2003 Meeting began at 2:30 p.m. Present: Mary Jane Arden, Karen Bourne-Douglas, Mandy Emerson, Tammy Fenimore, John Fogelgren, Sandy Hinnish, Linda Lindsay, Peter Lonie, Janvier Santana, Marie Van Ess, Stephen Webb, and Judy Wolfe. Mary Jane opened the meeting by welcoming and thanking everyone for their attendance. This meeting was an open meeting to invited prospective members to sit in to see if they would be interested to serve as a member of the staff senate. Mary Jane gave a brief history of the staff senate by explaining the by-laws of the Staff Senate; she also explained what the Staff Senate can and cannot do – a brief explanation of all the accomplishments of the Staff Senate were also mentioned. Karen Bourne-Douglas and Mandy Emerson spoke about the Mentoring Program that they are currently working on. Mary Jane informed the group the Staff Senate is generally publicized by website, flyers, and bulletin boards and on the monthly issue of the Campus Connection. Mary Jane also indicated that in order for the Staff Senate to be successful attendance is very important. Staff Senate meetings are generally conducted during working hours therefore employees should not have to supplement their lunch time for Staff Senate meetings. Marie Van Ess expressed that some of the benefits of being a Staff Senate member is that it allows you to meet people from different campuses, you are aware of what is going on campus wide and it also allows people to be aware of who we are as Staff Senate members. Marie also spoke briefly about the upcoming election change and the process of how the votes are will be handled. We will generate two lists, one will have names of people who are personally interested in serving and the other will be a list with regular names that are generated by department. A lot of new ideas and great suggestions were received from the visiting members. Next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 19, 2003 at 2:30 p.m. at the Wilmington Campus. Meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m. Recorded by Karen Bourne-Douglas Meeting began at 2:30 p.m. Present: Mary Jane Arden, Karen Bourne-Douglas, Mandy Emerson, John Fogelgren, Lisa Hastings, Barbara Ives, Marie Van Ess, and Linda Watts. Mary Jane opened the meeting by welcoming and thanking everyone for their attendance. Study Circles - Lisa was introduced to the group by Karen Bourne-Douglas. Lisa is the Co-chair of the Diversity committee at the Stanton/Wilmington Campus. Lisa joined us to enlighten the staff senate about the Study Circle program. This program is a nationally known program on Race Relations through the YWMCA. This program is mandated by the Department of Labor for employees are required to participate in this program. Lisa indicated to the Staff Senate that Delaware Tech students and Faculty Members can earn credit for Study Circles participation; however, this does not apply to the Plan B and C employees. The Staff Senate members feels that while this could be very beneficial to all, due to lack of incentives to Plan B and C employees the participation rate from that group will be very low. Lisa indicated that she will try to set up a meeting with Mr. Miller to see if this problem can be remedied. Lisa also indicated that her goal for the Study Circle project is to try to get everyone at Delaware Tech to participate in the program. This would be a way to connect staff and faculty, she will also check to see how she would be able to incorporate incentives in this program for Plan B and Plan C employees. Cookbook – Nancy indicated that cookbooks sales are coming in. Karen Bourne-Douglas will check with Louise in the Book Store to see if more cookbooks are needed. Nancy will check with the Stanton Book Store. Mentoring Program – Mandy and Karen will set up a time to meet with Ruben Evans to go over guidelines for the Mentoring Program once things are a little less hectic in the office. Feed Back Forms – No feed back forms have been received lately. Milestones – Milestones will be differed until the new board is in place. Meeting Schedule – Currently the meeting schedule is as follows: Wednesday, October 15, 2:30, Stanton All Meetings will be held in either the Wilmington or Stanton Campus Director's Board Room Classes – Mary Jane indicated that she contacted Andrew Zimmerman; he informed us that all Plan B and C employees are welcome to take classes when they are offered, more information to follow later. Next Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 15, at 2:30 p.m. Stanton Campus Meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m. Recorded by Karen Bourne-Douglas, Staff Senate Secretary Stanton Student Services Conference Room, 3 p.m Present: Mary Jane Arden, Marie Vann Ess, Gary Heller I. Welcome - MJ II. Minutes from last