CSSAC Meeting 3/17/2010 SUL 301
In attendance: Kim Butala, Sun VanTil, Karen Holland, Marie Dugan, Mary Beth Rincon, Nadine Horn,
Bernadette Perez, Deb Johnson, Becky Jarvis
Karen Holland called the meeting to order and the first order of business was to introduce Samuel
Williams to the committee. Sam is a night shift service staff member hoping to join the CSSAC
committee.
Following his introduction a vote was taken and Mr. Williams was approved for membership. CSSAC is
now fully staffed with qualified clerical and service staff.
No new business in regards to the treasurer’s report.
Mary Beth Rincon spoke to the attendees about the CIGNA brochure recently sent out campus-wide on
the introduction for the new Employee Assistance Program. She pointed out that in addition to
consulting services this program also offers legal consultation, financial support services, educational
guidance, child care, parenting and senior care information. She stressed this are vital programs
available to all Purdue Calumet staff members and we should encourage people to take advantage of
these opportunities if needed.
Another important matter discussed by Mary Beth Rincon was the moves currently scheduled in and out
of the Lawshe Building. The Business Services offices will be moving next week and the following week
out of the Lawshe building and Payroll and Human Resources will be the first week of April. All
timecards will need to be brought to the new Schneider Avenue building but a decision on how this
process will be implemented has not yet been finalized. Mary Beth will keep everyone informed on the
resolution to this issue since it has a time sensitive nature. In all over 50 various will be occurring on
campus over the course of the next few months. These moves involve complex logistical aspects that
must be coordinated with the physical move process including but not limited to phone lines, computer,
furniture, etc. Relocation of faculty members will occur over the summer months.
The committee discussed the upcoming visit by Purdue’s President Cordova and several key senior
administrative to discuss the Sustaining New Synergies briefings being held on the regional campus. The
Purdue Calumet campus will be hosting this event on Tuesday, March 23rd. APSAC has decided to email
their membership for targeted questions to address during this event. It was suggested that CSSAC do
the same to pinpoint relevant topics for their opportunity to address this group. Mary Beth Rincon
stressed the importance of developing a constructive method for addressing our concerns whether it is
discussing benefits, salaries/wages, suggested overtime changes, etc. Being prepared and
knowledgeable about your topic will ensure a response for the West Lafayette representatives.
It was thought that Collin Glass would be an excellent choice for our CSSAC group to question the
overtime issue at the regional campus forum. He can articulate the service staffs concern over the
discussions on revising the overtime policy.
Mary Beth Rincon also mentioned that Human Resources will be hosting a pre-retirement workshop the
last Tuesday in April. These workshops will include individuals from Social Security and West Lafayette
to answer question for attendees. At this time no one from PERF is going to be part of this effort
because of the lack of interest during the last round of these workshops.
Another topic discussed was the Recognition Luncheon which will be held the last Friday of April. More
information will be forthcoming on how to register, etc.
Karen asked Mary Beth if we will be having a Staff Picnic this year due to the budget concerns and the
answer was yes. She currently has a budget of $6,000 for the 2010-2011 picnic. CSSAC will be hosting
the picnic this year and is checking into dates when the Chancellor would be available. The majority of
the group would like to pursue holding the event outdoors instead of the gym. Someone will be
contacting Karen Sullivan about the outside areas and possibility using Room with a View for the bingo
portion of the program. Bernadette will also check with Janet Hero on the gym space as a back-up
location in case of bad weather.
The group received confirmation that the commencements will be consolidated this year due to budget
concerns. The Radisson will continue to host these events since approximately 900 students receiving 4
tickets each attend the ceremony. The Radisson is the largest venue in the region to accommodate
3500 plus guests. Both commencements will be held on the same day, one in the morning and another
in the afternoon. Everyone agreed this was a wise decision and even the nursing school is considering
consolidating their graduations because of budgetary concerns.
Deborah Johnson gave a brief review of the teleconference call for the West Lafayette CSSAC members
from their March 9th meeting. Deborah expressed her disappointment with the teleconference process.
