01-19-2011

Staff Assembly Executive Council Minutes

January 19, 2010

Road to Bali, Crosby

Present:   Angela Ruff, Rodolfo Pagsanjan, Erik Blackerby, Norm Leatha, Alisha West, Connie Hickman, Wendy Thompson, Toni Boggan, William Gibson,

Guest: Jane Hession, Joe Smith, Jennifer Klein, Robin Guevera

Call to Order: 11:00 a.m. by Angela Ruff, SAEC President

Treasurer Report:   Balance of $11,538.37, Expenses to date of $26,783.41.

Mission Advisory Group:

  • A new search committee is being formed for the VP of Mission
  • Staff Assembly has been asked to nominate two members from our group
  • Jane Hession will also be on the search committee, as a member of the Mission Advisory Group
  • The Mission Advisory Group is currently refining the VP of Mission job description to make it more comprehensive and more responsible for all members of the university community; will be finalized prior to the search
  • Finding a Jesuit to fill the position is a top priority
  • The Mission Advisory Group was working on revising the mission statement as well but it has been put off while they work on the VP search
  • Connie Hickman offered to be a nominee for the search committee. Other nominations should be made to Angela by 4pm today.
  • Mission Survey Update: still working on concise wording of questions and will put off so that it can be a part of the larger staff/faculty survey that Rudolfo and Norm are working on

Response to Mission Conversation:

  • Angela stated that she would like Staff Assembly to be leaders in living our mission and we are interested in staying abreast of everything mission related.
  • Fr. Maher has volunteered to do a special talk for Heads Up Gonzaga this spring. He is not available during Spring Break.
  • Joe raised the question of community service hours and explained that his prior company offered 4 hours a month rather than 3.5 a year.
  • Molly Ayers is working on a university service activity for all employees, which could be useful for employees with unused community service hours.
 

Employee Survey Project:

  • Accreditation requires the university to clarify how it is true to its mission. Mike Herzog is leading the accreditation process, and sees the survey as being valuable in meeting the accreditation information demands.
  • Staff Assembly would like to make the survey an all-encompassing tool to gain information about mission, environment, compensation, employee to employee relations, etc. The survey would be introducing a commitment to obtaining employee input on university needs and decisions.
  • Norm has been tasked with creating and submitting a rough draft to Mike Herzog in the coming weeks.

 Budget Conversation:

  • Angela handed out notes from the Spring Faculty Conference with Staff Assembly Representative's notes, reflections, and feedback. This document is available to Staff Assembly leaders on blackboard.
  • Two questions Angela asked at the Faculty Conference: 1. What portion of the budget goes to salaries and how is it prioritized? Was asked during the public Q&A session. 2. Is providing staff with appropriate technology resources a priority? Was asked of Marty Martin privately on a break.
  • Jennifer mentioned that Marty talked about Banner not being what it once was for us and asked it Joe thinks it is on the way out. Joe's understanding is that iStrategy is a product that integrates with Banner but doesn't take the place of Banner.
  • Jennifer asked if the increase in the total employee salary pool means that we are getting more than a 2% raise this year. Joe was not in a position to answer the question yet but they were set to discuss at the University Budget Committee meeting that afternoon.
  • Joe said that overall, the University needs to reevaluate those things that are built into our base budgets to know if they are still necessary. He emphasized a need to be focused on the outcomes related to expenses.
  • Angela asked if there are any business problems that Staff Assembly Representatives feel are not being heard. Training and Development was discussed. We have access to the tuition waiver and HR training classes but very little access to training outside of Gonzaga in our fields, little chance to be members of national associations or conferences.

Next Meeting:   February 2, 2011 in the Road to Utopia conference room, Crosby Student Center at 11:00 - 12:00

Adjourned:  12:10

Respectfully submitted by Alisha West

Staff Assembly Executive Council Member