meeting - approved III. Treasurer’s Report – We currently have $1,039.91 in the Staff Senate account. Roughly $800 is from the cookbook sales. Business: Election of new vice chair Marie Van Ess was nominated to fulfill the remainder of Monica’s term as Vice Chair of Staff Senate. The nomination was seconded by Mary Jane, and everyone present voted unanimously to elect Marie. General Election – November According to our by-laws the vice chair oversees the election. Also on the committee are Karen, Mandy and John. The election must be held in November and we need 8 senators to be elected from each Campus location (16 in all). We will begin soliciting for names of interested candidates beginning with the August issue of Campus Connections. News Regarding our Meetings: Due to a recent lack of attendance at our meetings, we’ve put out heads together to try to figure out a way to get more people to show up. We decided that having a regular schedule, published far in advance would help everyone plan for attending. Beginning with our next meeting in September our meetings will always be held on the third Wednesday of each month at 2:30 p.m. Meetings will alternate between Stanton and Wilmington. Here are our meetings dates for the next six months. Please be sure to put them on your calendar: Wednesday, September 17, 2:30, Wilmington Meeting began at 9:00 a.m. Present – Mary Jane Arden, Karen Bourne-Douglas, Robin Burke, John Fogelgren, Barbara Ives and Nancy Vance. Minutes were confirmed by Nancy Vance and seconded by Karen Bourne-Douglas respectively. Cookbook Report – Nancy reported that the cookbooks are doing well with the sales. A hand our of the news journal article was distributed to all. Nancy will get an approximate of the cookbooks that were sold. Mentoring Program – Nancy informed the group that she had the opportunity to unofficially mentor someone who was hired in the Admissions office at the Stanton Campus. John informed us that he has a new person starting on June 23; he is currently looking at a potential mentor in the department to work with this person. Mary Jane indicated that the will post something on the website to welcome these new employees. Robin Burke suggested that we should have a picture of all the Staff Senate. Karen volunteered to do pictures for the Wilmington Campus and Mary Jane will do pictures for the Stanton Campus. Study Circle – A follow-up with Lisa Hastings will be made in order to get more information about the Study circle program that will be hosted by the Diversity Committee at the Stanton/Wilmington Campus. New Projects – Staff training programs were discussed. Working on a tentative project with the Faculty Senate was also discussed. It was suggested that we should invite Andrew Zimmerman to one of our meetings so that he could speak with the staff senate about opportunities for training programs and job enhancement. This would also enable the staff senate to see what is available to Plan B and C employees. Mary Jane also indicated that it would be a good idea to invite Pamela McPherson to speak with the group. A staff training committee was formed. Members are: Mary Jane Arden, Karen Bourne-Douglas, Barbara Ives and Nancy Vance. Campus Maps – Mary Jane is currently working on updating the campus maps; this will also enable us to find simple ways to direct visitors. Currently there are no outdoor signages. It was indicated that having someone to direct and greet visitors as they enter the building would be helpful. Buzz Sheet – Everyone agreed that the buzz sheet will be temporarily discontinued. It was motioned by Nancy Vance and seconded by John. Upcoming Visitor – Mr. Miller will join us for our next meeting which will be held on July 22, at 9:30 a.m. at the Wilmington Campus. Election – Mary Jane will lead the election process for the upcoming election of the Staff Senate. Karen, Mandy and John will also join her to make sure there are representatives from both campuses. Bylaws – Anyone needing more information about the staff senate bylaws should check the website. Thank you - The Staff Senate would like to say a big thank you to the Employee Appreciation committee for providing lunch for staff members who had to work during the festivities. Next meeting is scheduled for July 22, 2003, 9:30 a.m. Wilmington, Campus. Meeting Adjourned at 11:00 a.m. Present: Mary Jane Arden, Karen Bourne-Douglas, Mandy Emerson, Barbara Ives, Monica Staszesky, Nancy Vance and Marie Van Ess. Meeting began at 9:00 a.m. Monica welcomed and thanked everyone for coming. Minutes were motioned by Mary Jane and seconded by Nancy respectively. Follow up from last meeting – Hand out from faculty funding was distributed to all. Mary Jane suggested that she would get permission to work on maps for the Stanton/Wilmington Campus. Campus