Administrative
and Professional Assembly
June 20,
2007
2:30 p.m.
Broun Hall
Auditorium
Meeting
Minutes
(Approved Sept.
19, 2007)
Call to Order
Maria Folmar, Chair of the Assembly, called the meeting to
order at 1:00 p.m.
Roll Call
Representatives
Present:
Christopher O'Gwynn, Lisa Powell, Seth Humphrey, Julie Nolen, Katie
Mantooth, Phillip Coxwell, Lisa Fleming, Teresa Logiotatos, April Staton, Ellen
McManus, John Owen, David Hennessey, Robert McKinnell, Maria Folmar, Drew Burgering
and Todd Storey (16)
Representatives
Absent: Kirsten
Perkins, Barnese Adair-Wallace (provided sub), Mark Wilson,
Greg Ruff (provided sub), Jane Hoehaver and John Folmar (6)
Number
of A & P Members Present: 18
Program
It
was agreed that we would alter the agenda to allow President Ed Richardson to
speak before we approved the minutes.
He
commented on the following:
He
acknowledged that this will be the last time he addresses the Assembly as
president, and wanted to recognize A&P as having a critical role in
straightening out Auburn University (AU) and will continue to have a role in
the transition that begins July 16 as AU welcomes a new president. He said that
AU has had a tumultuous 25 years, and it is easy to resort to old ways and
complaints. He recognized that the first eight months will be critical for Dr.
Gouge so he can observe where AU is headed and set his priorities in
establishing the direction he wishes to guide the University in going. Our role
is to help the University run during this time…even if a quarterback gets all
of the attention, it takes the entire team for them to function and win.
Dr.
Richardson shared that a lesson he learned is that people tend to duck and
wait, not making decisions or taking action in times of conflict. He encouraged
us to keep up our momentum when Dr. Gouge gets here.
Three
of the several goals he set and achieved were to remove SACS probation which
was done in a year. The second goal was to establish institutional control
(showing that the president is in charge), and the third goal was to conduct a
presidential search. He shared that before starting that search, they had to
improve the atmosphere…bad publicity, three presidents in four years, etc. He endorsed
Dr. Gouge’s competency to take AU to new heights multiple times.
He
mentioned that most positions that report to the president are “term positions”
that recognize they may not have a job under a new president. Dr. Gouge will
assess the current staff and assess if they meet his needs or not.
Dr.
Richardson said this was the best legislative years in a long time and that has
enabled us to fund several initiatives: salary increases and increased
allocation.
It
is a trend in higher education to expand its walls…and reach. He expects that
to be a continued conversation at AU as we strive to place ourselves
strategically in AL (one of 14 public institutions in the state while FL with a
larger population supports 11 public institutions) and in the country as we
will compete more and more with cheaper options such as University of Phoenix.
AU
is in the best financial situation ever. Facilities are coming along…we are
furthering the completion of the “master plan.” We will continue to strive for
a better national reputation.
He
opened the floor for questions and addressed the following:
Todd
Storey asked about his availability in the transition period, and Dr.
Richardson shared that he has made himself available but will be moving to
Lisa
Fleming asked if upper administration is aware that for the past five summers
summer enrollment has been down due to the fact that students can’t get the
classes they need here at AU. Dr. Richardson said that they are aware of this
and as they have a goal to cap enrollment at 25,000 including graduate
students, they will continue to face faculty load and classroom use issues. One
of his ideas is to build the relationship with
Harriette
Huggins asked Dr. Richardson what he would do with his time after retirement.
He shared that he will go back to
Maria
Folmar then presented Dr. Richardson with a letter and read through it. The
text of the letter is below:
Edward R. Richardson, Ed.D.
President
107 Samford Hall
Dear Dr. Richardson:
The
Administrative and Professional Assembly would like to take this opportunity to
express our appreciation for the leadership you have exhibited during your
service as President of Auburn University.