She was cut off from the final portion of the meeting and in the future will go to West Lafayette to
participate in these meetings. She indicated that CSSAC in West Lafayette will be doing a live-feed for
the Sustaining New Synergies briefing on March 26th. She was not sure if we could view this event but it
was suggested we may get a link later since the event in late in the day.
Another topic for discussion was the possibility of CSSAC visiting Ft. Wayne for a regional meeting in
April. More details will be forthcoming on if transportation will be provided for the Calumet campus to
participate in this event.
The no-smoking policy was another topic of conversation at the West Lafayette CSSAC meeting. The
senate faculty members want to enforce the no smoking ban by first issuing a warning and then a
$25.00 tickets. Everyone felt it would be difficult to enforce and the university should consider
designating smoking areas to contain the trash from cigarette butts.
West Lafayette also discussed a training & development committee for the CSSAC members. As of yet
they do not have a contact person to handle this project. They are also looking into Supervisor training,
developing a staff memorial plaque for CSSAC members .
Mary Beth and Deborah mentioned some of the concerns from the West Lafayette CSSAC members
regarding outsourcing, transportation, changes in West Lafayette benefits and other questions to the
Sustaining Synergies’ group. Connie Lipinskas and Ken Sandel are going to be talking about rebalancing
the total compensation package by implementing market adjustments and sifting the cost of benefits
i.e., medical costs would go from 13% to 20% contribution for employees. The 13% to 20% increase is
what is being talked about at West Lafayette. Right now it is to be implemented over a 2 year period.
Another question came up about forced retirement and Mary Beth said an early retirement incentive
may be presented to faculty and administrative staff but not to PERF members at this time. If a
University policy or procedure changes – the regional campuses will follow.
Deborah mentioned some of the fund raising ideas that are being explored by West Lafayette in the
near future are a Purdue Day at Indiana Beach at a cost of $23.00 per person with free soft drinks all
day. Another WL CSSAC trip being planned in a day-trip to IKEA. Deborah is going to inquiry if PUC can
participate in the West Lafayette events in the future.
This discussion led to further discussion of possible money making efforts for our campus. Sue VanTil
mentioned that her department just held a book sale which did not involve any extra cash investment
and raised over $500. Kim Butala did an impressive presentation on an opportunity to sell flowers via a
website in the name of CSSAC and could possibly make a 50% profit for the scholarship fund.
The CSSAC cookbook project is moving along. Sue hopes to have the layout finished and ready to go to
print by the first week in April. It was decided that a contest would be developed to name the cookbook
and the prize would be a free copy of the book. Sue is looking for any additional help to wrap up this
project.
Karen said we earned almost $600 on the daffodil sale and that did not include the tags that were given
to the cafeteria.
Finally we had a discussion on co-hosting a Bank Fair with student organizations and charge $100 to
each participating bank to present their services to the student population. Most felt the fee was high
and Karen contacted Chase, Peoples and Advanced Financial Credit Union and all said they would not be
willing to pay the fee . Kim and Marie stated that Costco or Sam’s Club doesn’t pay why should the
banks.
Marie mentioned a fund raiser she did with her children’s school in which local restaurants participated
and provided a sampler lunch for $5.00. It was a lot of fun and good advertisement for the local
establishments.
Cookouts were the next topic of discussion. It was pointed out that these events are a lot of work in
preparing for the events, soliciting gifts, going shopping, setup, cooking, clean up etc. These events
don’t make a great deal of money but it’s a good morale booster for most people. Mary Beth suggested
forming a sub-committee to look into dates for the cookouts, etc. Marie Dugan offered to coordinate
these efforts.
Finally Mary Beth brought up the meeting that Ken Johnston and Barrett Morris had with the service
staff. It was felt that these meetings were very productive and gave everyone a pathway to developing
a dialogue to address the concerns of the service staff.
The next CSSAC meeting will be held on April 21st in SUL 327. We will be having a presentation at that
meeting of the PUC Portal.