Administrative
& Professional Assembly
Meeting Minutes 6/20/2006
Room 217 Foy Student Union
Approved as corrected 9/19/2006
The meeting was called to order at 2.35 PM by Chairperson Drew Burgering.
The Assembly attendance sheet was initialed by attending members.
Assembly members in attendance were: Barnese Adair-Wallace, Drew Burgering, Pat Deery, Lisa Fleming, Maria Folmar, Teresa Logiotatos, Missy Long, Vivian Miller, Julie Nolen, John Owen, April Staton, Todd Storey, Tony Ventimiglia and Mark Wilson.
Assembly members absent were: Latresha Brady-Pinkston, Amy Douglas, David Hennessey, Jane Hoehaver, Harriette Huggins, Katie Mantooth, Ellen McManus, Kirsten Perkins and Greg Ruff.
Minutes from the May 16, 2006 A&P Assembly meeting were approved as amended.
Special guests Tissie Walker, Chair Staff Council, Wendy Pechman, Chair Elect Staff Council, Dr. Richard Penaskovic, University Senate and Dr. Cindy Bruner, Presidential Search Advisory Committee member, Charles McCrary, Board of Trustee, and Grant Davis, Secretary to the Board of Trustees, were recognized by the Chairperson.
Comments from the Chair
1. The university calendar for 2008-09 has been approved. Spring break is two weeks earlier than in previous years.
2. The Board of Trustees will meet at the end of the week. Committee meetings will be Thursday and the agenda for the meeting on Friday will cover Pebble Hill renovation, Fisher recommendations and installation of an outdoor pool.
3. A letter from Drew as Chair of A&P Assembly was sent to President Richardson with the A&P Presidential On-line Survey results. President Richardson will forward the letter and survey results to the Presidential Search Advisory Committee and the Board of Trustees.
4. Met with Don Large to discuss several issues effecting A&P employees such as distance learning. Dr. Large’s recommendations have been forwarded to the appropriate A&P committees.
Presidential Search
Advisory Committee
Drew introduced Mr. Charles McCrary, Chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee and Board of Trustees member to speak on the committee status and approach.
Mr. McCrary said this is a turbulent time for AU and his
goal or purpose is to find the best next president. There were many groups that wanted to
participate in the search committee such as AU and AUM faculty, alumni and
students and A&P employees. The
committee members were selected based on what’s best for
Interest in the presidential position has been good. Mr. McCrary felt that fifty to seventy names have been submitted. Dr. Kuhnle will make a report of interested applicants and present it Friday at the Board of Trustees meeting.
One issue faced by the committee is open meetings law which mandates discussions with applicants be open to the public. This is an issue because the committee must protect the identity of the applicants and follow the law.
Mr. McCrary said the committee hopes to have selected an applicant by the end of the year, December.
Mr. McCrary opened the floor for questions.
Dr. Penaskovic commented that most colleges and universities see the number one qualification of a President is as chief fundraiser. Is this necessary for the President to be seen as this? Mr. McCrary responded that he feels the person should be a visionary not chief fundraiser. It was commented that on the A&P Presidential survey that fundraiser as a qualification was ranked low.
Pat Deery asked if the committee is inviting applications or just accepting submitted names. Mr. McCrary said the committee is doing both.
Cathy Ramey asked, What is the answer to be given when applicants want to know AU’s strategic plan? Mr. McCrary said Dr. Richardson has some things he wants to accomplish before leaving. There isn’t a set answer to this question because they want the President elect to run the university with no set limits.
Maria Folmar asked, What is the criteria for qualifications and how are you prioritizing them? Are you taking into consideration one group more so than another, for example faculty feedback over administrative/professional employee group feedback? Mr. McCrary felt the committee would put together the criteria and forward the list to the Board of Trustees for them to decide. No one group’s criteria would be given more attention than another group.
Virginia Thompson stated she brings a candidate and the candidate’s spouse into a social setting to see how this person interacts with others. She wants to see how they work with women, men and minorities. This is the ‘wear well’ test. How does the committee plan on seeing if a person ‘wears well’ with AU persons? Mr. McCrary indicated the committee would do something similar with the presidential candidates. The short list of presidential candidates will be brought on campus for interviews and open meetings with university persons.