The Assembly
particularly recognizes your roles in stabilizing the University and preparing
the University for a new president and for the future. We especially note the following
accomplishments made under your leadership:
·
Removal of
·
Intervention in
questions surrounding the roles of members of the Board of Trustees,
·
Effective
leadership during NCAA investigations,
·
Implementation
of diversity as a core value,
·
Development of
the
·
Alternate fuel
initiatives,
·
The active
facilities maintenance and building program,
·
Increasing
scholarships available to students,
·
Successful
formation of alliance between AU & UA for increased State funding, and
·
The AU capital
campaign.
The pride we all take
in the accomplishments of the
We appreciate
the interactions that we have had with the President’s Office. The regular communications and inclusion of
the Assembly in meetings and in decision-making processes has been noticed and
is essential to increasing dialogue with A & P employees.
We recognize
the many challenges that confronted you when you joined the University as
Interim President, and appreciate your having actively dealt with many
problematic issues. The University is a
more stable and healthy institution as a result.
Thank you for your
dedicated service to the University. We
wish you well in future endeavors.
Sincerely,
Maria T. Folmar
The Executive Committee
The Administrative and Professional Assembly
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the April 24, 2007 meeting were approved as corrected.
Comments from the Chair
Maria Folmar shared
that members of the Assembly and the Executive Committee have been actively
engaged in a variety of projects since they met in May. In addition to participating in regularly
scheduled meetings they have been engaged in planning for the Retreat,
conducting the on-line priorities survey, developing a directory of
representatives, participating in Dreamweaver software training, and setting a
foundation for activities for the remainder of the year.
She shared that a
major component of each of those items is continuing to actively engage A &
P employees in discussion and reciprocal provision of communication. In association with those efforts she thanked
and recognized several individuals:
·
Altamese Stroud-Hill for the table top name plates,
facilitated design and approval of the Assembly’s logo and presented her with a
thank you letter.
·
Brandon Simmons and Cathy Ramey for providing
Dreamweaver training, and developing the templates for ease in updating the A
& P website.
·
Members of the Executive Committee – who are
actively involved in providing leadership for the Assembly, much of which we’ll
hear about as we progress through the agenda.
Introduction
to Place 13
April
Staton first shared where the idea came about to have each Place introduce
themselves and the details about those departments, colleges, etc. that they
represent. The main goal is to make each of us more educated about the
University as a whole so we can address questions more comfortably. Other
representatives will continue the initiative at future meetings, and she will
provide the check list/questions via email. The summary will also be posted
on-line. She then educated us on the following things about Place 13:
|
Approximately how many employees (faculty and
staff) are in the unit? |
Pharmacy- 80 Nursing- 24 CADC- 100 |
|
Of those employees, what is the most years of
service that anyone has? |
Pharmacy: Several with 30 years + Nursing: Recent retiree with 29 years CADC: At least one with 30 year + |
|
What degrees are offered? |
Pharmacy:
Pharm D, Masters and PhD in Pharmacal Sciences and Pharmacy Care Systems Nursing:
Bachelors (new Masters Degree started in Fall 2006) Bachelors
or Masters in Interior Architecture, Landscaping, Industrial Design,
Community Planning and Building Science |
|
How many students graduate annually? |
Pharmacy: 115-120 Nursing: 75-95 CADC: 225 |
|
What is the typical entry level job for those
graduates and what is their average starting salary? |
Pharmacist: Average $45-50/hour Nurse: Average $27-30/hour Architects, Planners, Designers: $30-$100/hour
depending on degree |
No
volunteer was assigned for the next introduction. They will solicit via email.
Reports
Retreat: April
Staton reported that the retreat will be held next Wednesday in the Lowder
Building Alabama Power room. Lunch will be served and Dr. Charlotte Sutton will
motivate us with her presentation; Dr. William Sauser will present a refresher
on Robert’s Rules and we will break into round tables to brainstorm ideas to
share with Dr. Gouge.
