Tulane University
Staff Advisory Council
Minutes of Thursday, April 16, 2009
ATTENDEES
ATTENDEES
DOWNTOWN CAMPUS
OFFICERS
Glenda Folse
Karen Hiller
Tami Jenniskens
Present
Excused
Excused
Roxanne Johnson
Paula Lucas
Linda Miller
Cindy Stewart
Shirley Tubre
Merisa Pasternak (proxy)
Yesenia Vasquez (proxy)
Excused
Excused
Present
Absent
Absent
Susan Barrera, Chair
Rhonda Earles, Vice Chair
Gwen Chavez, Election Coordinator
Lisa Britton, Recording Secretary,
Present
Present
Present
Present
Member at Large
Proxy
Excused
MEMBERS – AT – LARGE
Rob Platner
Present
INVITED GUESTS
Cheryl Avera, WFMO
Jean Holtman, WFMO
Cathy Tsagournos, WFMO
Present
Present
Present
VISITORS
Mike Griffith (proxy for Linda Wright)
Wendy King (proxy for Cheryl Sterling)
Present
Present
Excused
Absent
UPTOWN CAMPUS
Marty Brantley
Liz Davey
Shirley Dymond
Miriam Espinosa
Cynthia Hayes, Immediate
Cheryl Sterling, Corresp. Secretary
Jered Bocage, Parliamentarian
Absent
Absent
Present
Present
Present
Past Chair
Aaron Martin
Lisa O’Dwyer
Judy Vitrano
Linda Wright
Argentina Acosta (proxy)
Jenny Daigle Benoit (proxy)
Laurie Orgeron (proxy)
Present
Absent
Present
Proxy
Absent
Absent
Present
NORTHSHORE
Eileen deHaro
Mary Little
Robert Johnson (proxy)
Present
Present
Absent
All Officers are serving the Staff Advisory Council term 2008 – 2009
TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting
April 16, 2009
Page 2
Call to Order: Susan Barrera, SAC Chair, called the April 16, 2009 meeting of the Staff
Advisory Council to order at 3:33 p.m. The meeting was held at the Lavin-Bernick
Center, the Race Conference Room on the uptown campus.
I. Review and Approval of the Minutes
Chair Barrera called for a motion to approve the March 12, 2009 minutes, and the
minutes were approved.
II. Report of the Chair, Susan Barrera
Chair Barrera does not have a report today but a few reminders:
 Invite everyone to attend the Tulane baseball game tomorrow night. This game has
been designated as a faculty and staff event. She has some tickets if anyone is
planning to attend the game. In honor of Mary Little’s 40 years of service with
Tulane, Mary has been asked to throw out the first pitch of the game. So please
come out and cheer for Mary and the team.

Susan will be meeting with Anne Banos to discuss a few pending issues and hope to
have some information for us at our next meeting.

Our next meeting has been moved to Tuesday May 12th to accommodate Scott
Cowen schedule and will be uptown again here in LBC Race Room.
III. WFMO Liaison
Chair Barrera introduced our guest Cheryl Avera (Director, Compensation and
Benefits), who was also joined by Jean Holtman (Associate Vice President, WFMO),
and Cathy Tsagournos (Director, WFMO Strategy Planning and Implementation).
Cheryl Avera gave the following on the retirement plans with Fidelity and TIAA CREF:
In response to SAC’s request to offer general meetings about the plans, WFMO
targeted those employees that are just now becoming eligible to participate in the plan
and those employees that are eligible but have not enrolled. A total of three sessions
were scheduled with 120 people invited to attend and only a total of 11 people attended.
Going forward in May, both Fidelity and TIAA-CREF have scheduled another general
meeting. Dates have not been firmed up for June yet and will need to re-evaluate if the
general meetings are effective
Appears the individualized meetings are more favorably received. Those meetings are
always booked.
TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting
April 16, 2009
Page 3
Question from floor: How can we help get these individuals to enroll? Is there
something we as SAC members can do to assist? Unfortunately no, this is a role that
has to be handled by WFMO to be responsible in supervising. WFMO cannot advise or
recommend any particular information to an individual and that is why this needs to be
handled by WFMO. WFMO can only recommend they enroll. Everyone needs to
understand that this is a free benefit, and to participate in this benefit, they have to
enroll.