Mr. McCrary asked if there were any more question regarding the committee or any other issue.
Mark Wilson asked if Mr. McCrary wanted to comment on the Board of Trustees law suit. Mr. McCrary said no because he is trying to focus on positive issues.
Mr. McCrary’s closing comments, ‘We’re all on the
Supervisory Development
and Career Planning – Dr. Green
Pat Deery’s
comments in Dr. Green’s absence.
Lynne Hammond, Kelley Taylor and Pat Deery met with Dr. Green to discuss the Strategic Diversity Plan goal 2 which calls for the implementation of a "career development program" to assist certain under-represented groups "position themselves for advancement." They discussed two programs under development that Pat suggested might support that goal: The "Office Staff Development" series of courses would train current University employees in unskilled positions for University clerical positions. The "Leadership Development" series would allow those not in leadership positions or those just assuming such positions to assess their leadership style and tailor an individual program to transition into leadership, develop specific areas of strength or weakness, and practice the leadership role; another element would be a pre- and post-assessment for each participant in the program. They also agreed that any program of career development needed a career counselor who could assist and counsel employees with career opportunities within the University.
Another element of the discussion was the need for more supervisory training both as a developmental activity but more importantly as a requirement for all supervisors.
Campus Parking – John
Mouton
Dr. Mouton opened by stating he wants communication as often as possible so that all concerned are informed of parking conditions on campus.
There are several issues Dr. Mouton covered. 1) Designating a no charge zone, ex. CDV
building lot, where you can park freely and ride the transit bus to campus 2) Collected data indicates parking space
vacancies around 9, 10 and 11 am each day – how to best use this
information 3) Monday, July 10th the Haley Center
parking lot will be closed due to construction of the new Student Union
Building. The lot was designated A&B
zone. 4)
The new parking deck will open around the time the
Dr. Penaskovic asked what is the ratio of permits issued to available parking spaces? Employee ratio is 1.8 permits issued for 1 space and the student ratio is 3 to 1.
There has been discussion with the city regarding underground parking for downtown. No decision has been reached.
The D zone permits issued for the parking deck are only valid in the parking deck. Zone D does not permit parking in other designated zones on campus.
Pat Deery commented to Dr. Mouton that he had seen reports that indicated new parking areas were created without taking into consideration where people worked. Dr. Mouton said that is not the case. They do take employee population to location into consideration when determining new parking areas. He also said that AU is working with the city of Auburn on a solution to the crowded parking in the northeast corner of campus.
Lisa Fleming asked about access for emergency vehicles and closed roads on campus. She knows of a case when emergency vehicles were slow to respond because of road closures. Dr. Mouton stated that the city ambulance service is a leased service and that it is the lease company’s responsibility to know which roads are closed on campus. He said that’s not always the case.
Dr. Mouton said a
Robert Gottesman’s question was about the metered parking located behind Samford Hall. Was there a reason this area was still metered? Why were the spaces not used more efficiently? Dr. Mouton said he would take that into consideration and check into it.
Cathy Ramey asked what could be done about the congested
intersection on Magnolia and Donahue.
Dr. Mouton said we are actively pursing a right of way with the City of
Vivian Miller asked if raised walkways had been considered
since student foot traffic is causing driving congestion. Dr. Mouton commented that raised walkways
have been researched but that
Dr. Mouton said if anyone had additional questions direct them to Cathy Love. She is the contact person for his department.
A&P Committee
Vacancies
Karen Rankin’s comments are taken from her notes as follows.
“You are encouraged to nominate other A & P employees as well as yourself if you would like to serve.
Service terms begin October 1, 2006 and expire September 30, 2009 unless otherwise noted. Appointments to A & P committees are presented to the A & P Assembly for approval based on names provided by the Nominations & Elections Committee. Committee descriptions and number of vacancies are listed below.
A & P Nominations and Elections
Committee – 3 vacancies
The Nominations and Elections Committee is responsible for submitting
nominations for officers and standing Assembly committee members to the
Assembly for approval and making recommendations to the President for
membership on university committees. This committee shall set general election
guidelines, maintain election eligibility, and maintain voting records. The
Nominations and Elections Committee shall oversee all aspects of final election processes. Assembly members receiving nomination for elections shall be ineligible for Nominations and Elections Committee membership.
