Staff Council Meeting Minutes
June 15, 2006

I. Call to Order
Chair Becky Christianson called the meeting to order at 12:05 pm.

II. Members Present
Members present:  Bev Auel, Ramona Backman, Rob Bishop, Becky
Christianson, Peggy Gorton, Rob Greenhoe, and Peter Larsen.

III.	New Business
a) Becky noted that we should be thinking about a fall meeting
schedule. The general consensus was to keep the meetings scheduled on
the third Thursday of each month, with the exception of December when no
meeting will be held. Upcoming meeting schedule: 
August 10: Alumni Lounge B 
September 21: TBD 
October 19: TBD 
November 16: TBD

b) The Council also discussed potential guest speakers and meeting
ideas for the fall. Everyone agreed that some meetings with no speakers
are needed to have more time to accomplish business items. It was
decided that the first meeting of each semester should not have guest
speakers. Ideas for fall included: tours of Fisher and Chemical Science
building renovations and a campus tour (provided by Admissions). The group
also talked about ways to help staff members to get to know each other
more. 

One idea that has been used in individual departments is hosting a
"welcome" staff picnic at the start of the fall semester. Peter Larsen
suggested that perhaps Staff Council could sponsor a university-wide
picnic and purchase tickets for all staff members who have started
employment in the last year. Pete and Becky Christianson will look into
how many staff start in an average year and calculate expected costs of
the picnic.

IV. Old Business

c) Reminder: Presidential Open Forum will be held Monday, June 19 from
2:00 to 4:00 pm. Becky, Rob Bishop, and Rob Greenhoe will assist with
questions and microphones.

d) Staff Council Website Subcommittee: Peter Larsen and Ramona Backman
reported that the subcommittee met and decided that it was important to
keep the Council website active. It is important to have new content,
and important to correctly archive award winners. We also discussed the
possibility of having the responsibility for web updating be with the
Council secretary so that one person isn't responsible for an indefinite
amount of time. Cynthia MacDonald, the current webmaster, will attend
a future Staff Council meeting for further discussion.

e) Becky reported that this is the last call for the current order of
Staff Council polo shirts. Diane Garrow will be placing the orders soon.

f) Becky Christianson reported on the activities of the inclement
weather subcommittee. The group has met, reviewed policies of other
universities, and brainstormed suggestions for updates to the current
Michigan Tech policy. The group decided to put their ideas on hold
until Becky talked with Ellen Horsch to determine if the administration
would be open to discussing policy changes at this time. Becky has
had initial discussion with Ellen, but will follow up and provide the
Council with further updates soon.  

g) Staff Recognition Luncheon
Recap- Peggy reported that approximately 205 people attended. The group
discussed ideas for future years, including the possibility of reading
the name of the recipients' home departments to help others learn where
everyone works. Other suggestions included changing the room setup so
that the President can stand in a single location rather than walk to
both sides to greet recipients. Some attendees wished that they could
have reserved tables for their departments to sit together. 

Several people also received comments suggesting that retirees should
receive more recognition than simply a paper certificate. Becky noted that
it is difficult to come up with an equitable award mechanism for retirees
because a person can retire with relatively few years of service. These
comments will be considered for next year's recognition luncheon.

V. Finance Report
Financial Custodian Bev Auel reported that recognition lunch receipts
should total $696. The current account balance stands at $4824.12. Charges
from the MUB for the recognition luncheon (approximately $1200) haven't
been processed yet. We will have a balance left at the end of the fiscal
year because Staff Excellence Awards were not given this year.	

VI. Adjournment 
The meeting was adjourned at 12:53 pm.  

Minutes submitted by: Peter Larsen, Secretary