News

Staff Council
Meeting Minutes
19 September 2012

IN ATTENDANCE: Academic Support- Lisa Blake, Mary Chapman Bates, Chris Cantrell, Keenan Grigg, Ruby Murray, Jennifer Wells, Edward Zur; Business Affairs–Rosalin Speed, Tonie Velie; Institutional Support – Emma Bennett-Williams, Angie Cross, Christa Graham; Operations & Maintenance –Paul Cantrell, Jack Doscher, Mary Game, Skipper Ott, Adam Rabon; Student Services –Jon Cole, Ellen Eigner, Shelton Milner; Advisor – Col Dennis Carpenter

EXCUSED ABSENCE: Academic Support– Katie Gibson, Christine O’Toole; Business Affairs–n/a; Institutional Support –Susie Maghakian; Operations & Maintenance – n/a; Student Services – n/a

UNEXCUSED ABSENCE: Academic Support – n/a; Business Affairs –Donnia Banks,; Institutional Support –n/a; Operations & Maintenance – n/a; Student Services – Mike Groshon

I. CALL TO ORDER – Chairman Angie Cross called the meeting to order at 9:29AM.It was so determined that a quorum was present in order to conduct business.

II. WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Angie Cross welcomed and introduced the new Staff Council members to the meeting: Ms. Christa Graham, Alumni Office ; MAJ Sean Pike, Commandant’s Office. The only new member not present was Susie Maghakian from President’s Support Staff.

III. REVIEW/APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR 18 JULY 2012

The minutes were sent previously with the meeting reminder. Chairman Angie Cross asked if everyone had the chance to review the minutes from the July meeting and it was determined so. Keenan Grigg made a motion to approve the 18 July 2012 minutes. Chris Cantrell seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the minutes were approved unanimously.

III. CHAIR’S REPORT–Chairman Angie Cross reported that the results of the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Great Colleges Survey are now posted on Lesesne Gateway. The results show that the two greatest concerns on campus are employee recognition/respect and communication. For questions or suggestions, contact Mark Magnussen in HR.

V. OLD BUSINESS

A. Committee Reports –

1. Benefits & Welfare – Emma Bennett-Williams. Ms. Bennett-Williams stated that her committee has started a group who plan to participate in the 2013 Cooper River Bridge Run on 6 April 2013. They are already in training in preparation. The committee will have a sign up at the upcoming Benefits Fair so that others who are interested can join. She told the group that several people on campus have asked about a campus Weight Watchers program or Zumba classes. She will look into the potential of this and report back at the October meeting. There are several groups on campus who meet at different times of the day to accommodate the schedules of campus employees. Ms. Bennett-Williams told the group that if anyone is interested to see if others would be interested in exercising as a group, they can contact her to find out when and where the groups meet.

She then reminded those present that the Human Resources office has a Staff Development Fund for employees who wish to improve their job skills. Whether it is classes or training, HR does have money available to help cover costs. Requests must be submitted and approved by the HR office.

2. Communications – Keenan Grigg. Ms. Grigg stated her committee is working to have the dates of Staff Council meetings listed on the Staff Council website. She added that she will be advertising the monthly meetings but putting an announcement in DogNews on the Monday before the monthly meeting. With this others on campus can take the opportunity to attend Staff Council meetings

3. Community Service – Paul Cantrell. Mr. Cantrell announced that nine (9) Staff Council members participated in the 6 September 2012 Adopt a Highway project. The next clean-up will take place in November. He will announce the date at the October meeting.

4. Elections – Jennifer Wells. Mrs. Wells stated that there are multiple revisions of the Staff Council Policies & Procedures in regards to elections. Jennifer and Policies & Procedures chairman Ed Zur have been working together to make the needed changes. The general basis of the change are the dates of the Staff Council elections, moving the elections from February to October. By holding the elections earlier, the Entertainment Committee has more time to prepare for Employee Appreciation Day.

5. Policies & Procedures – Ed Zur. Mr. Zur shared the proposed amendments to the group. Section II, Part A, Number 2 should be added for clarification. The addition is, “Members who are on 9/10 month contracts and thus not present for the summer would be eligible to serve on staff council.” Keenan Grigg made the motion to accept this addition. Mary Chapman Bates seconded the motion. A vote was taken and all present approved.