A & P Professional Development
Committee – 3 vacancies
The Professional Development Committee is charged with aiding and encouraging the professional growth and development of the Administrative and Professional members. The
Committee studies and recommends on professional leave, continuing education, and recognition of professional achievement.
A & P Welfare Committee – 4 vacancies
The Welfare Committee reviews and makes recommendations about Administrative and Professional salaries, benefits, and evaluation procedures.
A & P Calendar and Schedules Committee
– 2 vacancies (one full 3 year term and one two year term)
The Calendar and Schedules Committee recommends
policies and changes to the University Calendar and schedules to the Assembly
Executive Committee.
A & P Grievance Committee – 5 vacancies
The Grievance Committee provides mediation teams to assist with the resolution of work-related complaints and evaluates grievances filed by Administrative and Professional employees and make recommendations to the president and appropriate vice-president.
Please submit your nominations between the period of Tuesday, June 20, 2006 and Thursday, July 6,, 2006 and include a biography form for the nominee. Forms may be found on the A & P Assembly website. Nomination submissions and/or questions should be made to Karen Rankin, Chair of Nominations & Elections Committee, via email, rankikm@auburn.edu or phone, (334) 844-5116.”
Executive Committee update
Maria Folmar gave a report of the items the executive committee has been working on. They are assembly retreat, consulting policy, qualifications of AU President with online survey results and the grievance policy in the constitution.
Assembly
Retreat
Maria reported the retreat was positive and productive. Eighteen representatives and several guests participated. To date only 1/3 of the representative have completed and returned the evaluation form. She reminded everyone to complete the evaluation and return to her for next years planning.
Consulting
Policy
The consulting policy has been sent to the Professional Development Committee for review. Maria asked the Professional Development Committee Chair, Talitha Norris to update the assembly on the committees work. Talitha asked users to look at the consulting form and provide feedback to the committee.
Pat Deery suggested she speak with Chuck Gerards and Mike Hill of Human Resources before going further with the policy. Both of them worked on the benefit issue brought about by the consulting policy. The 1999 minutes regarding the policy indicated it would be considered a benefit and all changes in benefits must be approved by the Board of Trustees.
Ad
Hoc Committee Recommendation
Todd Storey presented the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee – Fisher Report. The report is as follows. Todd Storey moved that we accept the report as presented. Maria seconded it. The report was accepted and will be forwarded to the President.
________________________________________________________________________
Fisher Report
A&P Priorities by Topic
The committee found that in attempting to prioritize the recommendations that should be of concern to A&P employees, we had difficulty managing a single priority for each recommendation. We therefore grouped the recommendations into six categories–climate, President, organization and planning, governance, work environment, and athletics; we then prioritized the categories. The chart below lists the recommendations by category, in the priority we believe that they should be addressed. We have also included comments on the recommendation where appropriate.
