Staff Senate Meeting Minutes
July 25th, 2013 – 2:00 PM
TE 354A
Present: John Swanson, Steve Blankenship, Kim Meyer, Elizabeth Kressin, Jen Ziegenfus, Paul
Gaisor, Melissa Thomas, Inge Frost, Humberto Aristizabal, Bill Allen, Vivian Ramsey, Cindy
Funkhouser, Laura Hemp, Lisa Gray, and Betty Crockett.
I. Welcome – John Swanson welcomed the new senators and everyone introduced themselves.
II. Old Business
1. Review/Approval of Minutes
 After review of the June meeting minutes, Jen motioned to approve the minutes and
seconded by Steve. Motion to approve minutes passed.
2. Elections
 There were two seats left open from the elections in June for the
Traffic/Safety/Buildings and Grounds Committee of the University Forum. We
received four write in votes for four different people. A suggestion from Melissa
was to put all four out for a vote to determine who will fill those vacancies.
The recommendation was accepted by the senators.
3. Year End-Reports
 Steve reported that John Hickman will have a draft of the year end Staff Senate
Report for the senators to review at our next meeting.
4. Employee Appreciation Day
 John asked for comments regarding EAD. The senators reported that the comments
overheard were positive and that it was a very nice event.
III. Reports
1. Human Resources ( Inge Frost & Humberto Aristizabal)
 Wellness Lunch & Learn Sessions will be held in September beginning with one on
September 18, 2013.
 Benefits Fair will be September 10, 2013 from 1 to 4pm. Open enrollment is
expected to be the first two weeks of October. It will close and then a correction
period will follow around the end of October.
 I9 training will be held on August 13, 2013 for all current I9 authorizers and those
who expressed interest in becoming an authorizer. 25 attendees to date.
 Training sessions for fair practices will begin this fall. The university has purchased
software to accomplish the training. All staff, faculty and student workers will
participate in 3 this fall. Topics will be Sexual Harassment, Harassment in the Work
Place and Title IX compliance.
 Look for changes to the EEO/AA Statement soon.
2. Administration and Finance (Betty Crockett)
 FY13 closed – the university is financially solid.
 DBM summer budget hearings went well.
 Accreditation Team was here for University Police. It was good visit and the final
reports should be received in November.

Construction Projects – Caruthers Demolition is scheduled for December, the Tower
Replacement is going slow due to the ongoing RFP process, and the Academic
Commons is scheduled to break ground in the spring of 2014.
3. CUSS (Lisa Gray & Jen Ziegenfus)
 Topics discussed at the CUSS meeting on July 23 at the Horn Point Laboratory in
Cambridge were as follows:
o Same Sex Marriage recognition within the State of Md and how that applies
to tuition remission for spouses. It will now be considered a pre-tax benefit.
o Wellness Forum – August 16th at UMCP – HR Directors and Benefits
Coordinators around the state have been invited.
o Affordable Care Act – The federal government has extended the deadline to
Jan. 1, 2015 for penalizing employers who don’t comply. The system is still
targeting a Jan. 1, 2014 deadline. There are still many details to work out.
o System Office hosting 2nd Open Enrollment Fair on August 15th for Benefits
Coordinators.
o Discussion regarding the tuition remission policy for employees.
o BOR Award winners have been notified. SU had two honorable mentions –
Nikki Dyer and Matt Hill.
o CUSS reviewed their annual goals and worked on goals for 2013/2014.
o The next CUSS meeting will be held at SU on August 13, 2013.
 The senators recommended that we reach out to our CUSF counterparts on campus
and begin discussions to see if there are any common issues between the groups.
Melissa will find out who the CUSF reps are.
4. Committees – No reports
IV. New Business
1. Officers for 2013-2014
 Chair – Steve volunteered to be chair, motion by Melissa and seconded by Kim, motion
passed.
 2nd Chair – John volunteered to be 2nd chair, motion by Steve and seconded by Cindy,
motion passed.
 3rd Chair – Kim volunteered to be 3rd chair, motion by Lisa and seconded by Melissa,
motion passed.
 Secretary – Melissa volunteered to secretary, motion by Steve and seconded by Cindy,
motion passed.
2. Review of Revised Sexual Harassment Policy
 New policy as of June 2012.
 Transparency built into the policy.
 Review and questions regarding the policy
 A process and the nomination to the review panel and well as training still to come.
3. Board of Regents Staff Awards
 Discussed the Process of nominating.
 Increase visibility and awareness.
 Reach out to Presidents Office regarding packet submission.
4. Additional New Business – no other new business
Motion to adjourn meeting at 3:40pm by Lisa, seconded by Bill, motion passed.