Employee Assembly Meeting
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
12:15–1:30 p.m.
316 Day Hall
Minutes

I. Call to Order

B. Cornell called the meeting to order at 12:20 p.m.

II. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda

There were no late additions to the agenda.

IV. Report from SA representative

No report.

V. Report from UA representative

B. Cornell asked for a report. L. Lawrence said they will be reviewing and revising their charter next year.

VI. Report from EA representative to the Faculty Senate

A. Mittman said there have been no meetings, so he had no report.

VII. Report from Staff Climate Survey Steering Committee representative

These meetings have been suspended, so it was agreed to remove this item from the agenda.

VIII. Report from Chair

B. Cornell said he was chairing his last meeting today. He then wished the EA well and said he has enjoyed serving, and will stay involved after his term ends. He then invited everyone to the Board of Trustees open meeting where Jason Seymour will be giving the EA’s annual report in his absence. He said he would not miss this, except he is graduating college the same day.

IX. Approval of Minutes

B. Cornell asked the members to take a look at the minutes, and then asked for a motion to approve.

a) May 6, 2009

P. Mahoney made a motion to approve the minutes. P. Korolov seconded. The members voted and the minutes were approved.

X. Committee Reports

G. Stewart asked and commented about seeing a resolution and voting on it in the same meeting. J. Seymour said the resolution on the Charter changes is very simple and straightforward. A. Epstein clarified it was adding language back in that was mistakenly taken out.

e) Emergency Grant Fund (CARE Fund)

P. Mahoney gave a brief explanation of the history of the resolution to move the EGF to OWDELQ, and the rational behind it. The main reason for the shift would be so that people who are experiencing an emergency will be handled by staff who have been trained and are prepared to respond. She then commended Deb Billups, Dennis Stein, and Michael Esposito for the amazing work they have done. She said they definitely need to keep the history and keep the original members involved. P. Mahoney then explained that the EA would continue to be involved in the future for input and guidance, and there would be one EA member on the new committee. B. Cornell said he was open for questions.

K. Speiser, a member of the UA, said the fund is now an available option for payroll deduction that is open to any employee that wants to give, including faculty. She said she agrees that dealing with people in emergencies should be handled by those who are qualified.

L. Lawrence said he sent an email with a few changes; one to clarify what fiscal year is, and the other to remove the names of people-just use their titles.

G. Stewart asked if there were any questions or comments from the founding members. B. Cornell said there were some concerns that he has heard of. D. Stein said he and two other members are against the resolution because they feel the EA will lose a part of its history if it gives up the program. He also said this seemed rushed, and that he felt outgoing members would be voting on something that new members would have to deal with.

K. Speiser said there has been a lack of involvement of the committee for quite some time, and noted there was some question as to the actual membership of the committee. She said the new committee would have faculty and emeritus members on it. She then said she believed it would be best if all employees could donate to, and benefit from, the fund.

D. Brooks, a new member, said he felt most faculty made a substantial amount of money, so he suggested there be a salary cap in place to receive a grant. B. Cornell said the Hardship Fund does have a salary cap.

P. Mahoney said there have been many things working independently of the EA for a long time. She said if the fund stays with the EA then the EA should be in charge and take a more active role in it. D. Stein commented that three members of the committee have a very robust history with the EA. P. Mahoney also said she is very concerned the EA is not qualified or trained to be in charge of this program.

B. Cornell asked what would be lost by shifting the program to OWDELQ. D. Stein replied that ownership, long history, a good marketing cornerstone, and the future grant recipients knowing the money is coming from the EA. A guest asked the question in a different way, what would be lost by approving the resolution and shifting the program out of the EA? P. Mahoney said there are currently 2 funds; 1 for accessing to give grants, and 1 to deposit gifts into. This will not change if the committee lives somewhere else. A. Epstein explained the difference between the Hardship Fund and the EGF. K. Speiser said the EA falls under the Office of the Assemblies, and the Office of the Assemblies falls under the direction of Tommy Bruce, the VP of University Communications. She said she believes the division of Communications should communicate the information about the fund, but not run the fund since it helps employees, and that responsibility falls under Human Resources. She said donors to the fund are giving for all employees.

G. Stewart made a motion to table this resolution. P. Korolov seconded. L. Lawrence asked if the members would be voting.

L. Chappell-Williams said the applications go through EAP now, and they were unaware that it was not under the direct auspices of the EA. She said they are concerned about fiduciary responsibility with no one on the committee that is part of the EA. She said she feels there should be more direct oversight of the fund.

D. Brooks said he thinks the new EA should be given more time to review this resolution. A. Epstein responded this had been in the works for several months. D. Stein said he was concerned the EGF committee was never allowed to vote on the resolution.

There was a bit of chaos and talking among the members. G. Stewart asked for order.

L. Lawrence asked about the financial risks. A. Epstein said the Office of the Assemblies has been putting this off since the EGF committee has been actively trying to re-write their guidelines.

G. Stewart asked to rescind his motion to table the resolution. There was no second recorded. A. Epstein said if this is not approved and adopted today, then someone else from next years membership will have to take this up if the EA decides to revisit this.

P. Mahoney made a motion to vote on this. L. Lawrence seconded.

P. Mahoney added the EA will never lose their involvement with the fund, no matter where it lives, but said she felt it should be directed by those who are capable of both overseeing the fund and administering it. She added there would be a committee in place that is very similar to the one that exists now.

The members voted and the results were 5 yes — 1 no — 2 abstentions. B. Cornell explained that he had accepted proxies before the meeting and clarified he had followed the same policy at past meetings.

J. Seymour made a motion to extend the meeting by 10 minutes. P. Korolov seconded.

a) Executive Committee

i) Resolution Provost Initiatives

J. Seymour explained this is basically a charge to the Provost to get employees on all future committees. P. Mahoney made a motion to approve the resolution. B. Liddick seconded. The members voted and the motion passed.

j) “Ad Hoc” Charter Review

J. Seymour explained this resolution was to add back in some language that was mistakenly removed when we sent the revised EA Charter to the president.

P. Mahoney made a motion to approve the resolution. L. Lawrence seconded. The members voted and the motion passed.

g) IOC

The members then gave their nominations for next years officers.

P. Mahoney nominated J. Seymour for Chair. P. Korolov seconded. Jason accepted the nomination.

B. Cornell nominated G. Stewart for Parliamentarian. P. Korolov seconded. Gary accepted the nomination.

J. Seymour nominated A. Mittman for VC of Finance. P. Korolov seconded. Alan accepted the nomination.

B. Cornell nominated L. Croll Howell for Executive Vice Chair. P. Mahoney seconded. Linda accepted the nomination.

P. Mahoney nominated L. Lawrence for IOC. Leon declined the nomination.

P. Mahoney nominated D. Brooks for IOC. He deferred his reply for now.

XI. Old Business

No report due to time constraints.

XII. New Business

No report due to time constraints.

XIII. Open Forum

No report due to time constraints.

XIV. Adjournment

P. Mahoney made a motion to adjourn the meeting. B. Cornell adjourned the meeting at 1:40 p.m.