Chancellor's Staff Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes January 21, 1999 Members present: Steve Honeycutt, Jan Scroggs, Mary Chakales, Nancy Williams, Melanie Rhodarmer, Roger Penley, Maggie Smith, Mary O'Day, Mike Honeycutt, Richard White, Delacy Bradsher, Elise Henshaw, Harold Johnson, Steve Parrott, Charles Shivers, Marilyn Lonon, Terry Bailey, Kathy Higdon, and Linda Franklin, staff liaison. Absent: Carolyn McElrath. Others in attendance: James Johnson. The meeting was called to order at 1:35 in Room 37, Highsmith Center by the chair, Steve Honeycutt. Minutes of the December meeting were approved. Delacy Bradsher introduced the subject of the summer picnic, which traditionally is sponsored by Human Resources. HR would like to see the event perceived as a campus, rather than an HR, event and proposes that CSAC might like to take it over. After considerable discussion, a motion was made and approved that CSAC and Human Resources co-sponsor the summer picnic this year and then re-visit the issue. Mike Honeycutt proposed that CSAC consider establishing a staff scholarship. Various options were discussed, including whether to use the scholarship for a student or a staff member. Appalachian State University has a staff-sponsored scholarship and Mike volunteered to check with ASU to see how they have designed theirs. Regarding the issue of evaluating supervisors, Steve reported that the University of California San Diego uses a "balance scorecard" method in evaluating individual departments. Four measures are employed. If a problem is indicated in all four areas, the administration is committed to address and solve the problem. It was suggested that evaluating departments every five years, which has been the UNCA practice, is not frequent enough. Some issues that come out in the survey are forgotten in that length of time and tend to crop up again. Two questions that have been addressed are 1) does department have the resources to perform and 2) does the department perform. It was agreed that we invite Archer Gravely to attend our next meeting and explain the evaluation process. Steve will contact, through the WEB, staff groups of the other constituent institutions to determine what and how they are conducting evaluations. We would like to see a survey taken and results published before the new chancellor comes. The first Staff Forum will be held in the spring in two separate sessions to provide an opportunity for all staff to attend. The first session will be during spring break on Wednesday, March 24, from 1 to 3 p.m. in Owen Conference Center. The second session will be Thursday, April 1, from 10 a.m. to 12 Noon also in OCC. The format will be a brief panel discussion with the sub-committee chairs serving as panelists, followed by a question and answer session. Attendance at any day session presents a problem for the housekeepers. The suggestion was made to have a form urging their attendance and offering a place to make comments or list concerns they would like to see brought up at the forum if they are unable to attend. The newsletter is receiving positive attention. Obviously, having hard copies distributed proved to be a plus. For the next issue, the newsletter will accept Maggie Smith's offer to have some of her student workers prepare the mailing. We have received response from the chancellor on two of the recommendations we submitted: staff representation on campus committees and staff involvement in policy issues that involve staff members. Both were accepted. There still is a problem in some areas with a lack of supervisor cooperation and support for staff members to attend meetings and workshops, even to attend CSAC meeting. In regard to staff attending workshops, classes, etc., the consensus was that there is little concern for staff development. Discussion ensued on possible ways to achieve supervisory cooperation in this area. It was agreed that the only way to ensure that all supervisors will be moved to act fairly and responsibly is to have it mandated by the chancellor or the appropriate vice chancellor. It was suggested that a training workshop for supervisors might be effective if attendance was mandated. It was decided that, at the end of the year, the newsletter will publish a "report card" of the outcome of our recommendations, i.e., "This is What We Recommended" and "This is the Action Taken." The lack of promotional opportunities from within on campus was addressed. The Chancellor's Council can make a policy statement to promote from within first. The chair asked that members begin to think about possible desirable by-laws changes before the next meeting. Elections will be coming-up soon and the chair requested volunteers for a nomination committee to be drawn from those members who presently are serving two-year terms. When prospective members are contacted, it is important that they be informed that their time commitment will not be limited to one hour each month. Meetings always run longer than an hour and service on a sub-committee is a possibility. The tragedy that occurred in the family of two UNCA staff members, Carol Frisbee, third-shift Public Safety employee, and Tammy Justice, Housekeeping team leader, was detailed. Ways in which CSAC could be supportive were discussed. We will pursue seeing that Monday Morning carries the story so the entire campus can be made aware of the need. At the next meeting, a "sunshine" fund, or the equivalent, will be discussed. A copy of the Staff Morale Subcommittee's January report is available in Ramsey Library with the minutes. The meeting was adjourned at 3:35 p.m. The next meeting will be February 18. Respectfully submitted, Elise Henshaw, Secretary