Smith College Staff Council
Meeting Minutes
October 3, 2001 (Approved at the November
7, 2001
meeting)
A meeting of the full Staff Council was held on October 3, 2001 at 2:00 p.m. in the Mary Maples Dunn Room at Pierce Hall.
Attending: Cristen Abrams, Stacey Anasazi, Jack Begleiter, Sandy Bycenski, Cyndee Button, Lisa Dwinell, Serena Harris, Patty Hayes, Patty Kimura, Anne-Marie LaFosse, Mimi Lempart, Merrilyn Lewis, Ann Mayo, Steve Monteiro, Patty Rist, Stephanie Schoen and Bill Sheehan.
Excused: Carla Coffey, Patrick Diggins, Alicia Guidotti, Chris Carr Hill, Bob Lesko, Honey Gillman, Janice McDowell, Sam Rush, Joe Stoddart and Mike Washut.
Patty Kimura called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m.
REVIEW MINUTES
Minutes of the September 2001
meeting were approved as amended, correcting
the date of Denim Day to
October 5.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Activities
Lisa Dwinell reported that there was nothing new to report at this
time.
Communications
Cristen Abrams reported that Jo
Cannon Carlson, a non-staff Council member,
has set up five Lunch and
Learn sessions for the upcoming year:
October 24, 1-2pm, Khalilah Karim-Rushdan will share her experience as a Muslim
November 12, 12-1pm, Susan Barker and Amy Holich (Staff Visions participants) will present their works of art
February 12, 1-2pm, various craft demonstrations
March 13, 12-1pm, Gallery Talk by participants in the Staff Visions art show
April 16, 1-2pm, Alicia Guidotti will present "Vieques: What is all the fuss about?"
The committee is continuing to work on the van tour informational sheet, "Did You Know?"
In order to update Staff Council representation on the liaison list, Cristen asked that Staff Council members sign their names by the departments they frequently are in contact with to improve access to communication.
The next meeting is Wednesday, October 17, 2-3 pm, Garrison Hall.
Patty Hayes announced that the next Council Chronicle will be distributed the first week of November. The feature article will be about John Connolly. Articles also to be included in the issue: commentary on September 11- coordinated with the "Cut From the Same Cloth" project, Leroy Truehart, Cheryl Donaldson-Davis, Staff Art Show, Lunch and Learn series, and an article about the Activities Committee.
Nominatins and Elections
Serena Harris reported that the
committee has a new member, Pat Rist. Since
Joe Stoddart has resigned
with great regret, the committee will work on
his replacement.
Personnel Policy Committee
Sandy Bycenski reported that the
committee met with Lianne Sullivan-Crowley
on September 21.
For Smith employees taking courses at other Colleges/Universities: the three year waiting period was reduced to one year, and the total amount reimbursed was increased from a maximum amount of up to $300 per semester to a maximum amount of up to $1500 per academic year. The tuition policy change was approved and will be effective for those individuals taking classes this fall.
The workload focus group letters will be going out at the end of October, later than expected due to the confusion whether Human Resources or Staff Council were sending the letters.
HR encourages exit interviews by supervisors before employees leave. HR monitors offices that have a high level of turnover. Lianne Sullivan-Crowley promotes contacting the ombudsperson or Patty Kimura when office difficulties are encountered.
A tiered dental plan cannot be offered at this time because there are not enough employees to support a non-loss situation for the provider, but HR is looking into the possibility of merging plans with other Five College dental programs. Note: Mt. Holyoke and Hampshire College do not offer any dental plans.
The Childcare Committee is focusing on how to make campus childcare costs less prohibitive and to increase the hours that are offered.
HR is working on generic job descriptions to make job descriptions more understandable, better allow movement within Smith, and expand options for hiring.
The next meeting is October 16, 2-3pm.
NEW / OLD BUSINESS
Dr. Adrianne
Andrews :
Patty Kimura introduced Smith College's new
ombudsperson, Dr. Adrianne Andrews,
whose office is at 8 College Lane
(across from the Admissions' office).
A description of the ombudsperson's
role and responsibilities was handed
out noting that an updated version
will be distributed on campus soon. Adrianne
said that it was good to be
back on campus, having left 8 years ago. She
is a resource person for
listening and facilitating change in behavior,
who is experienced in
anthropology and establishing good rapport with people.
She is currently
involved in formal mediation training through the Educational
Collaborative Mediation Training program in Greenfield.
Winter
Party
A staff member suggested the possibility of not holding the
staff winter
party this year, thereby donating the saved money to
charity. The council
decided that the event is an important opportunity
for employees to gather
together. It was decided that a fundraiser at the
party would be a great
idea to pursue.
Art on the
Fence
Merrilyn Lewis, Stacey Anaszi, Ann Mayo and Jack Begleiter
reported that
they are moving along quickly on the Art on Fence project,
"Cut From
the Same Cloth." The goal of the project is to give
everyone the opportunity
to be heard and to express their feelings and
emotions about the tragic
events of September 11. The committee has
received strong feedback in support
of the idea to create this visual
representation of emotions created through
interactive art. Staff Council
discussed the need to add another topic such
as "anger," and
the importance of project documentation through
videotaping or
photographs. The committee hopes to provide additional feedback
to the
campus community after the artwork is removed from the display fence.
The
project will run from Thursday, October 11 through Monday, October 22,
2001. Volunteers are needed for cloth ripping, setting up boxes of
supplies
at the various campus locations, and monitoring supplies during
the installation.
The next Staff Council meeting will be Wednesday, November 7, 2001, 2:30 p.m. (note: change in time from 2:00 p.m.) in the Mary Maples Dunn Room, Pierce Hall. The Staff Council meeting was adjourned at 3:23 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Cyndee Button, Co-Secretary
Staff Council