Dixon Conference Center
Approved December
2,2002
John
Asumth, Chair, called the meeting to order at 2:06 p.m.Assembly
members present were:John Asmuth,
Dennis Block, Stacy Bozeman, Cara Mia Braswell, Amy Douglas, Lisa Fleming,
Kathy Harmon, Ellyn Hix, Harriette Huggins, Greg Lund, Miriam Brown Pepinsky,
Karen Rankin, Anna Reynolds, Linda Sayers, Mary Lou Smith, Thomas Stofer,
Martha Taylor, Mary Ann Taylor-Sims, Kim Trupp, and Teresa Vest.
Review
and Approval of Prior Minutes:The
minutes from the March 18, 2002 meeting were amended to reflect that Mary
Ann Taylor-Sims was present at the meeting and that Martha Taylor was not
present.No further amendments were
made and Linda Sayers motioned that the minutes be accepted as amended
and Teresa Vest seconded the motion.The
amended minutes were approved.
Election
of New Officers:Mr.
Asmuth indicated that the main purpose of this meeting was to elect new
officers. The slate of officers is as follows:
nChair-Elect:Martha
Taylor, Stacey Bozeman.There were
no other nominations from thefloor.Ms.
Taylor was elected.
nSecretary:Harriette
Huggins, Phyllis Harris.There were
no other nominations from the floor.Ms.
Huggins was elected.
nAt-Large:Linda
Sayers, Thomas Stofer, Mary Ann Taylor-Sims.From
the floor, Teresa Vest nominated Lisa Fleming and Harriette Huggins nominated
Stacey Bozeman.Michael Miller,
Nominations Chair, informed that Ms. Fleming could not be nominated because
At-Large candidates cannot be elected when they are in their last term
as an Assembly member.This is the
case with Ms. Fleming.Ms. Sayers,
Mr. Stofer, and Ms. Bozeman were elected.
Comments
from the Chair:Mr.
Asmuth reiterated events at the June Board of Trustees meeting which included
the removal of“Interim” from President
Walker’s title.Dr. Walker’s term
as president will end after three years.Mr.
Asmuth indicated that he has received mostly favorable responses to this
action.Mr. Asmuth explained two
benefits issues that were discussed at the Board meeting.The
first was the increase of the salary cap for employees on long-term disability.Currently,
employees are eligible for compensation of up to 60% of their salaries
with a maximum of $3000.It was
approved to raise the cap from $3,000 to $5,000.Another
issue that was discussed was an increase ofAU’s
matching contributions to employee tax-deferred annuity programs.This
issue was tabled due to further consideration of increased costs.The
Board also named the faculty senate chairs from both AU and AUM to advisory
positions on the Board.Mr. Asmuth
mentioned that he had been asked about representation from other employee
groups. He mentioned the appointment of another employee representing both
AP and Staff groups on the Board as one possibility but indicated that
was not yet in the discussion stage.
Regarding
budgetary issues, salary improvements for FY2003 have been approved althoughthere
was discussion concerning discrepancies between faculty and AP/Staff salaries.Mr.
Asmuth spoke with Don Large, Teresa Vest, and Marci Smith regarding salary
issues and it appears that consideration is being given to a new classification
system for AP and Staff employees.Key
to that initiative is to gather comparative salary data from other institutions.Faculty
have that data, AP and Staff do not.
Mr.
Asmuth reminded the Assembly that he and past-Chair Ellyn Hix serve on
the Joint Assessment Committee (JAC).This
group has chosen to keep its complaint to SACS in its current form.The
JAC also wishes to participate in a workshop with the Board as a way of
further educating its members on shared governance.The
JAC also hopes to form or assist in forming a
After
asking for any questions or any further discussion, Mr. Asmuth ended his
remarks by thanking members of the AP Executive Committee and the Assembly
for their support.He thanked all
those members rolling off the Assembly and recognized Teresa Vest and Ellyn
Hix for their involvement with the AP Assembly since its inception in 1994.Mr.
Asmuth stated that input from the AP can help and he cited the employee
tuition reduction benefit as an example.He
also stated that it had been a year without much controversy but with positive
actions such as salary improvements and the change in Dr. Walker’s title.
Expression
of Appreciation.Ellyn
Hix thanked Mr. Asmuth for his leadership and his hard work during the
year.She reminded the Assembly to
encourage employees to be active in the AP by serving on the Assembly or
on committees.
Adjournment.There
being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:40 p.m.