Smith College Staff Council
Meeting Minutes
August 7, 2002 (Approved at the September
11, 2002
meeting)
The August monthly meeting of Staff Council was held on Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 2:15 p.m. in the Mary Maples Dunn Room at Pierce Hall.
Attending: Kim Allen, Stacey Anasazi, Cyndee Button, Connie Dragon, Chris Carr Hill, Susan Hollingsworth, Merrilyn Lewis, Laura Matta, Ann Mayo, Angela Musiak, Janine Nye, Sam Rush, Patricia Swan, and Michael Washut
Excused: Cristen Abrams, Lakisha Coppedge, Gary Duffy, Alicia Guidotti, Serena Harris, Patty Kimura, Anne-Marie LaFosse, Karen LeHouiller, Bob Lesko, Janice McDowell, Dianne Mikucki, Steve Monteiro and Tara Zidonik
Sam Rush called the meeting to order at 2:15 p.m.
1. REVIEW MINUTES
The minutes of the June 6th and
June 19th meetings were approved.
2.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. Activities:
New co-chairs are Louann Krawczynski and Sabrina Marsh. Since neither of them are members of Staff Council, Anne-Marie and Ann will take turns reporting out.
The first few activities are in process: bus trips to New York City, to one of the casinos and to Bright Nights.
The game plan is to set up a schedule at the beginning of each semester and try to advertise once for all the events taking place that semester.
Still searching for an intern to share with the Communications Committee.
Next meeting is scheduled for August 21st.
B. Communications:
Cristen Abrams is on maternity leave and Cyndee Button will report out in her absence.
Council Chronicle: Navae Homstead and Sabrina Marsh have volunteered to be the co-editors and it will probably be a four-page, bi-monthly publication.
Lunch and Learn Series: Tracy Putnam, a gardener at the Botanic Garden, will talk about bedding plants for the winter. This will most likely be held during the last week of September. Sam offered to add a link on the website to help advertise.
Next meeting: September 19th at 2:00 p.m. in the Kahn Institute Conference Room.
C. Nominations and Elections:
Serena wasn't present but I reported out that she informed the Steering Committee that she is working with the President's Office on a new presidential appointee to replace Bob Lesko.
D. Personnel Policy:
Workload Focus Group: Brenda Allen needs to meet with the consultants about the report and that meeting will hopefully take place in the early fall.
Childcare Committee: A report based on the survey is available online at http://www.smith.edu/deanoffaculty/childcarereport.html. Merrilyn agreed to submit this to the liaison list.
New Employee Orientation: Human Resources is hiring someone to be in charge of this and three PPC committee members have volunteered to work with the HR group on this issue.
Health Plan for retirees: someone had asked the committee about the health plan options for retirees. The Staff Handbook states that employees who retire between the ages of 62-65 and who have 10 years of consecutive service in a regular position at Smith College may continue to participate in the colleges' group health plan until age 65, with the college paying half its normal benefit. For other retiring employees, Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance) are available beginning at age 65. Upon retirement, the Benefits Group will assist you in enrolling in Medicare Part B and, if you choose, a Medicare supplement plan.
"360" Review: Patricia Swan will share her experience with the committee.
Classification/Compensation Work Group: has not met yet and there are database problems.
3. NEW/OLD BUSINESS
A. Diversity Proposal Update: Staff Council is pleased President Christ strongly supports our proposal. At a senior staff meeting, President Christ asked Patty Kimura to meet with Brenda Allen and Lianne Sullivan-Crowley.
B. Skills Bank: President Christ is in support of the organization of a staff skills bank. The ad-hoc committee is Alicia, Patricia and Mike.
C. Staff Internships: President Christ is also in support of this and she had previously explained the way it worked at UC-Berkeley: if a unit had a need for someone with a certain skill, staff would be released from another area to fill that need.
D. Areas of representation: The issue of making sure every area on campus is represented still remains. Cristen had started working on a comprehensive list but someone said they thought Serena, on behalf of Nominations and Elections, had agreed to take charge of this. Since neither Cristen nor Serena were present, this issue should be discussed again in the future.
E. September 11th anniversary: Stacey asked for volunteers to help her organize the hanging of the Cut From the Same Cloth quilt. Ann, Sam, and Merrilyn volunteered.
The next regular Staff Council meeting is set for Wednesday, September 11, 2002. At 2:00 p.m. we will meet on the first floor of Neilson Library where the Cut From the Same Cloth quilt and associated materials will be on display during the week of September 11. We will gather at the display to acknowledge the occasion before moving into the Kahn Institute Colloquium Room (on the third floor) for the regular monthly meeting at 2:15 p.m. Our meetings are open, so we would welcome any members of the community who wish to join us.
The Staff Council meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Chris Carr Hill, Co-Secretary
Staff Council