The next proposed amendment is to Section II, Part B, Number 3. This presently reads, “After a total of six absences (excused or unexcused) during the year at scheduled meetings, that member will be removed from his/her position on Staff Council. A warning letter will be sent after five absences. Depending on the amount of time remaining on the term and the timing of the next election, the Executive Committee will determine if the position will remain vacant, be offered to the runner up in the previous election, or if a special election is necessary.” The change would read as follows:, “Members who are on 9/10 month contracts are often not on campus during the summer months (Defined as May, June, and July) and thus likely miss the 3 scheduled meetings during the summer. New members who are affected should contact the Staff Council Chair upon the start of their term. Current members who are affected should contact the Staff Council Chair prior to the summer months to indicate if attendance at the summer meetings (May, June, and July) will not be feasible.” This is to clarify that even if you are a nine-month employee and do not work during the summer months, those 3 missed meetings will be considered 3 absences from monthly meetings. During the nine months on campus, a Staff Council member is required attend the monthly meetings. Chairman Angie Cross made it clear that if a Staff Council member will miss a meeting, they need to let her know. The change does not allow for ambiguity. Rosalin Speed made the motion to accept this amendment. Mary Blake seconded the motion. A vote was taken and all present approved.

In Appendix B, Numbers 2, 3 and 4 will be modified to state the updated dates of elections. The nominations will now take place in October rather than January and the elections will take place in November rather than February. Keenan Grigg made a motion to approve the change. Mary Chapman Bates seconded the motion. A vote was taken and all in attendance approved.

It is proposed that Appendix C be updated to follow the present campus organization chart available here: https://hrweb.citadel.edu/pol_proced/org_chart.pdf. The former designation of constituent areas did not match the updated organization. The new alignment will allow clarification across the campus. Shelton Milner made a motion to accept the change. Jennifer Wells seconded the motion. A vote was taken and all approved.

6. The last proposed amendment is to Appendix D– Terms for Sitting Staff Council Members and Term Limits for Executive Council in regards to membership. Again the dates would be changed from October rather than January for the nominations and November rather than February for the elections. Mary Chapman Bates made the motion to accept this addition. Keenan Grigg seconded the motion. A vote was taken and all present approved.

7. Entertainment – Katie Gibson. Ms. Gibson was unable to attend the meeting due to travel for work therefore there is no Entertainment committee report for this month.

VI. NEW BUSINESS

A. Career Ladder at the Citadel. Mary Bates asked if the Citadel has a career ladder program where pay raises are generally given every 2 years. Col Dennis Carpenter, advisor to SC and Director of Human Resources at the Citadel explained that at this point the Physical Plant and Public Safety are the only departments where this is in effect. The career ladder allows staff members who better themselves with education/certifications and longevity have the opportunity for a pay increase every 2 years. It is only those employees in skilled trades who have this option as this allows them to be more competitive in the off campus wage environment. The increases are a combination of additional skills and longevity. For each department there are 5 skill levels where an employee can develop him or herself. Experience and years of service are important in the progression. MUSC has the same program for only trade’s specialists. Our program began in 2005-2006. Col Carpenter continued explaining that when the program began at the Citadel, turnover was an issue, but with the career ladder, retention has greatly improved.

Colonel Carpenter then mentioned the possibility of a merit increase in December for employees. Mary Bates asked if there was a set formula one should follow to insure that they will get the raise. Col Carpenter explained that there is no set formula. Many different factors come into play. Longevity, performance evaluations, current salary, state average salaries and higher education salary averages will be provided and considered by each supervisor. It was then mentioned by several in the meeting that subjectivity has both positives and negatives. It was also mentioned that objectivity (everyone gets the same amount) has positives and negatives. Col Carpenter closed by saying all supervisors completed supervisory training this year that included EPMS training, accountability and leadership. The Vice Presidents have approved this concept with the thought that the best performers should receive the greatest merit increase.

SC chairman Angie Cross stated that any comments or concerns of the proposed merit increase should be filed with Keenan Griggs and she will compile them and give them to Colonel Carpenter.

VII. OPEN DISCUSSION

A. Results of IPAC survey. Keenan Grigg was asked by one of her constituents to ask why the full results from the IPAC survey had not been posted for review by the Citadel family. The group agreed that all information acquired should be available to those who are interested. Angie Cross stated that she would contact Dr. Tara McNealy to see if the actual results of the study could be posted rather than the power point that was presently available.

B. Water in Drinking Fountains in Bond Hall. Several staff employees who work in Bond Hall stated that the water in the fountains still have a disturbing taste and smell. They asked if bottled water might be made available to those who work in the building. Staff Council Chairman Angie Cross stated that she would contact Alan Coker in regards to this.

C. Day of Caring. Staff of The Citadel and The Citadel’s Physical Plant had the chance to assist Burke High School with a beautification project. It was a great success and many thanks to The Physical Plant for getting the materials and project together.

Trident United Way Campaign. The staff/faculty Trident United Way campaign kicked off mid-September and the goal this year is to raise $45,000 to help local families and organizations. The goal

is participation rather than a dollar amount; even a single dollar will count towards your department’s participation rate. Employees can send the donation form directly back to HR (attention Katie Bredenkamp) or someone from HR can stop your office to collect them. The campaign will run till October 31, 2012.

VIII. ADJOURNMENT – With nothing further to discuss Ed Zur made a motion to adjourn. Mary Chapman seconded the motion and the meeting adjourned at 10:37AM.