Question from floor: Are they aware that they do not have to contribute any money to
be eligible? It is clear in all communications they only have to enroll. All information is
clearly listed on the instructions on when and where to go to enroll. Unfortunately some
individuals have not found the time to enroll. These individuals receive phone calls,
emails, letters, approximately five communications are sent out encouraging them to
enroll in a plan. These employees have to be pro active and be responsible.
Question from the floor: Are these people on the lower end of the salary range? Could
it be they do not understand the retirement process and enrolling? No, it is across the
full spectrum, faculty and varied salaried background.
Jean Holtman gave the following summary on the recent Employee Milestone
Anniversary event recently held.
Sessions were held at each of the campuses – uptown, downtown and the Primate
Center to give a more personalized feeling. Each recipient was given a gift certificate to
go online and choose their own gift. A 40 year honoree is here at our SAC meeting,
Mary Little, and a 30 year honoree Glenda Folse. Both were applauded by members at
this meeting.
Chair Barrera asked the WFMO panel if for future events, SAC would like to be invited
to assist as greeters at the events to represent SAC.
Question from the floor to the WFMO panel: We were informed that drug and alcohol
testing is starting as the Primate Center. Is this testing for the Primate Center only?
The testing is starting at the Primate Center and will continue to all campuses.
IV. Officer Reports
A. University Senate
Rhonda Earles gave the following report on the April 6, 2009 Senate meeting. (This
report is almost a duplicate of the report given to the Board on March 19, 2009.)
President Cowen’s report centered on four items: signs of hope, challenges to
overcome, current priorities and strategic questions.
Signs of Hope. All indications are that the renewal plan is working. Student
interest and quality are at an all-time high; the faculty and staff remain committed
to the university and its mission; our civic engagement initiatives are garnering
TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting
April 16, 2009
Page 4
recognition and awards; our relationships with New Orleans and Louisiana
governments are improved; national visibility has increased; the stimulus
package offers strategic opportunities.
Challenges to Overcome. Katrina legacy issues (FEMA, insurance, legal
disputes, financial recovery and perceptions of New Orleans), rebuilding
areas/functions decimated by Katrina (i.e., development, clinical care mission),
and the economic downturn. The university has seen: a decrease in its
endowment value and payout, a decrease in major gift giving, a reduction in state
support (primarily through the state’s capitation program), an increase in financial
aid, a constrained ability to increase future tuition, and yield uncertainty.
Current Priorities. President Cowen’s chief priority is prudent fiscal management:
maintain cash and liquidity, hiring and salary (>$35K) freezes, limit nonsalary
expenses and capital investments, and increase revenue where possible.
Revenue generation is not an issue; cost containment is the issue currently.
Other priorities include: maintaining intellectual capital (furloughs and layoffs are
not planned for now), maintaining our strategic strengths, increasing donor
participation and unrestricted giving, leveraging stimulus package opportunities,
and positioning the university for fast recovery as the recession ends. This last
priority will include: conducting a higher education environmental scan, refining
our strategy as needed, enhancing leadership/intellectual capital, and rebuilding
the development platform.
Strategic Questions. 1) Are we at a tipping point in higher education where our
traditional mission and /or modes of operation are no longer appropriate? The
university must decide if it will return to standard operating procedures after the
recession and, if not, what should change and what should be discontinued. The
general consensus is that the university is doing too much and needs to reestablish its focus. 2) How can the School of Medicine fulfill its clinical care and
GME missions in an uncertain healthcare environment? This needs to be
answered with 24 months to 36 months. Should the university be in the business
of clinical care and the hospital? 3) How can we advance our research and
graduate education agendas in a severely constrained resource environment?
Project 2020 has been recalled due to the economy. 4) Can we afford to keep
the entering undergraduate class size at 1,400? If not, what are we sacrificing by
increasing it. Admitting 1,600 students this fall will not be an issue regarding
housing, but doing the same in 2010 will be problematic. The dorm rooms are
not available to meet the requirement that freshmen and sophomores living on
campus.