connection May Issue has an article posted about the Staff Senate Cookbook. Mary Jane also indicated that she would wrote to Kathy and Carolyn about getting permission about running an article about births, deaths, retirements etc. in the staff senate websites for those plan B and C employees who are interested. This would be listed as "Milestones", Mandy will collect information for "Milestones" information. A printed copy would be posted on the bulleting board for staff members who do not have access or cannot access computers. Cookbook Sales – Cookbooks will be on sale in the Stanton/Wilmington Bookstores. A very nice press release was read by Mary Jane, this will be submitted to the News Journal for publication to highlight the cookbook. Cookbooks will also be on sale at the Employee recognition event. Volunteer forms were filled out for this event. $211.00 was submitted to Monica from Mary Jane for Cookbook sales. The Staff Senate has donated 1 cookbook to be given has a prize for employee recognition drawing. Mentoring Program update – Karen and Mandy gave an update about the progress of the mentoring program. The indicated that currently a total of 10 volunteers have signed up. A meeting will be held for these mentors, this will last about an hour. Mentors who are assigned will serve for a six-month period. A survey will be generated at the end of the six-month period. Two separate meetings will be held for the mentoring program, one at each campus. New Business – Study Circle – Karen informed the Staff Senate members that the diversity committee is soliciting our help for a Study Circle on Race & Race Relations. This is a program that was created by the YWCA. "This is a national program that has received national recognition. In Delaware, the Department of Labor has made this is a mandatory program for all employees and other companies like DuPont and First USA have also found it to be extremely successful in their own organizations." Chair/Vice Chair – Monica and Mary Jane will switch positions effective June 1, 2003. Next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 11, 3:00 p.m. at the Stanton Campus. Meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m. Recorded by Karen Bourne-Douglas Present: Mary Jane Arden, Karen Bourne-Douglas, Barbara Ives, Monica Staszesky, Marie Van Ess and Nancy Vance Welcome – As always Monica opened the meeting by thanking every for coming. Minutes – Minutes from the last meeting were motioned and seconded by Mary Jane Arden and Karen Bourne-Douglas respectively. Middle States Visit – Mary Jane updated us on the visit with the staff senate from the Middles States Visit. She informed us that Middle States noticed longevity among the staff at Delaware Tech. She also indicated that Middle States wanted to know what the representation for the staff senate was when it comes to high level committees and how it would be presented by the staff senate. It was also suggested to talk with other Campus Staff Senate to see how this process is handled. It was also discussed by the staff senate that if there is someone representing the plan B and C employees on the planning council committee, that person should be able to report back to the staff senate. Currently Byroune Myles and Janice Tate are representing the group. But there are no follow-up as to what the process is regarding Plan B and C employees. Monica suggested that she would extend an invitation to the next meeting to both of them. Buzz Sheet - Concerns/Suggestions which were sent by a couple staff members was read by Monica. These Concerns/Suggestions were followed-up by an email from Monica. Cookbook Marketing – Cookbooks will be sold by Monica Staszesky, Robin Burke, Nancy Vance, and Bookstore at both Stanton and Wilmington Campus. It was also suggested that the Staff Senate will set up a table at the Employee Recognition event on May 22; cookbooks will also be available for sale then. Mentoring Program – A train the trainer meeting seminar/meeting will be held by Karen and Mandy to kick off the Mentoring Program. Currently there are seven volunteers. Meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m. Next Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 13 at 9:00 a.m. Wilmington Campus Meeting began at 9:00 a.m. Present: Mary Jane Arden, Karen Bourne-Douglas, Robin Burke, Mandy Emerson, John Fogelgren, Barbara Ives, Suzette Sewell, Monica Staszesky, Marie Van Ess, Nancy Vance and Linda Watts. Monica opened the meeting by thanking everyone for coming and welcomed John Fogelgren, Wilmington Campus Chief of Public Safety. John informed us that he has an extensive background with security; he is also a retired police officer with excellent people skills who believes in the rights of the employees. John updated us on some of the