STAFF SENATE MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
Present: Steve Blankenship, John Swanson, Bill Allen, Melissa Thomas, Kim Meyer, Betty Crocket, Inge Frost,
Marvin Pyles, Simeon Ananou, Melissa Sable
I.
II.
Introductions were made around the room to include invited guests Simeon Ananou, SU’s Chief Information
Officer (CIO) and Melissa Sable, HR Administrator.
Old Business
a. Review/Approval of Minutes
i. Minutes were reviews. Melissa Thomas motioned to approve the minutes; John Swanson
seconded; vote approved.
b. Board of Regents Staff Awards – Discussion began about the upcoming Regents Staff Awards
process. Our goal is to increase involvement and increase the number of packets submitted.
Discussion on advertising for this process needs to occur soon. Details regarding this process were
not discussed as Lisa Gray and Jen were not in attendance. The discussion was tabled for next
meeting. John and Steve to follow-up with Lisa and Jen.
III.
New Business
a. Chair's Report - Consortium Meeting
Campus discussion regarding the purpose and scope of the University Consortium continues.
Elizabeth Ragan, Faculty Senate President, Steve Blankenship, Amy Hasson in the President’s Office
and a SGA student representative met to discuss bringing clarity to this governance group and how
the committees on this structure report and communicate to campus. It was mentioned that some
consortium committees may overlap and duplicate issues addressed within the individual
governance groups. Additional meetings and discussion will occur on campus. Discussion on
consortium representation by staff members was tabled.
b. CIO - Simeon Ananou
Simeon joined SU in the summer and has been with us for four months. He highlighted several
projects that have been occurring during this time:
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Consolidation of 7 wireless networks to 2 networks – SU Connect and SU Secure. This
consolidation improved the efficiency and security for connecting to the wireless network.
Two residence halls during remodeling had wireless coverage expanded (Chester and
Choptank)
PeopleSoft (GullNet) upgrade occurred. Staff around campus has involved with testing.
MyClasses learning management system upgraded to recent version
Looking forward, Simeon presented additional pressure points on the horizon to consider:
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Mobile project for GullNet access and other campus services
Engaged discussions on how SU delivers computers and software to offices and campus
computers; look into profiles based on roles and individuals
Investigating virtualization of PCs; provide the availability and access to services and
software
Shortage of storage on campus - looking at data storage strategies and cost analysis based
on current setup as well as cloud services
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BYOD - Who supports personal devices that individuals use for university business and
classes; want to provide options for effective support
Analytics and reports for data information in the hands of those on campus who need
information
Question was asked about the current exploration for a content management system. Simeon
stated that a group is being formed under Sue Eagle to review systems and develop strategies for a
design phase.
c. Human Resources
i. Affordable Healthcare Act – Email was sent to the entire campus. It is very important to
read; and advise individuals to go to the websites for the Connectors information. Feedback
was provided to HR that Staff Senate members thought the email was very clear on
identifying current healthcare enrollments and what needed to be done by individuals.
There are two groups of individuals on campus directly affected – those who are Open
Enrollment eligible; those not eligible who need to use the Connector. Connector for Lower
Shore is in Snow Hill, Maryland. Information can be obtained from HR for the direct
website.
Additional terminology was clarified - Health Exchange is the national term; Connector is
the Maryland term and the individuals responsible to assist are called Navigators.
Starting October 1; open enrollment starts. Requirement that all individuals obtain Health
Insurance will be reviewed by taxes. Individuals need to sign-up by Mid-March; especially
those using the Connector so that information is processed.
HR distributing a mailing with more information and will conduct sessions with
staff/departments. Information sessions by HR will be held. There is a need to reach out to
student employees and 30 hour employees and how this affects them. There is a lot of
concern related to this issue as it is an unfunded mandate.
ii. Negotiation continues with police.
iii. Non-exempt side and meet to discuss issues; concerns and supervision and contingents.
iv. Required Fair Practices training is still in testing phase; should be about 1 1/2 to 2 hours;
but can save come back. Must complete in 60 days. Email will be from Workplace
Answers.
d. Betty Crockett
i. Board of Regents (BOR) retreat next week to talk about the next fiscal year budget
e. CUSS Minutes were provided as a handout from the last meetings and will be on the table for
discussion at the next meeting.
f.
Policy Review Process - Questions/Concerns?
Concerns were discussed about the timing and the process of revision to policies; request was made
to have them introduced to the various governance bodies at a similar time; role of the consortium
could be to bring together the different governance groups regarding the processes on review and
recommendations of policies.
g. Consortium Committees – There are current staff representative openings on various consortium
committees. Discussion regarding the options of whether to appoint members to the committees or
elect members to committees. Current openings are on the IT Committee and Facilities
Management Committee. It was decided to open up a call for nominations. Based on the number of
nominations that are received an election could take place.
IV.
V.
Miscellaneous: Note from IT - October is National CyberSecurity month; IT will provide useful information
to campus regarding security awareness and how to avoid phishing.
Motion to adjourn at 3:12 PM.