Employee Council Meeting Notes, Oxford Campus, Seney Hall
May 18, 2011:
Angie Duprey, Employee Council President:
Angie presided over the final meeting of the 2010-2011 council at Oxford campus, and
introduced Cathy Wooten, Director of Communications.
Cathy Wooten, Director of Communications, Oxford:
Oxford is a unique example of a small liberal arts campus within a renowned research
university. Oxford is one of the academic divisions of Emory University, and not a
junior college.
Founded in 1836, there are seven building around the quad constructed before 1900.
Several of the founders’ names are found on the Oxford campus and the main campus of
Emory as well: Ignatius Few, Alexander Means, Augustus Longstreet and George Pierce.
There is a Dooley on both of Emory campuses. In 1895, a letter appeared in the school
newspaper from James T. Dooley, and the legend began.
Numerous sightings of a Civil War nurse’s ghost have been reported on the Oxford
campus, and the campus itself was first featured on film in “The Dukes of Hazzard”.
Emory not only owns the academic buildings at Oxford, but also a cemetery and a
church.
Oxford has Emory’s first newly constructed Gold LEED building.
In 2008, Oxford made headlines when a zebra briefly took up residence in Seney Hall.
There’s still a zebra peeking out of an upstairs window at Seney today.
Theresa Milazzo, Associate VP, Human Resources:
There are 5 task forces working on the new Tobacco-Free Initiative:
 Faculty Recommendations
 Impact on visitors
 Education/Cessation support
 Policies
 Enforcement
16 focus groups have participated, along with The Wheel and benchmarking from other
universities.
The timeline was original Fall 2011, but has now been moved to start in January, 2012.
The official campaign begins this August to publicize this initiative.
Some of the problem areas that have been raised are the impact to the stress level of
healthcare patients & families, impact on visitors & contract workers on campus, and
people causing fire hazards sneaking into buildings or out into the streets to smoke.
The enforcement issue has been debated. The plan is to use the Emory community to
approach smokers in a positive way, rather than punishment or fines. Some feel this
aligns with the current “No smoking within 25 ft. of building” policy that is not enforced.
There will be an insurance surcharge for self-identified smokers beginning in 2012 on
the Emory College side. This is already in effect on the Healthcare area, and
approximately 3% have self-identified to date.
The DeKalb Board of Health has a current initiative to amend the Clean Air Ordinance
to go smoke-free in public parks in DeKalb County.
Emory offers Smoking Cessation classes and Tier Zero drugs for employees.
The website is: http://www.tobaccofree.emory.edu/
Kathy Troyer, Hardship Fund Chair:
The Emory Hardship Fund has raised over $30,000 in donations to date. $16,000 of
these funds has been distributed as of March, 2011.
The Review Committee has reviewed applications involving fires, floods, death of an
immediate family member, loss of income, and people reduced to living in their cars.
There is a ceiling of $2000 for each application, and usually a lesser sum is awarded.
The website is http://www.emory.edu/hardshipfund/, and there are “How to Donate”
and “How to Apply” links.
“Funded by donations from Emory University’s faculty & staff, the Emory University Hardship
Fund is designed to assist faculty and staff members who are experiencing a temporary financial
hardship due to a catastrophic event.”
Every Emory employee is encouraged to donate $1 per paycheck to the Hardship Fund
by payroll deduction.
Angie Duprey, Employee Council President:
A Class & Labor Committee is being formed in 4 phases under the appointment of
Provost Earl Lewis and Mike Mandl, VP of Finance & Administration. The committee
will be co-chaired by Gary Hauk and Nadine Kaslow.
Phase 1 contains:
1. Non-academic labor
2. Academic labor
3. Interactive w/non-academic & academic
4. Students
5. Contract Employees
The Council is interested in bringing back the Historian position, with some emphasis
on how long initiatives on campus take from inception to implementation.
Jessica Perlove, President-Elect:
Jessica Perlove is the President-Elect of Employee Council for 2011-2012. Jessica is a
Senior Library Specialist in the Woodruff Library.
Jay Flanagan will be the 2011-2012 Employee Council IT Coordinator. Jay is the
manager of the Enterprise Email & Messaging Center.
Employee Council is looking for a new Membership Coordinator, Hardship Fund
Committee Chair and a new Secretary Elect.