In response to a question regarding how other universities in New Orleans are
faring since Katrina, President Cowen stated that 1) Dillard and UNO are not
rebuilding their student headcounts as quickly as Tulane. 2) Dillard and Xavier
did receive significant contributions following Katrina due to their HBCU
(Historically Black Colleges and Universities) status. 3) UNO is also contending
with the state cutbacks (a 15% decrease in its $125M budget). 4) Xavier’s issue
regarding its pharmacy accreditation has been resolved. 5) Loyola’s losses
TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting
April 16, 2009
Page 5
totaled ~$5M, which is not nearly equivalent to the other universities in the GNO
area; however, Loyola has experienced a large drop in enrollment. 6) SUNO is
still not on its campus. 7) LSUHSC is experiencing a decline in La. students
staying in the state. Its GME programs are hurting—residencies/fellowships are
down and its research portfolio is relatively small.
President Cowen ended his presentation by asking “Who knows what the future
holds? Katrina and the economic downturn have provided daunting challenges,
uncertainty, anxiety and opportunities. Let’s focus on the opportunities while
being fiscally prudent and as stable as possible.”
Other items:
• Resolution regarding voting privileges for undergraduate student government
council chairs – passed
• Amendment to ASB Amendment Procedure, additional language regarding
requesting omission of amendments – passed
• The proposed student government representation changes – defeated
• Reports were received from the following committees: athletics, library,
educational policy, physical facilities, student affairs, and IT.
B. Board of Administrators
Rhonda Earles gave the following report on the Board meeting held on March 19,
2009 for the General Session:
President Cowen’s report to the board centered on four items: signs of hope,
challenges to overcome, current priorities and strategic questions.
Signs of Hope. All indications are that the renewal plan is working. Student
interest and quality are at an all-time high; the faculty and staff remain committed
to the university and its mission; our civic engagement initiatives are garnering
recognition and awards; our relationships with New Orleans and Louisiana
governments are improved; national visibility has increased; the stimulus
package offers strategic opportunities.
Challenges to Overcome. Katrina legacy issues (FEMA, insurance, legal
disputes, financial recovery and perceptions of New Orleans), rebuilding
areas/functions decimated by Katrina (i.e., development, clinical care mission),
and the economic downturn. The university has seen: a decrease in its
endowment value and payout, a decrease in major gift giving, a reduction in state
support (primarily through the state’s capitation program), an increase in financial
aid, a constrained ability to increase future tuition, and yield uncertainty.
Current Priorities. President Cowen’s chief priority is prudent fiscal management:
maintain cash and liquidity, hiring and salary (>$35K) freezes, limit nonsalary
expenses and capital investments, and increase revenue where possible.
Revenue generation is not an issue; cost containment is the issue currently.
Other priorities include: maintaining intellectual capital (furloughs and layoffs are
not planned for now), maintaining our strategic strengths, increasing donor
TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting
April 16, 2009
Page 6
participation and unrestricted giving, leveraging stimulus package opportunities,
and positioning the university for fast recovery as the recession ends. This last
priority will include: conducting a higher education environmental scan, refining
our strategy as needed, enhancing leadership/intellectual capital, and rebuilding
the development platform.
Strategic Questions. 1) Are we at a tipping point in higher education where our
traditional mission and /or modes of operation are no longer appropriate? The
university must decide if it will return to standard operating procedures after the
recession and, if not, what should change and what should be discontinued. The
general consensus is that the university is doing too much and needs to reestablish its focus. 2) How can the School of Medicine fulfill its clinical care and
GME missions in an uncertain healthcare environment? This needs to be
answered with 24 months to 36 months. Should the university be in the business
of clinical care and the hospital? 3) How can we advance our research and
graduate education agendas in a severely constrained resource environment?
