Administrative and Professional Assembly
February 20, 2007
2:30 p.m.
Room 213 Foy
Meeting Minutes - Approved March 21, 2007
Call to Order
Drew Burgering, Chair of the Assembly, called the meeting to order
at 2:33 p.m.
Roll Call
Representatives Present: Pat Deery, Kristen Perkins, Barnese Adair-Wallace, Gary Wittekind, Mark Wilson, Julie Nolen, Katie Mantooth, Vivian Miller, Lisa Fleming, Greg Ruff, Teresa Logiotatos, April Staton, Ellen McManus, John Owen, Jane Hoehaver, David Hennessey, Todd Storey, Drew Burgering, Harriette Huggins and Maria Folmar (20)
Representatives Absent: Latresha Brady-Pinkston, Mark Wilson and
Tony Ventimiglia
Number of A & P Members Present: 21
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the following meetings were approved:
November 14, 2006 – as corrected (Regular Meeting)
November 28, 2006 – as written (Called Meeting)
January 23, 2007 – as written (Called Meeting)
Comments from the
Chair
Drew Burgering indicated that he
had attended the recent Board of Trustees meeting held in
· Pay raise recently given to the President. This was to bring the salary in line with the expected salary for the next President.
·
New signage is going up around campus. This is
part of a new design and look being implemented for
· Presidential Search is progressing. Finalists are expected on campus by spring break.
Drew also attended the recent Senate meeting on campus. He noted the following items which were discussed:
·
The state has a good tax stream this year. The
funding for next year looks very good.
·
K-12 is expected to ask for a pay raise next
year.
· Campus Planning Committee is being reworked into two other committees: Master Plan Committee and the Design Review Committee. We will have an
A & P Representative, who will
serve a three-year term, on the Master Plan Committee. Drew read to the group
the charge of the committee, which is to “review(s) development of all land
holdings of
2/12/2007
To:
From: John C. Mouton
Senior Advisor to the President
Subject: University Committees
The President received a proposal last fall regarding the formation of two new University Committees to replace the existing Campus Planning Committee (University Committee.) On November 10, 2006 a letter was sent to the Administration, Deans, VP’s and Provost’s describing the purpose of these committees and the proposed composition.
At the University Senate’s request, revisions have since been made to the composition of these committees to include an additional Faculty member on a 3-year term.
The Master Plan Committee formulates/adopts institutional plans and guidelines and keeps them current. The Design Review Committee ensures compliance with institutional plans and guidelines.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact my office.
Bob Ritenbaugh, Assistant Vice President for Auxiliary Services, gave an overview
of the Campus Safety Task Force. This task force was formed when Provost
John Heilman and Executive Vice President Don Large asked Mr. Ritenbaugh and Dean Tim Boosinger to join forces to address several safety concerns on campus. Representatives from various units around campus then came together to form the task force, which has presented eleven areas and topics for review and evaluation:
(1) Police Role (AU and City) – Re-evaluate the three-year agreement; better define performance
(2) Police Presence on Campus – Desire stronger presence of these officers around campus
(3) On-Going Communication – The Office of Communications and Marketing is putting information together to heighten safety awareness on campus
(4) Protecting Intellectual Property
(5) Enhancing Information Systems on Campus
(6) Human Resources – Working toward more thorough and “deeper” background checks; Will revisit drug testing
(7) Video – Need a comprehensive program; Need a surveillance policy
(8) Hiring a Security Consultant – Need Information Technology consultant, as well as a physical security consultant
(9) Student Safety Awareness – Work to enhance student awareness of surroundings and offer them better opportunities to report crimes, etc.
(10) Continually Evaluate Security on Campus
(11) Clearance Certificate – Ensure that employee who are no longer with the University have left keys, etc. upon departure
Several questions were asked by Assembly members and representatives regarding speeding on campus and clearance, network security and the like. Mr. Ritenbaugh addressed each question, thanked the speaker, and assured the group that these issues will all be addressed by the Task Force.
