Staff Council
Meeting Minutes
June 19, 2008

I. Guest Presentation

Jen O'Connell from the Student Activities office presented a brief
overview of the Safe Place program at Michigan Tech and how to
become members. More information about membership is available at
safeplace.mtu.edu and in the attached handout. Jen will be moving to
Admissions and Rachael Wussow (also in attendance) was introduced as
the new point of contact for the Safe Place program on campus.

II. Call to Order

Chair Becky Christianson called the meeting to order at 12:14 pm.

III. Members Present

Bev Auel, Rob Bishop, Nancy Bykkonen, Becky Christianson, Peggy Gorton,
Kathy Goulette, Rob Greenhoe, Allyson Jabusch, Peter Larsen, and JoAnne
Stimac. Guest: Amy Hughes.

IV. Old Business

a) The group watched a brief slideshow of photos from Family Fun Day
that were taken by University Marketing and Communications. We agreed
that we should make sure we get some of these on the website. Becky
said she would check with University Marketing and Communications to
determine if permissions are required before using photos of others.

b) Becky gave a brief report of the Board of Control meeting held this
morning. It was a quick meeting and tuition increases are planned.

c) Inclement Weather Policy: Becky is meeting with Ellen tomorrow and
will check on the status. The chain of command language has been removed
because all Vice Presidents are now on the same level (there is no longer
a Senior Vice President).

d) Finance Committee Report: Bev Auel handed out a sheet (attached)
outlining expenses for the year to date. Expenses for the Staff Awards
luncheon have not all hit the account yet. There was some discussion
about the amount of unused funds that will be lost at the end of the
fiscal year (June 30).  We should brainstorm additional activities to
recognize Michigan Tech staff next year with the extra funds.

e) Staff Awards: Peggy Gorton reported that the event went well and there
was a good turnout. She heard comments that people liked the setup in
Wads. There was a mix-up in the query that was run for retirees causing
some retirees to be invited this year even though they had already been
recognized. Reminder for next year to verify the dates with the data
collectors in human resources.  Rob Bishop said he heard from one retiree
who wished that the invite was personalized. Peggy noted that the invites
were personalized so the person must have been mistaken. Also, it was
noted that we should probably advertise more widely that people who do
not wish to come for lunch can still attend the recognition ceremony.

f) Blood Drives: Staff Council and the Benefits Office will co-sponsor
another blood drive on August 13. Due to MUB renovation, the events will
be held in the DHH All-Campus Study Lounge. 22 donors gave at the last
drive. Because the turnout tapered off in the afternoon of the last drive,
Marquette General suggests that the next drive be held 10:00 am to noon.

g) Staff Council/MUB calendar: Becky expects the new calendar to be out shortly.

V. New Business

a) Emeritus Staff Idea: Rob Bishop mentioned that a retiree contacted
him about the idea of having an emeritus staff designation. Other
universities do this to different degrees. Rob Bishop passed out
information from Northern Michigan University (attached) about their
programs and benefits for retirees. Becky Christianson noted that this
is not an automatic designation for faculty when they retire - faculty
need to be recommended for this status. The policies on emeritus faculty
and benefits seem to vary by department. The consensus of the group is
that this is a good idea and we should do additional research and discuss
again at a future meeting. Rob Bishop volunteered to lead a subcommittee
and will email the group for additional volunteers soon.

b) Fall meeting schedule: The group decided that the current schedule
(third Thursday of the month) seems to work well and we should stay with
it. The first meeting will be in August and the group will meet monthly
through June, with the exception of the November/December meetings
being combined.

c) The group brainstormed a list of possible speakers for next year’s meetings, including:

1. Chief Information Officer Walt Milligan
2. New IPS director (if in place)
3. Group from IPS that does presentations on how to pronounce names of international students
4. Group working on anti-terrorism and security issues on campus
5. Athletic Director Suzanne Sanregret
6. Provost Lesley Lovett-Doust
7. VP Administration Ellen Horsch
8. Director of Facilities Management John Rovano
9. Asst VP for Enrollment John Lehman
10. President Glenn Mroz
11. Director of Memorial Union & Rosza Theresa Coleman-Kaiser
12. Dean of the Graduate School Jackie Huntoon
13. Someone from the Tech Fund, perhaps Vice President for Advancement Shea McGrew
14. Someone from Little Huskies

VI. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 12:55 pm.
Minutes submitted by: Peter Larsen, Secretary