Dickinson State University
Staff Senate Minutes

April 20, 2006, 1:30 p.m.-Klinefelter Conference Room 107

Members present:  Laurie Beach, Kathy Bercier, Stacey Buckman, Rita Ennen, James Haaland, Loretta Heidt, Sandy Klein, Roberta Kudrna, Kathy Lang, Karen Madler, Heather Meek, Kathy Obritsch, Twila Petersen, Cecilia Taylor, and Kim Thiel.

Members absent:  Michael Calhoun, Dustin Heick, Amy Markwardt, and Sr. Faith Wanner.

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

Adoption of Agenda:  Laurie Beach moved to adopt agenda with changes; Roberta Kudrna seconded; motion carried.

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

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Standing Committees:

Continuing Education Committee: 
Twila Petersen reported. Twila is waiting for Joanne Fields to get back to her regarding the suggested trainings for the remainder of the fiscal year.  Kathy Obritsch indicated that Joanne is in the process of scheduling a workshop in May entitled “Teamwork: The Path to Productivity”.

Social Committee:
Roberta Kudrna reported. The social committee is planning a May Day surprise for Faculty and Staff.

Hiring Process of Staff Committee:
Loretta Heidt reported. Loretta Heidt, Cheryl Leach and Heather Meek met with Gail Ebeltoft to present the policy.  Gail is reviewing the policy as it relates to Federal guidelines.  Changes in content will be brought back to Staff Senate for review.  The policy will also need to be reviewed by NDUS attorney Pat Seaworth.  The whole process of review and approval of the policy will be lengthy.

Emergency Preparedness Committee:
Roberta Kudrna reported.  An emergency management plan has been drafted.  Bertie provided a handout of the document for review by Staff Senators and provide feedback to Bertie by April 28th.

Bulletin Board Committee:
Stacey Buckman reported.  They met with Cabinet, who suggested some changes, such as having two types of bulletin boards – one for community, one for university.  Stacey provided a handout with information about the current bulletin board policy as well as proposed changes.  There was discussion of the policy and proposed changes.  A suggestion was made to indicate the chain of command for posting materials rather than listing guidelines for what materials are appropriate to post on the bulletin boards.

Staff Handbook Committee:
Kathy Lang reported.  She contacted Gail Ebeltoft to get some information.  Kathy handed out some materials she received from Gail about what is provided to new employees.  There was discussion of the process for new employee orientation.  It was suggested that Staff be notified about the NDUS Human Resource Policy that is on the website.  It was also suggested that Staff Senate work with Gail Ebeltoft to update the Orientation Survival Guide brochure.

Parking Issues:
Laurie Beach reported.  Although they have gathered some signatures of Faculty and Staff on the petition, more time is needed to get more signatures.  They will continue to gather signatures until the May Staff Senate meeting.

Grievance Procedure:
Twila Petersen reported.  The draft policy is being reviewed by Pat Seaworth.  It possibly won’t be reviewed by Faculty Senate until Fall 2006.  Staff Senate will review the policy after receipt from Human Resources. 

Staff Senate Web Page:
Kim Thiel reported.  The committee is looking for ideas of what to include on Staff Senate web page.  It was suggested that they check web pages of other campuses for ideas.

Criminal Background Checks:
Sandy Klein indicated that there is nothing new to report.

Children at Work:
Heather Meek reported.  The committee received feedback from 14 Staff members.  They compiled the responses and gave the information to Dr. McClellan.  There was discussion and it was suggested that Staff Senate do a survey regarding the children at work issue.  A vote was taken on those in favor of doing a survey:  12 yes, 1 no, 1 abstain.  There was additional discussion.  It was unanimously decided to do the survey after the committee has had a chance to meet with Dr. McClellan and he has had an opportunity to respond to the feedback and revise the draft policy.

Old Business:

1)      Staff Recognition Award:  The Staff Senate proposal requesting $1,500 will be presented in June or July.

2)      Monthly Staff Award-Moments of Excellence:  Loretta Heidt indicated that a survey was sent out posing the question:  “Is there a morale problem on campus?”  There was discussion about possible ways to implement a Moments of Excellence award.  Suggestions included having a particular theme assigned for each month of the year, then vote for staff who best served the theme; have several themes each month, then nominate and vote for staff or draw a name from those nominated or have a committee choose the award recipient each month; have nomination ballots available around campus; maybe have the option of nominating someone anonymously.  It was suggested that the Moments of Excellence Staff Senate committee meet and draft a proposal for Staff Senate’s review and feedback.

3)      Staff Emeritus Status:  Jim Haaland reported.  There was no further feedback to the draft proposal for DSU Staff Emeritus handout that was distributed by Sr. Faith Wanner at the March Staff Senate meeting.  The DSU Staff Emeritus draft proposal as well as the Valley City State University policy was distributed.  It was suggested that DSU should implement a Staff Emeritus plan.  Staff Senators should contact Sr. Faith Wanner with suggestions and feedback regarding the DSU draft proposal.  The committee will bring a revised draft proposal back to Staff Senate for review at the May meeting.

4)      Plaques:  Tabled.

5)      Staff Senate Elections:  Outgoing senators will be on the Staff Senate Election committee

6)      MGT Consultant Proposal:  A memo from Dr. Vickers was distributed.

7)      Staff Senate Scholarship:  Tabled.

8)      ID Cards:  Tabled.

  New Business:

1)      NDUS Faculty/Staff Turnover Data:  The document NDUS Report of SBHE Committee on Employee Compensation was distributed.  Exhibit A of the data indicated that DSU had the largest staff turnover in the NDUS system.  The turnover percentage for staff was at 13.2% (17 employees) in 2005.  Staff Senators are asked to review for discussion at the May meeting.

2)      Graduation:  There was discussion of the lack of information/invitation to Staff members regarding the Commencement procession.  There seems to also be a lack of consistency regarding who may march in the procession and in what order, as well as the appropriate garb.

Adjournment:  Kim Thiel moved to adjourn the meeting, Karen Madler seconded.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 1:30 p.m. in Klinefelter Conference Room 107.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Cecilia Taylor, Secretary