Action Items
Elections
Elections were held to select officers for 2007-2008 for the positions of Chair-Elect, Secretary and At-Large Executive Committee members. Nominees were as follows:
Chair Elect Secretary _____ At-Large Exec. Committee Members (3)
Lisa Fleming Lisa Fleming Barnese Adair-Wallace
Todd Storey Katie Mantooth David Hennessey
Greg Ruff
April Staton (nominated from floor)
Each nominee for Chair-Elect and Secretary was given an opportunity to speak about his/her qualifications and interest in the respective position.
Paper ballots were distributed and then tallied by members of the Nominations and Elections Committee. The following officers were elected:
Todd Storey – Chair-Elect
Katie Mantooth – Secretary
Barnese Adair-Wallace, David Hennessey, and April Staton –
At-Large Executive Comm. Members
Drew congratulated these new officers.
Constitutional
Updates
Drew mentioned that he sent the request for the Constitutional updates to President Richardson. Drew is awaiting the President’s response on these amendments. Verbiage from that memo is noted below:
February 19, 2007
To: Dr.
Edward R. Richardson
President,
From:
Drew Burgering
Chair, Administrative
& Professional (A & P) Assembly
CC: A & P Executive Committee
Re: Approved Revisions to the A
& P Constitution
At
its November 14, 2006 meeting the Administrative & Professional Assembly
passed a motion to amend Article 4 Section 1F of the A & P Constitution
dealing with Absences. During this same meeting the attached Resolution was
also passed to amend Article VI – Grievance Policy. As required by the A &
P Constitution all A & P employees were given notice of the proposed
amendments and a vote for approval was taken at a called meeting on January 23,
2007. Both amendments were approved by the ¾ required margin.
On
behalf of the A & P Assembly I am submitting for your approval, as required
by the A & P Constitution, the following approved amendment to Article 4
Section 1F, to read as follows:
Article
4 Section 1F. ABSENCES –
An Assembly
member who misses more than two of the six scheduled meetings per year will be
removed from the Assembly and replaced in accordance with Article II Section
3e.
Representatives
are encouraged to enlist a substitute to attend any meetings missed in
order
to provide for continuity of communications. “
I am
also submitting for your approval the amendment of Article VI, as noted in the
attached Resolution, to read as follows:
Article VI
-- Grievance Policy
The Administrative and Professional
Grievance Procedures can be found in the Auburn University Personnel Policy and Procedures
Manual, Section 8.6, March, 2006, or in such location as deemed appropriate
by University Administration. It is understood that Administrative and
Professional employees will be afforded the opportunity to review, comment, and
endorse proposed changes to the Grievance Policy and Procedures prior to such
changes taking effect.
Please
inform me of your decision to grant approval on these two amendments so I can
notify the Assembly and make the needed changes to the Constitution and our
website.
Professional Development
Committee
John Greene came forward to present the Professional Development Committee’s recommendation for a consulting policy for A & P, as there is currently no such
policy in place. Dr. Greene explained that he became chair of this committee in
November 2006.
One action item was to recommend a consulting policy, as this
issue has been discussed on campus for many years, but no such policy had yet been approved.
Dr. Greene met with Jenny Swaim, then-Chair of the University Staff Council, who indicated that staff members do not feel the need to have such a policy. The faculty members have a consulting policy in place.
The Professional Development
Committee then went to work to create a proposed policy for A & P members.
Dr. Greene explained that policies from at least three other SEC institutions
were reviewed in creating the proposed policy for
Proposed
Consulting Policy
CONSULTING POLICY
FOR THE
ADMINISTRATIVE & PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES
OF
Consulting Defined
Consulting refers to activities
outside the University in which an AP employee provides expert advice and/or
counsel of a non-continuous nature.
Consulting should provide professional enrichment to the employee, and
consequently, benefit to the University.
Therefore, the consulting activity the employee engages in should be
related to their area of expertise or specialized knowledge relevant to their
employment with the University.
Consulting may or may not result in financial payment to the
employee. Consulting activities may
include (but are not limited to) the following:
providing advice regarding computer systems, designing accounting systems,
conducting seminars, designing an electrical system, etc.
The primary
criteria in determining whether a particular consulting activity should be
encouraged or permitted are 1) the effect of the activity on the individual and
the University, and 2) the extent to which the activity will complement the
University’s programs or interfere with the effective discharge of the
employee’s responsibilities to the University.
Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest occurs when the
private interest of the employee conflicts with their responsibilities as a
University employee. Such conflicts
occur in situations where an employee makes a decision based on personal
factors which may not be in the best interest of the University. Employees should
avoid both actual conflicts of interest and disclose situations where there is
an appearance of a conflict of interest to their supervisor. Some examples of conflicts of interest may include:
a. Use for personal gain of privileged information acquired in connection with the employee’s University responsibilities.
b. Transmission of nonpublic information to an outside source with which the employee consults.
c. Consulting with an outside vendor for which the University employee makes purchasing or contractual obligations on behalf of the University.
AP employees may on occasion be involved
in sponsored research. Such research may
present unique situations where conflicts of interest can occur. These
employees should consult with
Procedures
Full time employees may be allowed to consult and/or be involved in appropriate continuing education and public service activities in the areas of their expertise for a maximum of one day per work week, with a maximum of 16 days per calendar year, with the consent of their department head and appropriate dean or director. Exceptions to this must be approved by the appropriate Vice President upon recommendation of the department, dean or director. Consulting and internal activities for extra compensation will be counted against this maximum of four days per month; travel days must be counted as consulting time. This policy is not intended to limit consulting activities of employees outside the normal work day, during vacation leave, leave without pay, or during the summer for nine-month employees not employed by the University for the summer quarter.
A formal application, Auburn University
Application for Approval to Engage in External Consulting AP-10, must be filed
at least ten days in advance for permission to engage in extramural activities
other than the traditional functions in professional, scholarly, or honor
societies. The AP-10 shall be maintained in a central file in the Office of
Planning and Analysis and in the employee’s file at Human Resources.
General Considerations
In connection with
extramural professional activities arranged outside established University
programs, the name of
No
Employees should keep in mind that this University
policy is a benefit and any abuse of this policy may result in disciplinary
action.
Administrative and Professional Assembly
AUBURN
UNIVERSITY
APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL
TO ENGAGE IN EXTERNAL CONSULTING
Administrative
& Professional Employees
1. Name |
2. SSN |
3. Title |
||
4. Department/Unit |
5. Type Appointment: 9
mo. /
12 mo. |
|||
6. Describe nature of work to
be performed, location, and for whom. |
||||
7. List dates and number of
hours of proposed activity. Indicate
travel time separately if involved. |
||||
8. Explain arrangements you
have made to ensure that the proposed activity does not interfere with other
University responsibilities, such as ensuring that job flow continues. |
||||
CERTIFICATION: I will abide by the guidelines set forth in the Consulting
Policy for the Administrative & Professional Employees of |
||||
APPROVED: Department Head or Immediate Supervisor Date Vice President Date Dean/Director
Date Human Resources Date Planning and Analysis Date |
||||
DISTRIBUTION: |
||||
Drew Burgering explained the history of A & P and the need for a consulting policy. He indicated that the A & P group was formed when former staff and
non-tenured faculty came together. Some of these employees lost benefits in the merge. This consulting policy would both protect the University and assist employees in their professional growth. The goal was to have a policy which was in line with the faculty consulting policy.
Discussion was held regarding the pros and cons of having a consulting policy in place. After several minutes of conversation, a vote was held on whether or not to approve the consulting policy as presented. There were four “nays” and 16 “ayes,” therefore, the motion passed. There was a second motion, which was seconded,
to present the policy proposed by the Professional Development Committee to the President by way of Lynne Hammond, Assistant Vice President/Human Resources.
It was agreed that the proposed policy, with minor changes, would be sent to
Ms. Hammond (Those changes are: (1) Use “term” instead of “quarter” or “semester” (2) Remove statement about nine-month employees; There are no longer nine-month appointments among A & P employees.)
Drew then raised a motion (which was seconded) to consider a second option, which was to send a revised version of the first policy to Ms. Hammond. After further discussion, a vote was held. There were no “ayes,” so the motion failed. The originally proposed policy will be sent forth after changes are made.
Unfinished Business
There was no unfinished business brought forth.
New Business
New officers were asked to stay after the meeting for a group photo.
Open Forum
The open forum was offered, but there were no participants.
Adjournment
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by the Chair at 4:17 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Julie Nolen, Secretary