Dickinson State University
Staff Senate Minutes

June 8, 2005, 1:30 p.m.-Klinefelter Conference Room 107 

Members present:  Kathy Bercier, James Haaland, Dustin Heick, Loretta Heidt, Roberta Kudrna, Cheryl Leach, Karen Madler, Heather Meek, and Sr. Faith Wanner

Members absent:  Laurie Beach, Bonnie Bohlman, Rita Ennen, Kent Featherstone, and Amy Markwardt

Guests Present:  Stacey Buckman, Kathy Lang, Kathy Obritsch, Cecilia Taylor, Kim Thiel, and Joanne Fields. 

Loretta Heidt, President, called the meeting to order at 1:40 p.m.

Sr. Faith Wanner made a motion to adopt the agenda as written; Kathy Bercier seconded the motion; motion carried.

Karen Madler made a motion to approve the revised minutes from the May meeting as written.  Cheryl Leach seconded the motion; motion carried.

Loretta Heidt handed out Certificates of Appreciation to all the Senators.  She thanked them for their hard work and efforts during the 2004-2005 year.  These certificates were signed by President Vickers.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Standing Committees:

Continuing Education Committee:
Joanne Fields from Extended Campus handed out copies of the survey regarding workshops for Staff.  Joanne discussed the How to Defend Myself workshop with Officer Dahlen that had been cancelled several times.  Staff Senate will get back to Joanne and let her know if there is still interest in this workshop and give her ideas for workshops for the next academic year.  Loretta Heidt suggested the CPR training for the crafts/trades/services staff should also be offered to other Staff on campus.  Loretta thanked Joanne for coming to the meeting.

Social Committee:
Heather Meek reported this committee had an ice cream social on May 27th for the DSU Staff and Faculty.  The ice cream was donated by Cass Clay and the sodas were donated by Coca Cola Bottling.  There will be another ice cream social towards the end of July.

Hiring Process of Staff Committee:
Cheryl Leach reported this committee is still working on the policy.  This policy will be one policy to cover all departments.  James Haaland suggested that something be put in the policy offering job positions internally before advertising them externally.  Cheryl said that the proposed new policy would incorporate offering positions internally before posting externally.  Even though Cheryl will have completed her term on Staff Senate, she agreed to remain as Chair of this committee.

Statewide Staff Senate Committee:
Loretta Heidt said this item would be tabled until the beginning of the next academic year.

Parking Issues Committee:
This issue will be tabled until the Fall 2005 Semester.

Emergency Procedures Committee:
Roberta Kudrna reported the policy that has been drafted hasn’t come out of Cabinet yet.  There was much discussion regarding the recent tornado watches and warnings and the safety of the Staff on campus during these instances.  Stacey Buckman and Roberta Kudrna are notified when there is a weather emergency through the Emergency Broadcasting System.  As of now, there is no procedure in place stating what do to next.  Stacey sent an email to all faculty and staff notifying them of the tornado warning.  Loretta Heidt said that was great for all of those who receive email, but who notifies those that don’t receive email or those employees who work evenings.  There isn’t a procedure as what to do next.  The Senators agreed that Loretta should visit with President Vickers regarding this issue to see if the policy can be approved or revised quicker. 

Salary Issues Committee:
Twila Petersen handed out a copy of the NDPEA breakdown of pay raises and equity by campus.  The hand out indicated most campuses (including DSU) were paying 4% overall to staff.  Twila indicated criteria needed to be met from campus-to-campus regarding staff pay raises and equity raises.

Bulletin Boards Committee: 
Loretta Heidt brought the flyers/posters that Randal Horobik had kept in a file.  Randal felt these posters were inappropriate for the campus boards.  At the next Staff Senate meeting, this committee will be reorganized.  Currently the members are James Haaland and Karen Madler.  Loretta suggested this committee rewrite the bulletin board policy.  The policy could include a central person or persons to monitor the flyers and recommend if a flyer is appropriate for the bulletin boards and a date stamp when the flyer should be removed from the bulletin board.  The committee should also research the policy at other universities.

