WCU Staff Forum Meeting Minutes
February 10, 2005, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.
UC Cardinal Room
Present:William Frady, Lisa Frady, Ronnie Amster, Marvin Bumgarner, Cory Causby, Ronnie Deitz, Alicia Estes, Clifton Fisher, Larry Hammer, Debbie Justice, Terry Riouff, Michele Sutton, Julie Walters-Steele, Irene Welch
Non-Members Present:Kathy Wong
Absent: Dawne Coward, Linda Beja, Scott Powell, Bill Studenc
Members were welcomed and the meeting was called to order by Terry Riouff.
Approval of Agenda:The agenda for today’s meeting was approved.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the January 13, 2005 meeting were approved.
Information Items: The next Executive Committee meeting is scheduled forThursday, March 3, 2005, 2:00-3:00 p.m. in Room 350 HFR.
The next Staff Forum meeting will be held onThursday, March 10, 2005, 8:30-10:30 a.m., in the Cardinal Room of the UC.
Human Resources Report:Letters were sent out in January to each SPA employee informing them of whether or not they received a pay increase as a result of the funds Chancellor Bardo allocated. The increases were reflected in January paychecks. Kathy is interested in any feedback from that members of the staff forum might receive. The Human Resources office received fewer phones calls than expected relative to this. The average increase was around $500 and affected 276 employees.
Comments were that generally employees were appreciative of the increases. There was a letter written to the Chancellor thanking him for allocating the funds to support this initiative.
HR is planning for the possibility of another adjustment for next year. Hopefully additional funds can be identified and they want to be prepared to implement it.
There will be a Benefit Network Meeting involving all 16 campuses of the UNC system. There will be in-depth conversations about the new pilot health insurance program.
Campus Committee Reports: University Advisory Council – The UAC met last Tuesday.
·  There is a newly renovated web site:www.wcu.edu/uacis live now. Please take a look at the website and then share any feedback. Carol Burton, the SACS coordinator was a visitor at the UAC meeting. This was a good information session.
·  The overview of the Town Hall meeting regarding health insurance benefits was generally positive. There were over 170 people in attendance and there was a good mix of faculty/staff/administrators represented at the meeting. We received many compliments on our informed questions and our professional attitude at this meeting.
·  Budgeting Guidelines: There is a Budgeting Guidelines Committee that will be gathering input on the budgeting process and how the decision making process works. The committee’s goal is to develop overarching themes on how funding is allocated. This committee will offer suggestions on how the funds are allocated/spent. Keith Stiles from this budgeting committee met with the UAC to carry information back
·  There is a subcommittee of the UAC (Morale Committee) that has recently met. This committee is working on ideas to improve the overall morale of staff at WCU. One of the suggestions put forth was to model a program here after the “Spirit” program used by the Bank of America. This model utilizes a reward/recognize good deeds/work well-done system. They use a “Spirit Card” and a point system. Points can be spent at their store. Some ideas for rewards included: Free parking, clothing store items, athletic tickets, free movie passes, concert tickets, etc. There would also be a banquet for all who were recognized this way. If any one has other ideas for this, please contact Cory or Terry (both serve on the Morale Committee).
Calendar Committee: Larry said the Committee has not met - No report.
SF Committee Reports: Human Resources: Irene reported that they are studying flexible scheduling for the summer. She is working on research with other institutions. The results of this research will be shared with Dr. Hinson and Dr. Carter. Resources and Environment: Committee has not met. Meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday. Public Relations: Committee has not met. Scholarship: Michelle was not at the meeting. Governance: They are working on the elections. Jeff Bewsey will be getting the nominations out in February. Seats to fill: Keith Ashe, Cory Causby, Bill Studenc, Glenna Young, Ronnie Deitz, Lisa Frady, Phyllis Bolick, and Larry Hammer.
The Staff Forum is maintaining more of a presence in the Reporter. Teri McDermott has offered tours of the Fine and Performing Arts Center. There is a proposal to expand the tuition waiver program to include both summer sessions; however, this would require legislative action. The office of the President and the Board of Governors is support of this initiative.
Kathy will bring legislative agenda items to the March meeting.
Issues Status Report: All current issues remain unchanged.
Old Business: Discussion on the Health Care Town Hall Meeting: Kitty was very complimentary of our campus and our staff. She left with a very good impression. It was appreciated that there was no attempt to “slam” the current health plan. Our folks were very well informed about the current plan. At the luncheon following the town hall meeting there was informal conversation about the well thought-out questions that were asked at the town hall meeting.
If the pilot program is approved and the legislature gives the go-ahead, we’d be looking at a year at least to get the new plan in place and implemented. There will be additional focus groups to work on the issues. The Pilot program would still be part of the State Plan and legislative appropriations to the State plan would remain the same. The question is, “Can we do a better job with the same money?”
New Business: Carol Burton will be our guest at the March meeting. She will provide an overview of the SACS accreditation process.
Lisa Frady and Fred Wright will be the staff representatives on the Master Planning Committee.
Open Comments:
Julie Walters-Steele reminded everyone about upcoming movies that will be shown at the UC Theatre and invited everyone to attend. Matinee showings have been added for kid-friendly movies like “The Incredibles”.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 a.m.
Respectfully submitted: Alicia Estes for Dawne Coward