January 17, 2006
Staff Senate Meeting Minutes
January 17, 2006
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Present: Neely Benton, Rita Brenes, Kesha Burton, Maria Corral, Gabriela de Anda, Crystal Dootson, Reuben Gutierrez, Beatrice Henson-O’Neal, Florante Ibanez, Elmo Johnson, Jim Kelly, Nora Jayne Mallen, Elmira Melgoza, Mary Moore, Gwen Part, Katleen Saturné, Tangee Smith-Hill, Teri Taylor and Rebecca Vizcarra
Absent: Renee Bonner, Karen Carmichael, Mike Carty, Alexis Dolan, Janet Lee and Faith Sauerwald
I. Old Business
A. Report on the Holiday Party
• The Christmas party was held in the Atrium of University Hall on Tuesday, December 19, from
3:00 – 7:00 p.m. and the event was success.
• The costs incurred did not exceed the budget and were similar to the previous year’s holiday celebration expenses.
• It was estimated that appropriately 500 faculty and staff registered to attend the Christmas party.
• Additional walk-ins were welcomed, but the headcount was not recorded.
• Many raffle prizes were donated, which staff and faculty enjoyed.
• Feedback about the Holiday Party:
- Faculty and staff felt that the food was put away too quickly and would have preferred for the food to have been available for a longer period of time.
- Some faculty expressed discontent because the Holiday Party was scheduled on the same day as deadline to turn in grades. For those faculty members whose office is in University Hall the loud music was very distracting.
- Faculty and staff would like to have the Holiday Party in the evening and/or on a Saturday. An evening party and/or having it held on the weekend would allow many folks to make the necessary arrangements to obtain sitters for their children and allow them the opportunity to enjoy the party for a longer period of time without worrying about childcare.
B. Raffle Sub-Committee for Picnic and Holiday Party
• Nora Jayne Mallen and Mary Moore will Co-Chair the sub-committee
• Senators participating in this sub-committee:
1. Renee Bonner
2. Alexis Dolan
3. Florante Ibanez
4. Nora Jayne Mallen
5. Mary Moore
6. Terri Taylor
II. New Business
A. Election of Senate Secretary
• Senators must have one year tenure on the Staff Senate to be eligible to run for Staff Senate Secretary.
• The primary duty of the Staff Senate Secretary is to take minutes of the meetings and coordinate with Rosa Calderon, Staff Senate Administrative Coordinator, to prepare and disseminate the minutes accordingly.
• Eligible Senators are Rita Brenes, Maria Corral, Florante Ibanez, Gwen Part, Kat Saturne and Terri Taylor
It was moved and seconded to move forward with the nomination process. Motion passed unanimously.
• Nominations were held and Maria Corral was nominated. No further nominations were made.
It was moved and seconded to elect Maria Corral as the new Staff Senate Secretary. Motion passed unanimously.
It was moved and seconded that Alternates Neely Benton and Elmira Melgoza be made full Senators since they are representing departments that are under represented. Motion passed unanimously.
B. Official Staff Senate Translator
• In the past, the Staff Senate has noted that Spanish speaking staff members were having a difficult time reading and understanding information sent out by the Staff Senate. In an effort to better communication the Staff Senate asked for a volunteer in the Staff Senate to translate forms and flyers from English to Spanish.
• Gabriela de Anda graciously volunteered and is now the Official Staff Senate Translator.
C. Computer Loan Lottery
• Forms regarding the Computer Loan Lottery will be disseminated to those employees that do not have access to the web.
• The link that will provide all the information about the Computer Loan Lottery will be sent to Rosa Calderon who will assist in posting it on the Staff Senate section of ManeGate.
• Assistance is needed to help answer questions regarding the Computer Loan Lottery.
• Assistance is needed to help print the slips of the faculty and staff that are eligible for the Computer Loan Lottery.
• Elmo Johnson, Nora Jayne Mallen and Mary Moore volunteered to assist in answering questions and printing the slips of the eligible candidates.
• The Facilities Department will be provided with a Spanish version of the Computer Loan Lottery form. Gabriela de Anda (Official Staff Senate Translator) will be in charge of translating the form and providing it to Mary Moore to disseminate accordingly within the Facilities Department.