PRIORITY RECOMMENDATION COMMENTS
|
I. Climate |
2. Reformulate governance; appoint a strong, visionary, and exceptional new President |
Repeated in Governance |
|
|
4. All representative groups must change in terms of constitutional premises and attitude |
Although we are not aware of circumstances where the A&P Assembly contributed to the disharmony, we do subscribe to this recommendation. |
|
|
35. AU open to all citizens of |
|
|
|
39. Diversity training required for all administrators |
Repeated in Work Environment |
|
|
122. Too much creative and productive energy...is being spent in activities that contribute not one whit to academic improvement |
Although we are not aware of circumstances where the A&P Assembly contributed to the disharmony, we do subscribe to this recommendation. |
|
II. President |
12. AU must seek, appoint, compensate, and support a new president from outside campus; new President must be capable of embarking on a new path. |
We view this comment as relating to the relationship of the BoT to the President as well as the support provided by governance groups such as ours to the new President. |
|
|
89. New President participate in the NCAA outreach program for new presidents and chancellors |
Repeated in Athletics |
|
|
130-140. Qualities of the President |
We strongly endorse all these qualities. |
|
III. Organization & Planning |
54. Place strategic plan on hold until new President |
We do not agree: Strategic planning should continue; it should not stop; and should be an ongoing process. A new President would, under normal circumstance, join the organization with the organization’s plan and planning process already in motion. The new President can have his/her impact in the process of planning. |
|
|
55. These recommendations be used in lieu of a strategic plan |
We disagree: See above; these recommendations should be incorporated into the ongoing planning process. |
|
|
56. Except in extenuating circumstances there should be no more than 6 or 7 line officers reporting to one person |
The Provost will be an exception. |
|
|
61. Resurrect VP for Student Affairs position; conduct search; report to President not Provost |
Strongly support |
|
|
62. Appoint a chief technology officer with a title of vice president |
Should have been done years ago |
|
|
64. Assign space management, campus planning, and facilities to the Executive VP |
Administrative activities should be aligned under the Executive VP |
|
|
67. New President must have the ability to refashion the administrative structure and to re-slot, promote, or terminate vice presidents and individuals reporting to him/her |
This recommendation suggests that the new President should be allowed to create his/her own organization and fill it with his/her choices. We agree. |
|
|
68. New organizational chart |
Support in general and specifically as noted above. |
|
IV Governance |
2. Reformulate governance; appoint a strong, visionary, and exceptional new President |
Repeated in Climate. |
|
|
7. Relationship of President/faculty/Board: Pres. defer to faculty judgment in academics not financial and facilities; Bd. not involved in faculty handbook; faculty handbook should be an extension of the university bylaws (Page 81: faculty governance
actions and opinions are advisory to the Pres.) |
While this recommendation refers to only the faculty as a governance group, we would point out the statement on page 81, that “faculty governance actions and opinions are advisory to the President” and within the recommendation that the BoT is not involved in the faculty handbook. We suggest that both statements apply to the A&P Assembly and the A&P handbook. |
|
|
119. The ideal Senate includes only elected faculty |
See comments below for recommendation 120. |
|
|
120. De facto task force on governance (to examine the Univ. Senate) should make it faculty only [stop it from purporting to speak for all governance and employee groups] Page 89 faculty, staff, and
students should not be members of Board committees |
We suggest that this recommendation be endorsed as a means of suggesting to the “Faculty” Senate that their governance group does not speak for A&P employees who are, instead, represented by the A&P Assembly. |
|
V Work Environment |
25. Adopt a single email system |
Such items should be the purview of the new Chief Technology Officer; see recommendation 62. |
|
|
39. Diversity training required for all administrators |
Repeated in Climate. This training should be required for all supervisors as well. |
|
|
47. Increase evening course offerings |
|
|
|
48.Survey adult students to determine what support services they would like (e.g., child care) |
|
|
|
50.Increase distance learning opportunities |
|
|
VI Athletics |
|
As supporters of AU athletics, we believe that these recommendations deserve emphasis. |
|
|
87. President and Athletic Director announce a zero tolerance policy for serious NCAA violations |
|
|
|
88. Clearly enunciate this policy to fans and boosters |
|
|
|
89. New President participate in the NCAA outreach program for new presidents and chancellors |
Repeated in President |
New Business
Child Care Survey - Pat Deery presented the update.
Beginning last summer, a committee of representatives from
HR (Pat Deery), faculty (Donna Sollie
a professor in Human Development and Family Studies), A&P (Marcella
Harrison, academic advisor in CLA), and US (Jenny, past-chair US Council) began
working on moving the University forward on child-care. A survey was developed.
Purpose of survey:
(1) Determine the need for child-care; (2) establish demographics
The intent: Provide
governance groups information to use to recommend a direction for child-care. The survey consists of 26 questions and will
be available online and by paper to individuals without computer access. The committee plans on sending out the survey
in late August 2006.
Assembly member attendance
Drew commented to Karen Rankin that the executive committee
will address the attendance issues in the near future. The issue hasn’t been forgotten.
Grievance policy
Drew suggested appointing an ad hoc committee to look at
the grievance policy issues. The
committee would be tasked with bringing the A&P Constitution inline with
the new grievance policy by examining the history of where we were and where we
are now.
John Owen makes a motion on this issue and Missy Long
seconds it. Motion passed.
The meeting was adjorned at 4:32
pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Missy Long
A&P Secretary