Minutes
Steering Committee Meeting
November 3, 2020 3:30 p.m.
Zoom Meeting

Present: Don Mulvaney (Chair), Greg Schmidt (Secretary), Nedret Billor (Immediate Past Chair), Todd Steury (Chair elect), Ralph Kingston (Secretary elect) Bob Norton, Bob Cochran, Cheryl Seals, Emmett Winn, Michael Tillson
Absent: Bill Hardgrave

Chair Mulvaney called the meeting to order at 3:40 p.m. He announced that Spring Semester calendar planning is nearly finalized and a letter from AU administration is forthcoming. 

Approval of Steering Committee Minutes, 10/06/2020: Approved by voice vote; 10 Aye, 0 Nay

Action Item: Revisions to Faculty Handbook.
Presenter, Kamden Strunk, Chair, Faculty Handbook Review Committee.

Professor Strunk announced that, in coordination with Economics faculty who were concerned over suggested changes to departmental voting in units with few eligible faculty, those revisions have been removed from the current action items. The revisions recommended by the Teaching Effectiveness Committee and the other Chapter 3 revisions unrelated to departmental voting will remain as action items. The faculty voting elements up for revision will be brought up at a later meeting.

The Steering Committee discussed the revisions from the TEC being discussed and voted upon separate from the Chapter 3 revisions. A motion was made and seconded to do so.
Approved by vote; 10 Aye, 0 Nay. 

Information Item: Insurance and Benefits Update
Presenter, Ann Shore. Executive Director, Payroll and Employee Benefits.
Ann Shore presented on 2021 insurance and benefits within the context that November is the open enrollment month for 2021 benefits. All changes must be made in November and will take effect in January 2021. Online enrollment remains an option for all AU personnel, and benefit enrollers are available for one on one sessions.  Ms. Shore then moved on to health insurance changes for 2021

• Health insurance premiums will increase 2% for both employees and the AU employer contribution.
• The annual out-of-pocket maximum will increase by $400 for individuals and by $800 for families.
• Healthy Tigers discounts are still available for employees and spouses.
• No changes to deductibles, to dental plans, or to vision plans.
• Ms. Shore then gave an overview of Flexible Spending Account plans 2021 and 2022 including updates on limits, enrollment, and carryover provisions.
• A high-deductible health plan is an option coming for calendar year 2022.

Ms. Shore then gave an overview of additional insurance product available and retirement plans for AU employees.  She closed her presentation with an overview of policy changes at Auburn, including the new parental leave policy, the temporary changes to annual leave carryover, and an announcement that a dependent audit is coming in 2021.
Questions from the Steering Committee:
QUESTION - Does the Parental Leave Policy apply to both parents if both are employed at Auburn University?   ANSWER: Yes, both parents may take parental leave and may coordinate to best use it.
QUESTION – If the Supreme Court overturns the Affordable Care Act, how will Auburn handle the loss of the mandate to cover dependents to age 26?  ANSWER:  Ms. Shore was not in a position to answer, but noted that as Auburn is self-insured, it can make a decision independent of Blue Cross Blue Shield.
QUESTION – What is Auburn participation in Flex Spending Accounts?  ANSWER: Around 47 percent of employees have FSAs.
QUESTION – Can there be changes to the 10-year requirement for vesting in retirement in RSA? ANSWER – That is an RSA rule and Auburn must follow RSA requirements.
QUESTION – Would it be possible to offer additional health incentives such as wellness center discounts?  ANSWER – That is something the Insurance & Benefits Committee could consider.
QUESTION – Is there a report available on Healthy Tiger program effectiveness?  ANSWER – This topic was presented to the Senate last year. Ms. Shore will see if there is a report available separate from the Senate presentation.

Information Item – SGA Student Organization “Did You Know” Corner
Presenter: Hays Kassen, Vice President SGA.
Steering Discussion centered on the 500+ student organizations at Auburn. Hays can help the Steering Committee recruit organizational leaders to speak to the Senate. ROTC Organizations were suggested as a topic for the November Senate meeting.

Special Session Discussion –
The Steering Committee opened discussion on how to conduct the 11/10 called special meeting of the Auburn Faculty. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the AAUP Chapter’s report and vote on its recommendations.  Steering agreed that this will be the only action item for this meeting.

Ralph Kingston has drawn up a list of topics and concerns that were raised during the fall meeting on 10/27/2020. This list was created to document and address the concerns expressed during the general faculty meeting of 10/27 that were unrelated to those in the AAUP document.  Committee discussion centered around how to present this at the meeting and if there are actions that could be taken on the document were it to be discussed at the special meeting and its recommendations/findings moved to the November Senate agenda.

The committee agreed that a special meeting information item following the action item would allow for the issues to be stated and would allow for suggestions to be put forward.  Following the special meeting, the steering committee could produce a document of the critical issues of concern which could then, subject to steering approval, be presented as an information item at the November senate meeting.

A motion was made and seconded to present the document prepared by Dr. Kingston as an information item at the special meeting on 11/10. Discussion of the document would allow for additional concerns to be gathered and incorporated into the document. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.

A motion was made to produce an amended report following the special meeting and to present it at the November Senate meeting as in information item, subject to approval of the report by the Steering Committee.  The motion was approved with a unanimous vote

New Business
Immediate Past Chair Nedret Billor expressed concern over the process by which the COSAM Dean Search Committee was assembled. COSAM faculty who were unaware of the committee formation, feel that shared governance ideals were not followed. She asked that Chair Mulvaney follow up on the concerns with AU leadership.

Adjournment
Following Steering Committee approval of the senate meeting agenda and the special meeting agenda, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded and approved. Chair Mulvaney adjourned the meeting at 5:08 pm

Respectfully Submitted,
Greg Schmidt
Secretary, University Senate