Minutes for August 1, 2001

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Meeting Minutes -AUGUST 1, 2001

The Staff Senate met on Wednesday, August 1, 2001 in the Senate Room of the University Center with Russell Crosby, president presiding. The meeting was called to order at 2:07 p.m.
Senators present were: Crosby, Bowen, Fleming, Ford, Gonzalez, Graham, Pirkle, Pritchard, Saiz, Sims, Wade, Wagner, Womble, Boyer, Clawson, Dragich, Rubino, Billingsley, Cates, Peterson, Whyburn, Benton, Ellis, Hunter, Kinghorn, Moore, Pruitt, Reynolds, Robbins, Welch, White, Burns, Esquibel, Lira, Segura, Vinson, Harris, Lowe, Snider.
Senators Yeates, McConnel, Vinson, C., were excused. Senators Miranda and Vasquez were absent.

Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the June 6, 2001 meeting were approved as written with the deletion of the following sentence: “Kerry, let me know if you want all of this included in the minutes.” It was moved by Kerry Billingsley and seconded by Pat Cates that the minutes be accepted as written with the correction note; the motion passed unanimously.

Oath of Office
The Oath of Office was administered and newly elected Senators Ron Nail, Shauna Peterson, Tim Segura, and Kathy Schuessler were officially installed as Senators.

Treasury Report
Senator Whyburn presented June and July treasury reports.
--The first charges for the cell phone have been received.
--Gavel was purchased for the President.
--Expenses for New Senator Orientation are being received.
--Budget for FY 2002 has been submitted; the balance will be rolled forward.
It was moved by Kerry Billingsley and seconded by Jeannine Reynolds that the reports be accepted; the motion passed unanimously.

Slate of Officers for FY 2001-2002
Nominations for officers were:
President-Elect:
Maurice Welch was nominated as President-Elect. Kerry moved that nominations cease, and that Maurice be elected by acclamation. The motion passed unanimously.
Treasurer:
Nominations were Jeanine Reynolds and Shauna Peterson.
Jeanine Reynolds was elected.
Secretary:
Janelle Pritchard and Kathy Womble; Janelle Pritchard was elected.
Executive Board Members:
Clerical - Barbara Graham
Executive/Administrative/Management - Pat Cates
Professional - Terry Moore
Service - Tim Segura
Crafts/Trades - Steven Boyer
Paraprofessional - Sherri Snider

EEO Classification Committee Representatives:
Nominations Committee:
Paraprofessional - Sherri Snider
Service - David Lira
Crafts/Trades - Chance Dragich
Service - Roger Vinson
Executive/Administrative/Management - Kay Whyburn
Clerical - Emily Saiz
Grievance Committee:
Professional - Sabrina Robbins
Service - Jeff Burns
Crafts/Trades - Steve Clawson
Technical/Paraprofessional - Paula Lowe
Executive/Administrative/Management - Kerry Billingsley
Clerical - Kathy Womble
Election Committee:
Professional - Ron Nail
Service - Jesse Esquibel
Crafts/Trades - Scott Rubino
Technical/Paraprofessional - Paula Lowe
Executive/Administrative/Management - Shauna Peterson
Clerical - Kerri Ford

Sick Leave Task Force
Committee has fulfilled charge. Sandy Ellis was appointed to continue to conduct research that relates to the alternative sick leave policy in the Physical Plant. The committee will meet to discuss the issue of the sick leave pool.

Time Off Reward Task Force
Proposal is complete and ready for submission to the Executive Board.

Ombudsman Committee
Resolution is ready to present to Executive Board.

Child Care Committee
Project continues to move forward; a Development Officer has been assigned to the Childcare project. Next step is RFQ - Request for Qualifications.

President's Report
Presentations by Mike Ellicott on parking garages and Manuel Escamilla, Special Assistant to the President for Equity and Diversity will be rescheduled.

Legislative Update
Gloria Hale, Assistant Vice President Human Resources, presented an update on the legislative issues that will impact state employees. They included: Statutory increase in the amount of 4% or $100 per month or whichever is greater for staff employees who have been continuously employed with the state since September 1, 2001.

Employees will receive longevity pay in the amount of $20 per month for each three years of lifetime service credit.

Additional information may be obtained on the Personnel Department website.

President Schmidly Budget Up-date
President David Schmidly provided the Staff Senate with an up-date on the budget. Dr. Schmidly pointed out if the university is going to grow; one of the pressing issues is that of faculty turnover and salaries. Salaries for faculty at Tech is ranked among the lowest in the state and the Big 12. Another factor contributing to the budget concerns is the statutory 4% increase mandated by the state. Departments are being required to fund the salary increase without receiving additional funds.

President Schmidly also commented that considerable progress has been made on the Strategic Plan. He stated that this is possibly one of the best plans of any university. One of the major goals of the plan is to provide service learning and community service to students.
Other Business
A problem currently exists when Senators are promoted. The promotion results in the Senator having to resign from the Senate because of moving to a different classification. It was moved by Kerry to suspend the Bylaws and Constitution until these documents can be reviewed and a solution represented to the Senate. There were multiple seconds. Motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 4:05 p.m.

Texas Tech University

Minutes for August 1, 2001