• Before the Computer Loan Lottery is announced, changes need to be made. To ensure that the lottery is handled as professionally as possible, a separate meeting will be held to discuss the necessary changes that need to be implemented. The Senators that have volunteered to assist with this event are as follows:
1. Renee Bonner
2. Gabriela de Anda
3. Alexis Dolan
4. Crystal Dootson
5. Janet Lee
6. Nora Jayne Mallen
7. Mary Moore
8. Faith Sauerwald
9. Beatrice Henson-O’Neal
D. Staff of the Year Award
• LMU Staff Senate of the Westchester Campus will present the Barbara Bonney Staff Member of the Year Award at the February 23 Service Awards luncheon at the Marina Del Rey Marriott.
• All staff, director or below will be eligible to be nominated for the Barbara Bonney Award.
• The recipient will be nominated by their peers based on the following critieria:
- Continued excellence in one’s professional area
- Commitment to the ideals of higher education
- Leadership and initiative within one’s area and/or the University as a whole
- Unique contribution to improving the quality of life at LMU
- Public service to the LMU community
- Development of projects or participation in events that improve the relationship between the staff and the University
• Ratings, not the number of nominations, will determine the winner of the Barbara Bonney Award.
The Staff Senate discussed the possibilities of changing the name of the Barbara Bonney Award. President Vizcarra informed the Senate that she had met with the Deans from the Law School to discuss changing the name of the Pollak Award and after careful consideration the Deans agreed to change the name of the award to “Distinguished Service Award.” In addition to the Distinguished Service Award, the recipient received a $250 certificate from funds that were made available through a toner recycling program.
Further discussion included the recommendation to photograph the winner(s) and have them made visible on ManeGate.
E. Leadership Training Retreat
• The Staff Senate unanimously agreed to hold the Leadership Training Retreat on Friday, March 2.
• The retreat is important to have and is normally held at the beginning of elections.
• The retreat will be held on campus this year. However, next year we will reserve the funds necessary to hold the retreat off site.
• A tentative agenda for the Leadership Training Retreat was distributed for the Senators to review.
• Objectives and Goals to be discussed at the retreat are as follows:
- Communication – One of the most visible and immediate concerns amongst the staff, is the issue of communication. This has been an on-going hot topic for the last decade and was a focus of the last Senate Retreat in 2002. Creating a system, which each staff member recognizes as a primary way for staff to communicate with each other will help promote involvement in LMU activities, inform staff of training and professional opportunities, highlight staff accomplishments and establish a network of encouragement for all categories of employees at LMU.
- Staff Lounge - Staff have expressed concerns about not having a lounge designated for staff.
- LMU Day @ Disneyland or at another location – Recommendations have been made to designate one day at a theme part for all LMU faculty/staff.
- Silver/Gold Service Card – To reward Staff Tenure with 15+ years of service so that they may continue to receive tuition remission for their dependent(s) and so that they may continue to receive some sort of medical/dental insurance. This is more important and necessary than say a lifetime pass to the Burns Recreation Center facilities.
- Staff Bonus Certificates – Recommendations were made to award monthly certificates (from various vendors) to staff as an incentive for their hard work and dedication.
- Holidays – Requests were made to discuss having Veteran’s Day observed.
- 9/80 Work Schedule – Requests were made to look into the possibilities of having a flexible work schedule.
- Cash Out Sick Days – Requests were made to look into cashing out sick days.
- Staff giving their vacation days away – Requests were made to look into giving vacation days away to another staff member as a gift, if desired.
- Telecommuting – Requests were made to further discuss the possibility of telecommuting and working from home at least 2 days a week.
- Staff Housing Assistance – Requests made for University to establish partnerships with local realtors and neighbors to offer housing benefits to staff. Real estate and rentals in the Westchester community are often not affordable to staff who work in the community 5-7 days a week. Incorporating staff into the resident community may help the tenuous relationship that LMU is experiencing with its neighbors. Staff would have a positive impact on the community and serve as a buffer between student-neighbor relations. When staff can eliminate long commutes, they make for happier employees who can be more committed to and invested in the community where they would not only work but live in.
- Grievance Committee – We need to make staff aware of the committee and the process of filing a grievance and remind them that the Staff Senate is not a grievance board.
- Cost of Living and Merit Increase – Cost of living increase is not in sync with the economy. Merit increases are perceived to be arbitrary and subjective.
- Comp Time – There is no uniform standard or guidelines in this area.
- Vacation Time Allocation – Requests were made to obtain further clarification on the vacation time that exempt and non-exempt employees are eligible for.
- Over Time – Requests were made to outline clearly when an employee is eligible for over time pay.
III. Looking Ahead
A. Staff Picnic
• Further meetings will be held to discuss the planning of the upcoming Staff Picnic.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
Prepared by: Rosa Calderon
Submitted by: Maria Corral