Project 2020 has been recalled due to the economy. 4) Can we afford to keep
the entering undergraduate class size at 1,400? If not, what are we sacrificing by
increasing it. Admitting 1,600 students this fall will not be an issue regarding
housing, but doing the same in 2010 will be problematic. The dorm rooms are
not available to meet the requirement that freshmen and sophomores living on
campus.
In response to a question regarding how other universities in New Orleans are
faring since Katrina, President Cowen stated that 1) Dillard and UNO are not
rebuilding their student headcounts as quickly as Tulane. 2) Dillard and Xavier
did receive significant contributions following Katrina due to their HBCU
(Historically Black Colleges and Universities) status. 3) UNO is also contending
with the state cutbacks (a 15% decrease in its $125M budget). 4) Xavier’s issue
regarding its pharmacy accreditation has been resolved. 5) Loyola’s losses
totaled ~$5M, which is not nearly equivalent to the other universities in the GNO
area; however, Loyola has experienced a large drop in enrollment. 6) SUNO is
still not on its campus. 7) LSUHSC is experiencing a decline in La. students
staying in the state. Its GME programs are hurting—residencies/fellowships are
down and its research portfolio is relatively small.
President Cowen ended his presentation by asking “Who knows what the future
holds? Katrina and the economic downturn have provided daunting challenges,
uncertainty, anxiety and opportunities. Let’s focus on the opportunities while
being fiscally prudent and as stable as possible.”
He then turned the floor over to Provost Bernstein, who updated the board on the
status of three key searches: director of the Murphy Institute, director of the
Newcomb College Institute, and dean of the law school. All searches are on
track, and the positions have generated a lot of interest.
WFMO. Anne Baños informed the board that the staff compensation study had
been completed. The study did not include administrators; 838 titles were
TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting
April 16, 2009
Page 7
reviewed and the market range for those positions was established. Of the 838
titles reviewed, 200 were found not to be within 70 percent of the market range.
The recommended adjustments are expected to cost $1.8M and take two years
to implement. The adjustment is delayed due to the economic downturn.
Admissions. Earl Retif, vice president for enrollment management, provided a
synopsis on the changing scene in admissions. Much of the admission office’s
communication is done via e-mail, texting and twitter; snail mail and phoning are
used much less than in the recent past. In 2007, less than half of the
applications were completed by Jan. 1; in 2008 and 2009, more than 80 percent
were completed by the same date. In addition, students are applying to more
institutions; 28 percent (more than double the rate in recent years) plan to
deposit at more than one institution. Both are in an effort to keep options open.
Retif also compared 1998 to 2008:
Applications
Accepted
% Accepted
Enrolled
Yield
SAT Average
1998
8,012
6,307
78.72%
1,476
23.40%
1257
2008
34,125
9,207
26.98%
1,560
16.95%
1337
More than 50 percent of our students come from either the Northeast or Midwest;
approx. 16 percent come from Louisiana. These states are projecting declines in
the number of high school graduates between 2006-07 and 2016-17. This may
significantly impact enrollment.
An examination of yield rates at peer institutions revealed the following.
Institution
BYU
Princeton
Notre Dame
LSU
Georgetown
Duke
Vanderbilt
NYU
Washington Univ.
SMU
Emory
Carnegie Mellon
Boston Univ.
Tulane
Yield
Rate
77%
68%
56%
55%
47%
42%
49%
39%
34%
32%
30%
23%
21%
17%
TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting
April 16, 2009
American Univ.
4-yr. Private College Avg.
Page 8
15%
31%
Tulane offers need- and academic merit-based financial aid. The program is
designed to attract academically superior students from around the world without
regard to their financial need or ability to pay. The growth in tuition and fees is
rapidly outpacing family income in the U.S., which in turn increases the need for
financial aid. Colleges and universities are facing six major issues in managing
affordability: rising college costs, decreased purchasing power of federal aid,
increasing discount rates, shifting demographics, increased family borrowing and
declining yield rates.
