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Officers & Executive Committee
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Minutes for November 2008Thursday, November 20, 2008 Members present: Denise Berry, Ben Bond, Steve Brahm, Anthony Bumpass, Nellie Cano, Stephanie Cardenas, James Cooper, Jackie Dana, Lara Eakins, Suzanne Ewing, Joe Gregory, Martha Harrison, Phillip Hebert, Janice Hejl, Troy Johnson, Charles King, Janet Larsen, Sarah Lind, David Macha, Gary Martt, Jennifer McAndrew, Jennifer McClain, Louise Nelson, Linda Overton, Eric Patkowski, Cindy Posey, Tina Radke, Ben Rodriguez, Janell Ross, Tracy Saenger, Chris Scherer, Rachel Sidopulos, Mark Smyth, Meredith Taylor, Heather Vacek, James Wawak, Barbara Welch, Brandy Whitten, Ashley Williams, Blake Willms, Brittany Wilson, Luis Zamora Members Absent with Notification: Danielle Fournier, John Goutier, Chrissi Guerrero, Lori Hamilton, Keith Hill, Dianne Kline, Pamela Owen, Janet Reed, Jo Ann Richmond, Candace Shye, Mindy Thompson, Sunni Zuniga Members Absent: Jose Barroso, Lewis Bowen, Patrick Buckner, Mary Campbell, Bobby Hemby, Sarah Kitten, Vicki Kullberg, Richard Lee, Shelton Lewis, Robert Meyer, Jimmy Moore, Rita Moreno, Amy Olson, Cynthia Podolnick, Martha Ramey, Madison Searle, Peter Telck, Robert Walker Call to OrderThe Council convened at 11:30am to enjoy their annual Thanksgiving potluck dinner in Gregory Gym, GRE 3.120. With a quorum present, Chair Ben Bond called the business meeting to order at 12:15pm. AnnouncementsNext month's meeting is scheduled on Thursday, December 18, 2008 from 2-3:30pm in the Avaya Auditorium, ACES 2.302. Officer ReportsChairBen Bond announced that next month’s Council meeting is scheduled on Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 2pm in the Avaya Auditorium, ACES 2.302. The Executive Committee is working on developing a survey to be distributed to all Staff Council representatives in the near future. He asked Council members to submit questions for the survey to him for review and consideration. Mr. Bond presented Resolution 2008-01 in support of the Pride and Equity Faculty Staff Association and their pursuit of domestic partnership benefits. He read the resolution aloud and opened the floor for discussion: Chris Scherer (District 511): Administration will say that University policy reflects state law. Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2): There are lobbyists who support this initiative and who are fighting for changes in the upcoming session. This is a recurring topic and valid concern among staff on campus, and I would suggest that we, as an organization, support the resolution, which is simply a statement in support of a widespread concern among our staff. Linda Overton (District 190.2): What happens next if the Staff Council accepts this resolution? Ben Bond (District 160.1): The executive officers will sign the resolution and send a copy to President Powers’ office, and the co-chairs of the PEFSA organization. Motion 1: Cindy Posey — that Staff Council accept Resolution 2008-01 Vice ChairSteve Brahm had no updates to report at this time. Recorder/SecretaryApproval of Minutes New BusinessChair Ben Bond announced guest speaker Associate Vice President for Human Resource Services Julien Carter, who gave a presentation on a new professional development resource for staff called CareerSmart. Human Resource Services and Continuing & Innovative Education, in partnership with Continuing Education and University Staff Council have developed this certificate series for all staff campus-wide to ensure that staff in managerial and supervisory positions were prepared to handle the responsibilities associated with these roles. Human Resource Services, along with the Professional Development Center, developed the competencies and curriculum for each certificate series. Mr. Carter disseminated printed handouts, detailing the three certificate series, and the competencies presented in each:
Future plans include working on the classification area of job postings to implement these skills as required qualifications for various employment positions campus-wide. Mr. Carter reported that research indicates that twenty-three percent of managers and supervisors will be eligible for retirement within ten years; this program is one method through which the University can begin to prepare for anticipated retirements, and subsequent loss of staff. Mr. Carter thanked the Council for their ideas and suggestions throughout the development process of this program, and opened the floor to questions from the Council: Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2): Are staff required to take all courses listed in each series, in order to get the certification? Mr. Carter: Yes. If you’ve taken comparable training or skills courses at other universities, those can be presented for evaluation to determine if they can be accepted as credit toward the competencies included in these series of learning. Jackie Dana (District 262): In the Tier 1, competencies look like they are designed for future employment initiatives. Some departments may not be able to afford the costs, and discourage employees from taking these certificate series in order to be eligible for job opportunities in other areas. Mr. Carter: I would encourage employees to invite Human Resource Services staff to come and talk to their departments to address any concerns. We would encourage departments to look strategically to the future; whether these series are paid for by an employee’s current department or a future department, the goal of increasing staff development to expand opportunities is the same. We want to focus on the positive outcomes from encouraging more staff development and training through this program. Erin Waneck (ex-officio): Can employees move directly to Tier 3 if they’ve taken training classes and are currently at a higher certificate level? Mr. Carter: Employees would need to provide documentation of their certificate levels, and validate that they are eligible to take the Tier 3 classes without going through the Tier 1 and 2 classes. Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2): UT Libraries has been discussing the development and implementation of its own “career ladder” program; we would like to find a way to combine the Mr. Carter: Absolutely. We can meet with any department that wishes to schedule time to discuss the possibilities of this program. Troy Johnson (District 491): Where do you get the teachers for these certificate series? Mr. Carter: The courses through the Professional Development Center are individuals who are accredited in their field and have been teaching for several years; those who teach the Human Resource classes are UT employees who have completed the “Managing at UT” training and are experts in their respective fields. We are also developing an evaluation form to disseminate to staff and departments to determine if these certificate series are benefiting staff. Jennifer McAndrew (District 999.2): What is the cost for these certificate programs? Mr. Carter: Tier 1 costs $660; Tier 2 costs $1200; Tier 3 costs between $1700-$1800, but can be paid as you go and not necessarily all out of pocket up front. There is more information on the Human Resources web site. James Cooper (District 610.2): Are there any sponsors, scholarships or grants to help pay costs for these certificate programs? Mr. Carter: No, not at this time. Chris Scherer (District 511): Is the cost paid by the department? Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2): Are the Human Resource classes still available? Mr. Carter: Yes, those are available during the workday; the schedule of classes through the Professional Development Center is more varied. Joe Gregory (District 470.2): With the current economic climate, are there plans to trim the workforce through attrition? Mr. Carter: I’ve not heard of anything at the main campus. Human Resource Services would advocate in support of staff and transfer of knowledge. Following his presentation, Mr. Bond thanked Mr. Carter for his time and presentation of this program. Chair Ben Bond opened the floor for any other New Business for discussion. District 442 representative Luis Zamora shared that one of his constituents submitted an issue relating to age discrimination. He spoke with Associate Vice President for Institutional Equity and Workforce Diversity Linda Millstone and determined that there is a lot of confusion about the retirement process, including how to apply for retirement and calculating retirement payments, which was at the root of the issue submitted by his constituent. He opened the floor to Council members for input: Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2): There is legislation in motion to change the retirement package; the Texas State Employees’ Union is lobbying against most of the package. We should definitely stay focused on these issues. Erin Waneck (ex-officio): Perhaps we should invite Linda Millstone to do a presentation at a Ashley Williams (District 220.1): I agree that it’s better to have the FAQs on the Human Resource Services web site, but perhaps we could have a link on the UTSC web site that directs staff from our web site to the HR web site for answers to retirement questions. Jackie Dana (District 262): Perhaps we could include a calculator on the HR web site to help staff calculate retirement payments, since the “rule of 80” can be confusing. I heard that there is discussion of Teacher Retirement System and other retirements being invested in toll roads? Janell Ross (District 999.1): Perhaps we could invite a Texas State Employee Union member to provide their perspectives with UTSC on the retirement issue? Chris Scherer (District 511): On a separate yet related note of staff attrition, the chilling station an power plant staffs will be melding together to form one “utility station staff”. District 322 representative Stephanie Cardenas thanked Council members for their donations to the Orange Santa program. District 701 representative Brittany Wilson announced that Rec Sports was putting together sports packages for staff; for those interested, she will be leading a guided tour of the facility following today’s meeting. More information on the sports packages at the December meeting. Committee ReportsBylaws CommitteeCommittee Chair Eric Patkowski reported no new updates at this time. Benefits CommitteeCommittee Chair Danielle Fournier was unable to attend today’s meeting. Committee on CommitteesCommittee Chair Blake Willms reported that representative Bobby Hemby volunteered to serve on the Staff Excellence Awards Selection Committee. Mr. Willms reported that a suggestion has been made for an ad hoc committee to research and further examine the issue of a staff ombudsman. Ms. Erin Waneck volunteered to coordinate scheduling the first meeting of this committee and the selection of a chairperson to lead the committee. Mr. Willms agrees to provide to Ms. Waneck the email addresses of staff that responded with interest in serving on this committee. Mr. Willms announced that Tina Radke has volunteered to serve as a UTSC representative on Faculty Council, along with Denise Berry. Ms. Radke will join Ms. Berry in attending meetings beginning in January 2009. Mr. Willms concluded his report, and invited UTSC representative Denise Berry to provide an update on items of interest discussed at this month’s Faculty Council meeting. Ms. Berry reported that the Faculty Council met on November 17, 2008 at 2pm in the MAI 212. One discussion topic of interest is development of the Brackenridge Tract on Lake Austin Boulevard. The University has contracted with an architectural and design firm, Cooper Robertson & Partners, to conduct a review of the tract of land with the following component questions to consider:
The firm is reviewing past and current use(s) of the land, and possibility of income and/or value and potential to the University, or lack thereof. A history of the land donation was reviewed. Field labs are a focus of concern, particularly since undergraduates are now required to conduct field lab research. The firm is researching alternate locations for the field labs. Graduate student housing is another concern since University departments cannot retain talented graduate students without adequate housing. University faculty has a strong desire to be involved in the process of examination and decisions, but have not had much opportunity thus far. Faculty representatives will meet with Cooper Robertson & Partners for one hour each month, though this is not a lot of time for discussion. More details on this issue to come as the process moves forward. Communications CommitteeCommittee Chair Ashley Williams reported no new updates at this time. Infrastructure & Parking CommitteeCommittee Chair David Macha reported no new updates at this time. Issues CommitteeCommittee Chair Cindy Posey reported no new updates at this time. Nominations & Elections CommitteeCommittee Chair Joe Gregory reported no new updates at this time. Resources CommitteeCommittee Chair Gary Martt reported no new updates at this time. Old BusinessThere were no Old Business items to discuss. Questions For The CouncilThere were no questions for the Council. AdjournmentMotion 3: David Macha – that the meeting be adjourned. The Staff Council general assembly meeting adjourned at approximately 1:15pm. NOTE: A webcast is not available for this meeting as the Council met in Gregory Gym.
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