WCU Staff Forum Meeting Minutes
January 13, 2005, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.
UC Cardinal Room
Present:
Marvin Bumgarner, Cory Causby, Dawne Coward, Ronnie Deitz, Alicia
Estes, Clifton Fisher, Larry Hammer, Debbie Justice, Terry Riouff, Michele Sutton, Julie WaltersSteele, Bill Student, Irene Welch
Non-Members Present:
Absent:
Kathy Wong
Ronnie Amster, Linda Beja, William Frady, Scott Powell, Lisa Frady
Members were welcomed and the meeting was called to order by Terry Riouff. A special welcome
was issued to Dr. Kyle Carter, our guest today.
Approval of Agenda: The agenda for today’s meeting was approved.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the December meeting were approved.
Information Items: The next Executive Committee meeting is scheduled forThursday,
February 3, 2005, 2:30-3:30 p.m., in HFR 350. The next Staff Forum meeting will be held
on Thursday, February 10, 2005, 8:30-10:30 a.m., in the Cardinal Room of the UC.
Dr. Carter introduced himself and told the group how happy he is to be at WCU. He said that
when he arrived at Western he discovered a campus that was much further along than many
other comparable campuses. He reported that at the current time there are four main goals he
would like to see accomplished, and in some ways each of these goals will impact all students,
faculty and staff on campus. These are as follows:
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Empowerment – At a meeting yesterday, Dr. Carter began working with the Deans
toward more management flexibility for the campus. He reported that he has already
begun this process in his own office, and things seem to be working out quite nicely so
far.
Regional/Economic Development – He would like to begin a process of working among
our academic programs to support regional and economic development as they relate to
the University.
Engagement – This goal strives to get students away from the campus, i.e. to take what
they learn here on campus out into the communities and put that knowledge to work.
Scholarship – He anticipates promotion of more inquiry and helping faculty understand
the breadth of engagement and to expand the concept of scholarship.
Dr. Carter stated that we are all affected by the growth we are currently experiencing. We
anticipate hiring 70 new faculty next year, and as of now we have no office space available for
these folks. In addition, we will have more students and will need more space for them as well.
Dr. Carter expressed concern about customer service and how to handle the population growth.
He said that perhaps the biggest challenge we face is maintaining our culture in the midst of all
this growth. He emphasized that we don’t want to lose the friendliness and sense of
togetherness that currently exist on this campus.
A brief question and answer session followed Dr. Carter’s remarks after which time Chairman
Riouff thanked Dr. Carter for joining us today.
Human Resources Report: Kathy Wong said the payroll deadline is noon today. Letters have
been written to each SPA employee informing them of whether or not they received a pay
increase as a result of the $125,000 Chancellor Bardo allocated. These letters will go out
sometime the week of January 24, 2005. The increases will be reflected in January paychecks
and will be retroactive to July 1, 2004.
Chancellor’s Office Report: Dianne Lynch was not present at today’s meeting due to the fact
she had a prior commitment to attend a meeting in Dr. Bardo’s stead. Therefore, no report was
given today from the Chancellor’s Office.
Campus Committee Reports: University Advisory Council – Cory said the Committee met this
past Thursday. At that meeting, the Council approved the 2005 holiday schedule. In addition, he
said, Debbie Beck from Health Services shared some results of the Healthy Cats Program.
Results were quite encouraging in that the largest majority of those who participated experienced
weight loss, lowered their cholesterol, and became healthier overall. Cory also said the UAC
website is undergoing a complete renovation and will probably go live in a couple of weeks.
Diane Lynch told the UAC that a 280+ acre parcel of land was acquired by the University prior to
the holidays. Next, Cory said the Chancellor and Provost have begun scheduling divisional
meetings on campus, the purpose of which is to receive feedback regarding questions and/or
concerns folks may have. It is an effort to keep open the lines of communication. Finally, Cory
said that Heather List, SGA President, reported that the SGA will be sponsoring a Polar Bear fund
raising event. Half of the money raised will go to the Service NC project, and half will go to Relay
for Life. Calendar Committee: Larry said the Committee has no met this month.
SF Committee Reports: Human Resources: This committee will meet again in February or
March. Resources and Environment: Committee has not met. Public Relations: Committee has
not met since last meeting. Bill did report that the Staff Forum website is now updated.
Scholarship: Michelle said she plans to call a meeting of the scholarship committee soon.
Governance: Julie reported that a meeting will be held soon to discuss preparing for upcoming
elections.
Issues Status Report: All current issues remain unchanged.
Old Business: The Staff Forum approved the 2005 holiday schedule.
New Business: Terry said that Carol Burton would like to have one or two Staff Forum
members represented on the SACS Committee. This matter will be discussed further at our
February meeting.
Open Comments: The UC yard sale is held in the Fall of each year, and the Staff Forum will
strive to have a booth at this sale to hopefully sell a few items and raise some money for our
scholarship.
Terry has been asked about donations to the tsunami victims. It was decided that the Forum will
support the student organization that is already involved in this effort.
Lastly, Julie Walters-Steele reminded everyone about upcoming movies that will be shown at the
UC Theatre and invited everyone to attend.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:01 a.m.
Respectfully submitted: Dawne Coward