Dickinson State University
Staff Senate Minutes

February 16, 2006, 1:30 p.m.-Klinefelter Conference Room 107

Members present:  Kathy Bercier, James Haaland, Dustin Heick, Loretta Heidt, Sandy Klein, Amy Markwardt, Heather Meek, Kathy Obritsch, Twila Petersen, Cecilia Taylor, and Sr. Faith Wanner.

Members absent:  Laurie Beach, Stacey Buckman, Michael Calhoun, Rita Ennen, Roberta Kudrna, Kathy Lang, Karen Madler, and Kim Thiel.

Call to Order:  1:35 p.m. by President Loretta Heidt

Adoption of Agenda:  Sr. Faith Wanner moved to adopt agenda with changes; Kathy Obritsch seconded; motion carried.

Approval of Minutes:  Heather Meek moved to accept the minutes; Kathy Bercier seconded; motion carried.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Standing Committees:

Continuing Education Committee: 

Twila Petersen reported. They are waiting to hear from Joanne Fields about the Staff Senate modified requests for training.

Social Committee:
Heather Meek reported. They distributed candy in mailboxes for Valentines Day to Faculty, Adjunct Faculty, and Staff, including Extended Campus in Bismarck.  The candy was purchased by the President’s office.  There were very appreciative comments from recipients.

Hiring Process of Staff Committee:
Loretta Heidt reported. They plan to have the document done by mid-March for review by Staff Senate.  They will then present it to Gail Ebeltoft and President Vickers.

Emergency Preparedness Committee:
Kathy Obritsch indicated that there is nothing new to report.

Bulletin Board Committee:
Jim Haaland and Dustin Heick reported.  They distributed a draft policy regarding the use of bulletin boards on campus.  Staff Senators should review the draft policy and email comments, suggestions to committee members before the end of February so they can submit the policy to Cabinet at the end of February.

Job Discipline and Dismissal:
No report.

Parking Issues:
Jim Haaland reported.  They are waiting for Faculty Senate to endorse the petition regarding parking on campus.  Faculty Senate met at noon today (02/16/2006).  Committee members will contact Faculty Senate regarding the petition and getting signatures of Faculty and Staff.

Grievance Procedure:
Loretta Heidt reported.  The policy and procedures should be completed by the end of the semester and in place for the 2006-2007 school year.

Staff Senate Web Page:
The committee has not met yet.  There was discussion of what would be on the web page.  Some ideas included Staff Senate minutes, mission, Staff Senators, open forum, election materials, etc.

Criminal Background Checks:
Amy Markwardt reported.  She received some email responses regarding the draft policy.  Loretta submitted the Staff Senate response by February 9, 2006.  Staff Senate can add comments.

Campus Senate:
Loretta Heidt reported about some of the issues that were discussed at the Campus Senate meeting with Dr. Vickers.  NDUS initiative to recruit International students is dropped; ConnectND is not working as needed; there will be a meeting to discuss; Centers of Excellence - there is $1 million left; P-16 Task Force - admission requirements; Praxis II test results - if not 80% pass rate, could affect DSU’s accreditation; Criminal background checks; Tuition rates 2006-2007 increase by 6.5% just to cover campus utilities; Roundtable meeting on Wednesday 02/15/2006 to discuss MGT Consultants findings.

Old Business:
1)      Staff Recognition Award:  Dr. Vickers and the Foundation Board agreed to increase the staff awards to $1,000 this year.  Nominees for the Staff Recognition award are strongly encouraged to apply.  The proposal requesting that the Staff Recognition award be increased to $1,500 was submitted too late for this year.  Staff Senate will now pursue getting the award amount increased to $1,500.

2)      Senate Election By-Laws Revision:  waiting for President Vickers to sign the revision.

3)      Children at Work:  Heather Meek reported on the information that Dr. McClellan provided at the Faculty/Staff Open Forum.  It was recommended that the committee contact Gail Ebeltoft where in the process the policy is.

4)      Monthly Staff Award:  President Vickers is receptive to having a monthly staff award in the form of leave time.  He will research whether DSU could give additional 8 hours of leave time.

5)      Drug Compliance:  Twila Petersen reported.  She indicated that Gail Ebeltoft receives a list of annual notifications that need to go out to Students, Staff, and Faculty regarding compliances.  Gail is working on a master list and the drug compliance notifications will be taken care of through the Human Resource department.

New Business:

1)      Staff Emeritus Status:  A committee was formed to include Jim Haaland, Kathy Bercier, Amy Markwardt, and Sr. Faith Wanner.

2)      Plaques:  There was discussion about recognizing outgoing Staff Senate officers for their years of service on Staff Senate.  The discussion included what might be the best way to do this.  Twila will research costs of a large plaque with small nameplates added to it each year.

3)      Other:  Loretta Heidt asked whether Staff Senators would be willing to sell Make-A-Wish raffle tickets.

Adjournment:  Amy Markwardt moved to adjourn the meeting, Jim Haaland seconded; adjourned at 2:50 p.m. by President Loretta Heidt.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 23, 2006 at 1:30 p.m. in Klinefelter Conference Room 107.

Respectfully Submitted,

Cecilia Taylor, Secretary