Leave Benefits Committee:
Roberta Kudrna made a motion to dissolve this committee.  Cheryl Leach seconded the motion; motion carried.

Election Committee:
Twila Petersen said that the elections for the 2005-2006 Staff Senate have been completed.  The newly elected and/or returning Senators for a two year term are:  Laurie Beach, Michael Calhoun, Sandy Klein, Kathy Obritsch, Kim Thiel, Stacey Buckman, Kathy Lang, Heather Meek, and Cecilia Taylor.  As per the by-laws, Loretta Heidt will continue on as President for one more year.  New senators were invited to attend today’s Staff Senate meeting.  The new senators will begin their official duties on July 1, 2005.  The election committee is tabled until 2006.

BUSINESS

Old Business:

(1)    Sexual Harassment Policy/Procedures:  This committee was formulated to look over the Sexual Harassment Policy.  The committee members are Dr. Keith Fernsler, Dr. Rich Brauhn, Dr. George McClellan, Gail Ebeltoft, Marshall Melbye, Loretta Heidt and/or Twila Petersen.  When the committee recently met, they decided that there should be a time line set for a claim to be filed.  A suggested timeline was within six months of the most recent incident.  The policy is being reviewed by Mr. Pat Seaworth.  Marshall Melbye is the DSU Campus Affirmative Action Representative.  Loretta and Twila felt that an Ombudsman would be a good option.  An Ombudsman could possibly resolve issues and remain anonymous prior to a formal complaint being filed.

New Business:

(1)   Staff Commencement Marching:  The emails regarding those who are and aren’t marching was a little confusing.  It would be nice if the emails stated who is allowed to march so that Staff who don’t have their Bachelor’s or Master’s degree would understand they are not allowed to march.  There was some discussion regarding the marching order.  The commencement marching order of faculty, staff and students is decided by the President.  There were three individuals who did not have their appropriate garb.  Two individuals were Faculty and one individual was Staff.  Loretta Heidt will discuss this at the next commencement committee meeting (early 2006) the need to clarify the criteria to march and those marching should wear accurate regalia to correspond with their degree. 

(2)   Staff Recognition Awards:  Loretta Heidt received a letter from Dr. Vickers.  He is proposing to Kevin Thompson that the awards be increased from $500 to $1,000 for each of the three broadbands.  There appear to be three awards to Staff and six awards to Faculty/Adjuncts.  It was suggested that it would be nice if there were some more awards for Staff such as Distinguished Staff Award and/or Innovative Staff Award.  The nomination procedure was also discussed.  Currently one person can nominate one or more Staff members and then the nominated Staff would complete the application process.  It was felt that the person doing the nominating should take on the responsibility of presenting the information.  This would limit nominations and one person may not nominate more than one Staff member.  It was suggested that all those nominated for a Staff award should be recognized at the reception unless the nominee wishes not to be recognized.  Loretta will visit with Dr. Vickers in regards to this.

(3)   Staff Web Forms Training:  Twila Petersen asked Gail Ebeltoft if she would be willing to train Staff on the new forms posted on the web.  Gail said that she would and recommended a date in early August for the training.  Twila wanted to get feedback from the Senators and most agreed this would be a good idea.  It would be nice to also have the forms from Business Affairs and the Vehicle Request form discussed in conjunction with the Human Resource forms training.

(4)   Job Discipline and Dismissal:  Loretta Heidt had received an email suggesting that DSU is not in-line with NDUS policy on job discipline and dismissal.  When there is an instance, the Performance Improvement Plan needs to be put in writing with a time frame and then followed up with another employee appraisal review.  This problem possibly needs to be addressed with Gail Ebeltoft.  There is not a proactive approach to an initial problem.  Due to lack of time, this item was tabled until the next meeting.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 at 1:30 p.m. in Klinefelter Hall, Room 107.

Cheryl Leach made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Roberta Kudrna seconded.  Meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m. by President Loretta Heidt. 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Twila Petersen

Staff Senate Secretary