisors, and direct reports for what kinds of appreciation staff find meaningful.
Issues, Concerns & New Business:
 No new proposals/motions submitted since last meeting.
 Motion passed at February meeting concerning staff interest in a mechanism to provide feedback regarding
supervisors. Executive Committee has begun to investigate this issue and had a conversation with Nancy
Pringle, who was supportive of the idea, in principle. The initiative may require an ad hoc committee to
develop a proposal.
 Committee Structure and Goals – These are ideas for a possible committee structure for Staff Council. The
idea is create a committee structure that encourages participation, as well as active support of our work as a
staff council. Once we finalize the committee structure we will need to review Article VII – Committees of
the Staff Council of Ithaca College to determine the next steps and adhere to our by-laws. The committees
listed below were created with consideration to items Staff Council is continually striving to address/working
on. It is anticipated sub-committees and ad-hoc committees will form and reside, as needed, under some of
these overarching committees. In some instances, sub and ad-hoc committees may already exist or they
may need to be formed and/or voted on.
o Draft Committees
1. Benefits Committee – already established
2. Policy Committee
a. Ad-Hoc Committee for Smoking Policy
b. *Most likely create a ad-hoc or sub-committee for the supervisor feedback proposal
3. Community Engagement Committee
a. Blood Drive Committee (become a sub-committee)
b. Bus Trip Committee (should we sunset/revision/rename, become a sub-committee)
c. Caring and Sharing (updates forthcoming)
d. Veterans’ Day Committee (become a sub-committee)
4. Public Relations and Communications Committee
a. *Could an ad hoc committee to support election activities live here? Our by-laws
indicate representatives can assist with elections.
b. *Would we want to create an ad hoc committee to work on Employee Appreciation
with HR here?
o Draft Goals
1. Draft a revised smoking policy to share with the President and administration in order to
update the IC Policy Manual.
• Work with members of the Smoking Policy Committee to determine a revision and
action plan.
• Consult with the Student Government Association and Faculty Council to gather input
and feedback.
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MARCH 2015 STAFF COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

Present a mutually supported (SGA, FC, and SC), revised smoking policy for
consideration.
2. Redefine the committee structure(s) of the Staff Council in order to approve effectiveness
and efficiency.
• Research staff council structures at other institutions to determine best practices.
• Define the needs of the staff council at IC to determine what committees may or may
not be necessary.
• Present and vote on a revised committee structure and committee representatives.
3. Work with the Office of Human Resources to define staff appreciation and staff development
opportunities.
• Research staff appreciation and staff development opportunities at other institutions for
benchmarking purposes.
• Consult with SC representatives and constituents for input on staff
ideas/likes/dislikes/concerns with regards to appreciation and development.
• Meet with the appropriate HR contacts to discuss staff appreciation and staff
development opportunities and how we can best address the feedback from staff, as
well as improve or restructure current programs.
• Assist HR with revisioning and/or developing programs that benefit staff and improve
campus morale.
4. Potentially adding employee feedback/review for supervisors
*Preliminary discussions have occurred and we will need to develop a goal and action steps.
We have discussed the recommendation for employee feedback of supervisors with Nancy
Pringle and Mark Coldren, separately.
Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 3:02 pm.
NEXT MEETING:
April 16 @ 2 - 3:30pm – Taughannock Falls Room
April agenda will include:
• Officer Elections
• Vote on Committee Restructure
• Presentation, Q&A by Parking Services Supervisor, Carl Cohen
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