03-24-2009

Staff Assembly Executive Council

Tue, 3/24/2009 1:30-3 PM

Minutes

Attended:           Bertholf, Marcia; Gibson, William; Gieber, Kimberly; Hickman, Connie; Kostelec, William; Pagsanjan, Rodolfo.

Guests:                                Correia, John.

Absent:                                Franks-Harding, Karen; Price, Ann; Woodard, Timothy; Wilkinson, Jill.

Minutes for 3/10/09

Move reference to Fr. Spitzer recognition at Heads Up Gonzaga from the Spring Open Meeting section into Budget Report section.   Bill motioned approval, Rodolfo seconded, group unanimously approved.

Compensation Committee Update
John Correia reported that the compensation committee is meeting every two weeks or so for benefit renewal discussions.  Premera claims are less this year thus far, which helps minimize any potential for premium increases.  Current discussions with the faculty benefits committee, staff compensation committee, and HR staff  include demographic usage, the potential for more vision services, dependent pregnancy coverage, Fidelity investment options and customer service, and the long-term disability plan.  The committee is interested in being able to find ways to gather staff input to assist in this process in the future. 

Cares Initiative Status

Rodolfo clarified the current focus of the inititaive is how staff can serve each other.  A proposed budget allowing for an institutional workstudy for information management and to assist with volunteer assignments, meetings and supplies has been prepared.  The group discussed the parameters and design of the program, and the need for an operational structure to be in place before launching the program, versus an ability to go forward with a skeleton structure utilizing council members.   Volunteer recruitment could take place at Heads Up Gonzaga to get started, and working with HR to refer volunteers to people in need will be required soon after.    Rodolfo will convene the committee and draft a cover letter to accompany the proposal and budget which William can take to Fr. Spitzer sometime before the Heads-Up-Gonzaga event on April 29.

Staff-L Management

William shared that last year Joan Allbery approached him with a request that the Marketing and Communications department appoint a gatekeeper for the staff employee listserv, staff-l.  William expressed a wish that the executive council manage the list.  Joan expressed concern that the system being used as an open forum would create system overload problems, and also be at risk for spam and security issues.  She requested special training by Tom Buck for anyone who will help manage, which Marcia is helping to organize.  When the list was created ten years ago, an IT person was designated as a gatekeeper.  Today, the Staff Assembly Secretary and members of the Outreach Committee are approved to post.   A policy and procedure document for the Marketing and Communications department regarding Morning Mail, provided courtesy of Shelly Humbert, was reviewed and discussed as a potential guideline for managing Staff-l in the future.

Council Representative Position Opening

This position will be filled as a result of the annual vote process.

Board of Regents Position Opening

The position currently held by Dale Goodwin will end as of June 30, 2009. 

Mission Award Placards

Placards for the most recent award recipients are ready for pickup.  William will take care of these. 

Heads Up Gonzaga

Marcia has arranged for special recognition of Fr. Spitzer.  Lunch menu will be Cobb Salad. 

Action Items

Rodolfo will finalize the Cares Initative Proposal
William will take the final Cares Initiative Proposal to Fr. Spitzer

Marcia will facilitate listserv training by Tom Buck for staff-l posters

William will obtain and post the mission award placards