THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

STAFF SENATE

(NORMAN CAMPUS)

Wednesday May 15, 2013

DRAFT

Chair Chris Cook called the meeting to order at 1:35 p.m. in the Scholars Room of the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

Officers present – Chris Cook, Chair; Amanda Pai, Chair-Elect; Fran Stephens, Immediate Past Chair; Cathy Trujillo, Recording Secretary

Staff present – Melissa Lane, Administrative Coordinator

Representatives present – Hourly Employees Council: Carolyn Taylor, David Houck, Cindy Simpson, Cecilia McEwen, Julie Hamburger, Laura Shoopman, John Bishop, Carmen Eppler, Sena Golden; Informational Staff Association: Gordan Carrie, Connie Smith, Elaine Bradshaw; Organizational Staff Council: Reta Tarver, Nancy Matthews, Jackie Downing, Betty Love, Chris McNabb

Representatives absent — Hourly Employees Council: Suzie Brewer, Kim Haddad, David Kizer; Informational Staff Association: Priscilla Crawford, Bruce Alcock; Organizational Staff Council: Justin Daniels; Administrative Staff Council: Jennifer Doughty, Robbie Wahnee

Guests present — Debbie Copp, Dan Hough, Jessie Tate, Cathy Yeaman, Eugene Earsom, and Lezlie Marsh

SPEAKER

Nick Kelly from Human Resources

ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF April 17, 2013

On motion by Cecilia McEwen, the minutes of the April 17, 2013, Staff Senate meeting were accepted.

CHAIR’S COMMUNICATIONS

Chris did not meet with Nick Hathaway, Vice President for Executive and Administrative Affairs this month. So, there is no update on the state budget, reallocation, or any possible salary program.

Chief Human Resources Officer and Vice President Les Hoven had a schedule conflict and has rescheduled for our June meeting.

On May 14th, 2013, a portion of the Norman Campus Staff Senate Executive Committee travelled to the OU Tulsa campus to meet with the Tulsa and HSC Executive Committees. There we had lunch and a productive discussion. Topics varied but were concerned mostly with Staff Week activities, funding, fund raising, merit awards, mass mailings, and data generation. The Norman campus will host next year's meeting.

Finally, congratulations to the Staff Week Committee, the Awards Committee, all the member groups and Melissa Lane for a successful Staff Week.

REPORTS FROM MEMBER GROUPS

Administrative Staff Council:  Did not meet.

Hourly Employees Council:  President Carolyn Taylor reported that the Annual Ice Cream Social was an overall success.  Carolyn mentioned that there was an idea presented to her to shorten the time of the Ice Cream Social because of difficulties in staffing the peak times and having too many scoopers in slow periods.  All agreed to leave the time as is from 10-2 to allow all employees a chance to attend.  Carolyn suggested that in the future we need to have Co-Chairs for each of the sub-committees so that the responsibility does not fall on one person and to make sure that they have back-up in case of emergencies.  Susie Brewer passed out results of the elections.  David Houck mentioned that the Director of Facilities Management has been approached about the issue of no longer being compensated for overtime with comp time.  They voted to take the issue to the Staff Initiatives Committee.       

Informational Staff Association:  President Gordan Carrie reported that they thanked the organizers of the successful Staff Week Art Show. They planned the June meeting, in which they will hold elections, and recognize winners of staff merit awards from Staff Week. It was suggested they should invite a guest speaker to talk about local gardening. Priscilla Crawford led discussion about an ISA summer fundraiser, to be held on campus in June.

Organizational Staff Council:  Representative Betty Love reported that they had their meeting at the Climate Science Center in 4 Partner’s Place. The Center’s Director, Dr. Renee McPherson, gave a short briefing and tour of the new facilities before the business meeting. They discussed the lessons learned this year during Bingo and made notes for next year’s event. Michelle Boydstun gave an update on the shared leave program and a nominating committee was formed for the June elections.

REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES

Awards Committee:  By email Chair Liz Cooley reported that they discussed the success of Awards Ceremony and changes they would like to see for next year.

Communications Committee:  By email Chair Gina Powell reported that they did not meet.

Staff Initiatives Committee:  Chair Dan Hough reported that they have not met since the last Staff Senate meeting.  They have sent a proposal to Staff Senate for today's meeting.  Vicki Pollick has been added to the committee from HEC.

Staff Week Committee:  Chair Jessie Tate reported that they discussed problems that they had and things that they can do next year.

REPORTS OF SPECIAL (AD HOC) COMMITTEES

Employee Benefits Committee:  Debbie Copp reported that they discussed: I. BCBS 2014 Renewal Initial Discussions: Expect 3-4% automatic increase because of Health Care Reform Act measures. Numbers are continuing to show a greater increase than that because of claim history. The projected increases for the HMO plan are still running higher than the PPO plan which is a significant cause for concern since the University’s contribution is presently based on the PPO cost. Our numbers of people using the HMO is also going down which contributes to the cost for those remaining on the plan. They will shift the May meeting date back to May 30 so they can have the most up-to-date claim numbers as they begin the very serious discussions of what they are to do. There aren’t very many options and none of the options are a good one. There will be more to come on this as we go forward and she will keep Staff Senate updated. II. EAP Presentation: The usage numbers are going up each year and the results post-use continue to be very positive with 81% reporting a positive improvement in their emotional health. A total of 74% reported a positive improvement in their depression and 57% reported a positive change in the anxiety. Top three referral items are (1) marital issues; (2) depression and (3) family and children. The program will continue to be reviewed and there is a possibility that financial and legal counseling could be added in the future.

OTHER REPORTS

The following reports were linked to the May agenda:

Staff Senate Foundation account report

Minutes of Employment Benefits Committee meeting for September 2012

OLD BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS

Staff Initiatives Committee Blood Donation Proposal: After discussion a motion was made by John Bishop to table the proposal so that the committee can discuss some possible changes to the wording.  The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ADJOURNMENT

As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:34 p.m.

NEXT REGULAR MEETING:  June19, 2013

Respectfully submitted,

Melissa Lane

Administrative Coordinator

Cathy Trujillo

Recording Secretary