Committee Reports
Grievance: Jennifer Barlow McDonald reported that the committee
had only met for training.
Nominations
and Elections: Michelle Owsley
reported that the
Nominations & Elections committee is seeing nominations to replace members
of A&P committees whose terms end September 30, 2007. Terms are three years
ending September 30, 2010. There are a few unexpired terms.
Nominations
and Elections (Five places to be filled):
Three with terms expiring 2010; one unexpired term ending 2008; one
unexpired term ending 2009.
Professional
Development: (Four places to be filled):
Three places to be filled with terms ending 2010; one unexpired term ending
2008.
Welfare
Committee: Two places to be filled with
terms ending 2010.
Calendar
and Schedules Committee: Two places to
be filled with one term ending 2009 and one term ending 2010.
Grievance
Committee: Five places to be filled with
terms ending 2010. The Constitution requires that there be at least one
representative from each VP serving on the committee: Executive
V-P, Outreach, Student Affairs, Alumni, and 5th place can be from anywhere!
An electronic request will be distributed
at a later date with details about the nomination process. Nominations will be
emailed to AP Nominating (apnecom@auburn.edu).
Professional Development
Committee: John Greene reported that the Professional
Development Committee has met twice since January 1st and that their next meeting
is scheduled with Lynne Hammond and Pat Deery on Monday, June 25th at 1:00
p.m. After approximately two years of
extensive work and investigation by our committee members, we submitted a
recommended Consulting Policy to the A & P Assembly on February 20th,
2007. The proposal was approved by the A
& P Assembly, and sent to Don Large with a recommendation for
approval. At this time there has been no
action taken on the proposed policy.
Drew Bergering was also involved in the editing of the final
proposal. Drew attended meetings
concerning the Policy, with the A & P Executive Committee, Lynne Hammond,
and Don Large. Drew was very helpful and
supported the committee in their efforts to put forth a fair and equitable
policy for consideration.
At
the meeting this coming Monday, they will discuss the new Classification
Project and issues being raised by contract A & P employees who would like
to see more Professional Development opportunities offered for this group. This would include research fellowships and
those on grant funding who may have been doing research as well as teaching
over a long period of time. These
employees have indicated that they have fewer opportunities to travel to
conferences and to attend educational seminars within their area of expertise.
Welfare
Committee: Brenda Wood reported that she attends the
insurance benefits committee meetings and the following items were presented to
the Board of Trustees:
1)
Approved: Increase tax deferred annuities as of
January 1 the amount will be increased.
2)
Not approved: That tuition benefits be extended to
dependants of deceased employees.
3)
Approved: Pay for over-the-counter smoking
secession products
4)
Approved: Increase the tier for health benefits,
effective October 1
She asked that people let her know if they need
the committee to look into anything.
Executive
Committee: Todd Storey reported that the Executive
Committee has met two times since the last Assembly meeting. He shared that the
committee received 364 respondents to the survey and that they are taking steps
to increase communications with the Assembly by creating a directory, website
training, safety and security issues and creating information packets to be
given to new University hires who are A&P employees. Updated A&P
information will be added to the updated HR Handbook.
Calendar
and Schedules Committee: Katie Mantooth had nothing to
report for the committee. She briefly talked about the directory that will be
distributed at the retreat and the information piece that is being created.
New
Business
Victoria
Tate announced that there will be an additional opening on the Professional
Development committee as John Greene is leaving the University.
Open
Forum
Victoria
Tate asked about the appeals process. Maria Folmar shared that she has not
gotten an update as of the meeting. John Greene committed to follow-up on that.
All communications are being channeled through Lynn Hammond and not much
speculation is being offered as to when appeals will conclude.
Maria
Folmar reminded attendees that the next meeting is Wednesday, September 19 and
asked that everyone forward any concerns, etc. to her. Todd Storey interjected
that the meeting will be held in Foy 213.
Adjourn
Meeting
was adjourned at 2:20 p.m.