Smith College Staff Council
Meeting Minutes
July 17, 2001 (APPROVED at the August 14,
2001
meeting)
A meeting of the full Staff Council was held on July 17, 2001 at 2:00 p.m. in the Mary Maples Dunn Room at Pierce Hall.
Attending: Cristen Abrams, Stacey Anasazi, Jack Begleiter, Cyndee Button, Sandy Bycenski, Patrick Diggins, Lisa Dwinell, Alicia Guidotti, Serena Harris, Patty Hayes, Patty Kimura, Mimi Lempart, Ann Mayo, Stephanie Schoen, Bill Sheehan, Joe Stoddart, and Mike Washut.
Excused: Carla Coffey, Chris Carr Hill, Honey Gillman, Anne Marie LaFosse, Bob Lesko, Merrilyn Lewis, Janice McDowell, Steve Monteiro, Michelle Moye, and Sam Rush.
Patty Kimura called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m. All members introduced themselves and were given table name cards to be used at all future meetings.
REVIEW MINUTES
Minutes of the June 2001 meeting
were approved pending an edit of Deb Letourneau's
name.
NEW COMMITTEE REPORTS
Patty Kimura announced the new committee chairs: Serena Harris @
Nominations
& Elections, Sam Rush (Acting Chair) @ Communications,
Sandy Bycenski
@ Personnel Policy, and Lisa Dwinell (Representative on
the Steering Committee)
with Cindy Rucci and Wendy Martinez (Co-Chairs) @
Activities. Patty suggested
that the chair of a committee optimally
should be someone that is not already
sitting on the Steering Committee
to widen the diversity and input on Steering.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Activities
Lisa Dwinell reported that their introduction meeting consisted of reviewing, updating, and explaining the responsibilities of the committee. An election was held electing Lisa Dwinell as Representative on the Steering Committee and Wendy Martinez and Cindy Rucci as Co-Chairs. Throughout the summer Six Flags discount tickets will be sold. Unfortunately, the Bronx Zoo was a washout, as it rained most of the day. Volunteers are being sought for the Northampton Food Festival and ribbons are being ordered for Denim Day. The next meeting will be Thursday, August 9, 2001.
Patty Kimura read a thank you note received from the Cancer Connection, thanking Staff Council for $752 in donations collected from the Staff Picnic.
Communications
Patty Hayes reported that the committee has not elected a chair. In the meantime, Sam Rush has agreed to be the acting-chair. Van tours and the accompanying fact sheets were discussed. The Council Chronicle's next issue will be published in October and Patty Hayes is meeting with Eric Weld late in July.
Nominations and Elections
Newly elected chair, Serena Harris, reported that the committee has not met in awhile. She will meet with Bill Sheehan for past information.Smith College Council on Community Policy nominees needed:
The SCCCP committee consists of senior administrators, students, faculty, staff, alumnae, and town representatives. Committee issues include United Way, parking, student smoking, etc. Two non-steering staff council members are needed for SCCCP that presently includes two Steering Committee members (P. Kimura, S. Bycenski) and two non-staff council members. The committee meets once a month on Fridays, 3:15-4:45 p.m. during the academic year. Contact Patty Kimura if you are interested.
Personnel Policy
Sandy Bycenski reported as the new chair of PPC. Chrissie Bell, past Chair, passed on detailed notes on the following ongoing issues:Tuition benefits @Debbie Novak of Human Resources is working out details
Employee Reviews of Supervisor @ can be difficult for a one-person office, explore departmental reviews
Exit interviews @ questions remain about the integrity of data because they are voluntary. If exit interviews are done, sometimes a company is hired to conduct exit interviews with former employees, about six months after their termination date.
Dental benefits @ increasing benefit options through tiered costs
Child care @ offering sliding scale costs
Hampshire United Way @ is Smith staying on?
Lianne Sullivan-Crowley will attend the next meeting on Tuesday, August 28, 2-3 p.m. in the Human Resources' conference room.
Patty Kimura encouraged all Staff Council members to see themselves as active participants on their respective committees. Step forward in leadership roles and check in with each other about the sharing of workload. Also, be mindful of the council's commitment to diversity always seeking opportunities to connect with others. Please feel free to bring forward new ideas within committees, plus there is always flexibility to form smaller sub-committees or ad-hoc committees.
NEW/OLD BUSINESS
Ergonomics Committee
Mimi
Lempart explained that the committee has been in existence for 4-5
years,
headed by Cheryl Donaldson-Davis. The committee serves as a sub-group
of
the Cross Campus Safety Committee chaired by Tony Symanski and focuses
on
ergonomic education through workshops, an info table at the benefits
fair, and maintains a new ergonomics web page with many links. The
committee
members no longer perform assessments that are now handled
directly by a
hired consultant, through HR. The committee meets 4 or 5
times during the
academic year and is looking for new members. Patty
Hayes and Mike Washut
volunteered to join.
Picnic Tables
Bob Lesko reported that the picnic tables
would soon be installed on the
cement pads.
The next Staff Council meeting will be August 14, 2:00 p.m. in the Mary Maples Dunn room, Pierce Hall. The next Steering Committee meeting will be July 25, 2:00 p.m. in Garrison Hall.
The Staff Council meeting was adjourned at 2:58 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Cyndee Button,
Co-Secretary Staff Council