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20040818 Meeting Minutes

Employee Assembly Minutes
August 18 2004
12:15–1:30pm
Boardroom Day Hall

Attendance

Present: Beth Burlew, Pamela Dusseau, Donna Goss, Meredith Graham, Nathaniel Guest, Patricia Mahoney, Janice Miles, Mary Smallwood Churchill

Excused: Joseph DeMarco, Stephanie McConnell, Seth Peacock, Cindy Williams

Unexcused:

Others present: T. Bishop, D. Stein, H. Mandeville,

I) CALL TO ORDER

P. Dusseau called the meeting to order at 12:17 pm

II) CALL FOR LATE ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

H. Mandeville asked to talk about the President’s Address.

D. Stein asked to talk about Staff Celebration Week.

III) REPORT FROM THE CHAIR

P. Dusseau reported that B. Smith had a fire at her home and is resigning from the EA because of her workload. S. McConnell is on short-term disability and unsure of a return date. Because of B. Smith’s resignation, Janice Miles has agreed to be the The Staff Awards and Recognition Committee chair. P. Dusseau and D. Stein attended the CU Leadership Development Program.

IV) UNFINISHED BUSINESS

There was none.

V) COMMITTEE REPORTS

There were none.

VI) NEW BUSINSESS

A. Vote on the expenditure for the conference room for the retreat
P. Dusseau said that the room rental at The Ramada Inn for the retreat was $279.38.

N. Guest motioned to approve the $279.38 room rental fee for the retreat.

P. Mahoney seconded.

The motion passed unanimously.

B. Review the notes from the retreat and finalize Operating Statement
P. Dusseau asked that members go around the table and describe their most embarrassing moment.

At the retreat, members identified the top values for the EA.

  • Respect
  • Honesty
  • Humor
  • Attitude
  • Be supportive
  • Teamwork
  • Informed opinions
  • Show trust and confidence

P. Dusseau asked that members agree to: “not communicate/share personal information learned in this group with others unless they have express permission from that individual”. All members present agreed.

P. Dusseau read the guidelines and asked for comments and/or thoughts.

Many of these items are covered under Robert’s Rules (RR) and some of the items listed below directly conflict with these rules. Those notes are at the end of each * marked line

� Anything needing a vote should be brought to the Executive Committee first *Conflict: the whole Assembly decides as a group what need a vote
� Action items for decisions should be indicated in communication to members before the meeting so all have time to think about the issues *Conflict: things can be brought up at meetings
� Manage discussion time prior to making a decision; Everyone should be given an opportunity to contribute so be sure to use meeting structures or the meeting chair to facilitate this
� Use the resources and expertise available and/or seek it out when needed;
� Table motions for further discussion as necessary *There are specific rules governing the ending discussions or referring to committee for further work
� Listen to all opinions first�have everyone weigh in
� Be sure all necessary questions have been asked and answered before trying to make a decision
� Decide on a set of guidelines to be followed (in addition to Robert’s Rules on process) for making the decision before we make it so we know on what basis we are deciding *Perhaps we could have a meeting-workshop on RR
� Try to reach consensus before any voting or making a decision final in some way is used (Could also try using rock/scissors/paper, or drawing straws, or a coin toss as deemed appropriate or viable, to make decisions) * Conflict
� Create a clear statement on exactly we are deciding on before we finalize a vote or decision

H. Mandeville suggested adding “whenever possible” to the first and second bullet.

P. Mahoney suggested deleting the first 2 bullets altogether.

N. Guest said that all issues should be brought to the EA and the whole group should decide on voting.

B. Burlew said that the first bullet should go to the entire EA. For the second bullet, she said that information should be sent out early and deal with anything late when it comes up.

J. Miles agreed with B. Burlew.

N. Guest agreed with B. Burlew.

M. Smallwood Churchill suggested deleting the first 2 bullets as well.

D. Goss said that the vice chair should get information in a timely manner.

H. Mandeville encouraged members to keep the bullets in question because there is value in each of them. She suggested re-wording.

P. Dusseau asked for suggestions for next steps.

P. Mahoney said that everyone should review the notes from the retreat and send comments to P. Dusseau. Members should focus on the guidelines. This will be used as the Operating Statement.

VII) OPEN FORUM

D. Stein said that the September 14 is the Day Of Caring Food Drive, October 11–16 is Staff Celebration Week, and October 16 is Employee Day.

H. Mandeville said that the President’s Address is scheduled for October 11 in Kennedy Hall.

VIII) ADJOURNMENT

P. Dusseau adjourned at 1:32.

Contact EA

109 Day Hall

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY 14853

ph. (607) 255—3715

employeeassembly@cornell.edu