plans he has for the campus. Some of these plans include making all public safety officers at the campus Delaware Tech employees. Most of our part-time public safety officers are contracted through Bennett Security Company. His goal is also to adapt the one-college reality in public safety; though each campus has different policies, there are some that can be combined to be more uniform with the other campuses. John also indicated that with the war at hand and terrorist events in mind, he is also working to restrict college access; he is working to have everyone wear an ID card so that we are aware of who is entering the campus. He also indicated that by the fall of this year a new caller ID system should be in place and card access to specific areas in the campus will be required. John stated that all these plans are being mandated by Governor Minner. He also indicated that people who are walking around on campus will be subjected to questioning as to where they belong. John indicated that he is currently working to centralize everything. John said currently there are about 48 cameras on campus, and these cameras are not strategically placed. He is also working to put emergency phones on each level of the parking garage. John is also working with Administrative Services to arrange for faculty and staff to enter the building between 7:45 and 8:00 a.m. in one specific area. Mary Jane indicated that there can be a communication process through the Staff Senate, where incidents that happen on campus would be published on a public safety website – i.e., crime statistics. Mary Jane encouraged John to use the Staff Senate as a communication tool. John shared copies of the Homeland Security guidelines from the Delaware State Web Site. He encouraged questions from the Staff Senate; much discussion followed. Everyone agreed that the Staff Senate is available to support the Campus Chiefs and is available as a liaison with Plan B/C staff. Nancy reported that the Cookbooks should be available for sale any day. Monica reminded the Senate that the Middle States Visit will be March 23-26 with a kick-off dinner on March 23; Monica will represent the Senate at the dinner. The Visiting Team will most likely want to meet with the Staff Senate. Members agreed to be familiar with a particular chapter in the Blueprints for Excellence document. There will be an Exit Interview on March 26 at 11:30 at Stanton; Senators were encouraged to attend. The Mentoring Program is being developed; currently, we are recruiting mentors and will provide them with a training session before being assigned a mentee. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 8 at Stanton. kbd JANUARY 27, 2003 Present: Mary Jane Arden, Karen Bourne-Douglas, Barbara Ives, Monica Staszesky, and Nancy Vance. Monica opened the meeting by welcoming everyone. Approval of minutes was motioned by Nancy Vance and seconded by Karen Bourne-Douglas. Budget Meeting - Monica discussed the outcome of the budget meeting we had with Dr. Winner and Cliff Farmer. Notes from the meeting were distributed to everyone. Monica also informed the members of the Staff Senate how arduous the budget process is and everyone agreed. Update from the Faculty Senate Meeting - Notes from this meeting were also handed out. Faculty Senate Chair, John Rossi, would like to see the Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, and Student Government work together on a joint project. Monica indicated that at the Faculty Senate meeting, no activities were identified; however, ideas are welcome. Mentoring Program – Copies of the outline dated 12/02, which was submitted to Jackie Jenkins, were distributed. Monica suggested that if anyone has any additions to the mentoring program they are welcome to submit them. The Staff Senate will now begin to recruit mentors through the "Buzz Sheet" and the website. Cookbook update – An update of the cookbook was given by Nancy Vance. She informed us that the cookbook will be ready for printing soon. The draft looks very good. The estimated cost of the cookbook will be $7.99 each or 2 for $15.00. Different ideas for advertising the cookbook were discussed. Ideas include but are not limited to the Bookstore, Cafeteria, and office sales. Monica offered to handle incoming orders and to accept the book payments. Buzz Sheet – Mary Jane Distributed an updated copy of the Buzz Sheet. The February Buzz Sheet highlights the new Mentoring Program. New Public Safety Officers – It was agreed upon by the group that we will invite the new Chiefs of Public Safety to our next meeting to get acquainted. Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at the Wilmington Campus, Room 350 (Campus Director's Office). Meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m. Recorded by Karen Bourne-Douglas |