Alumni Affairs. St. Paul Bourgeois of the Tulane Alumni Association stated the
five initiatives for the association: connecting with alumni, building and rebuilding
the TAA image, developing volunteer leadership, finding resource support and
funding for programs, and connecting with students. The board was updated on
several initiatives: the number of alumni clubs has increased from 26 (1999) to
70 (2009); the number of alumni on the listserv has increased from 25 (1999) to
34,465 (2009); since its inception in Dec. 2006, 8,118 alumni have registered at
www.tulanecommunity.com.
Alumni traits and wants include:
individual
attention, career and job-related services, increased diploma value, and
opportunities to “give back.”
V. University Senate Committee Reports
1. Benefits
No meeting.
2. Budget Review
No meeting. Next meeting is scheduled for May 12th.
3. Information Technology
No Report.
4. Equal Opportunity
No Report.
5. Physical Facilities
No Report.
6. Social Issues
TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting
April 16, 2009
Page 9
No Report.
VI. SAC Sub-Committees
1. Election Committee
Committee Chair Gwen Chavez reported that she will be sending out a letter to all
staff requesting names for nominations. Linda Wright and Mike Griffith will do set up the
online election balloting. Gwen will also prepare paper ballots once all names are
submitted. Everyone is encouraged to nominate others as we need to fill some slots.
Gwen will be contacting people at all three campus to coordinate the collection of
paper ballots for anyone not able to vote online.
2. Electronic Technology and Information
No report.
3. Staff Appreciation
Committee Co-Chair Rob Platner gave the following report.
 Was discussion of having the fun walk to inside of the zoo but is not financially
feasible. We want to have the run between 10 am to 12 noon so anyone
participating can still attend the Tulane football game at 2 pm.

We are still in the having a fun run/walk. Have medical students to offer some
health screening; student athletics to have some games for the kids; have a
remote for Tulane radio station. Also link on with the Wellness group to get some
help from them.

Until we are able to secure a location for the November 7th (date that Scott
Cowen will be available to attend) we will get back to everyone. Until we have a
date and location set, we cannot move forward with any planning.

Chair Barrera will be meeting with Anne Banos prior to our next May meeting to
get some guideline and some contacts that she will give us to help plan.
4. Staff Issues
No meeting however, Chair Barrera did receive one issue. Question is regarding the
closing of McAlister and there is concern available parking is primarily for faculty. For
example, there are a lot of spaces in front of the library but are reserved for faculty only.
The question is to see if some parking spots can be for both faculty and staff.
TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting
April 16, 2009
Page 10
Chair Barrera will send a request for Tony Lorino asking for information to the
parking plan. There is also a concern about people coming to attend performances at
the McAlister Auditorium and where are those people to park.
Suggested documenting how many parking spaces are available in front of the
library at various times of the day. With this information to present to Tony Lorino, he
may be able to assist in expanding the parking spaces to both staff and faculty. Also
suggested allowing staff be allowed to park in the faculty areas during the summer and
school breaks.
5. Health and Wellness
Committee Chair Judy Vitrano gave the following report.
Continuing to be a very active committee. UnitedHealth is continuing with the “health
assessment campaign”. You have to be a member of UnitedHealthcare to fill out the
health assessment questionnaire. By participating you are eligible for a gift certificate to
some online stores.
The walking program still going on. April 26 is the end of the first program with $30 gift
cards going out to 150 of the people who participated and logged in the step numbers.
Also July 26th, end of the next program. If you reach 1 million steps, they will be giving
out a $100 gift certificate to five people.
The Lose & Win program is ending next week and participation has been very good at
all campus locations. Everyone shares a lot of information and has been helpful.
They are getting participants to document their personal changes and what worked for
them. Once this information is collected, the information will be sent out to everyone as
an encouragement for everyone to made small changes to help improve their health.
UnitedHealth offers free seminars so the members of the committee have been
attending the different seminars. UnitedHealthcare will be scheduling the seminars at
the various campuses throughout the year for anyone to attend.
6. Community Service
No report
VII.
Old Business
None.
VIII. New Business
Next Meeting: The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at the LavinBernick Center for University Life in the Race Conference Room at 3:30 pm.
TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting
April 16, 2009
IX. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 4:33 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa M. Britton
Recording Secretary
Page 11