Asmuth welcomed the group and explained that this was the first meeting with the new slate of officers and Assembly members that became effective October 1, 1996. Asmuth also thanked the Past Chair, Jim Stone, for his leadership since March of 1994 when the A&P Assembly was first formed. Stone was the Chair during the time of approval and recognition of the Board of Trustees and led the first Executive Committee through the writing of the Constitution. The former Executive Committee was thanked for their dedication as well.

The new Executive Committee was introduced: Shawn Asmuth, Chair; Jim Stone, Past Chair; Robert Gottesman, Chair-Elect; Angie Jacobs, Secretary; Members at large: Betty Reese, Carl Gagliano, and Ted Trupp.

Asmuth explained the purpose of the Administrative & Professional Assembly as an Advisory group to the President and the administration of Auburn University. The purpose of the members of the Assembly is to represent constituents of our respective groups. The Assembly represents 850 employees in the A&P group. The constituents we represent should feel that they can come to us with important issues, and we are encouraged to take our responsibility seriously.

The minutes from the August 6 meeting were reviewed. Gottesman moved that the minutes be accepted. Trupp seconded the motion and the motion carried. The minutes and agendas for upcoming meetings will be mailed to the Assembly members but will also be available on the web at http://www.auburn.edu/administration/governance/ap/au_ap_assembly.html.

Old Business: Asmuth reviewed the 1995-1996 rollover of committees. Each of the committee chairs will be contacted to remind them they will serve as chairs until Spring 1997. Each of the committees should have a written statement of operating procedures on file as stated in the Constitution. Also, there should be a yearly written report on the committee's activities on hand. The reports will be due next March.

Gottesman reported for Bruce Lewis on the ad hoc committee that was formed to determine the make up of the University Committees. A meeting has been planned with Faculty Senate representatives to discuss the representation of A&P employees on University committees. Asmuth reported that she has been added to the Budget Advisory Committee as an A&P representative.

Calendars and Schedules Committee has met and recommended dates for Assembly meetings. The Grievance Committee reported that there had been no activity since the last report.

New Business: Dr. Jim Ferguson, Vice President of Administrative Services gave a report on the NCAA Certification process. He explained that this is an ongoing project. The committee is making this presentation to all governance groups on campus to inform everyone of the process. He referred to the NCAA Certification handouts, one including a time table, to show where they are in the process. He stressed the process was designed to improve the fundamental integrity in our program at Auburn University. A preliminary report will be available next Fall quarter and the goal is to receive certification in the Fall of 1997.

There are 32 people on the steering committee with all constituents on campus represented. The following subcommittees and the chairs are: 1) Governance and Commitment to Rules Compliance chaired by Dean Stewart Schneller 2) Fiscal Integrity chaired by Don Large 3) Academic Integrity chaired by Dennis Wilson 4) Commitment to Equity chaired by Yvonne Kozlowski. We can contact these chairs if we have any questions or interest in a specific area.

1996-1997 Meeting Dates: The Winter quarter meeting will be Tuesday, January 21 at 3:00 p.m. in Room 213 Foy Union. Dr. Muse will be the guest speaker at the January meeting. The Spring Quarter meeting will be Tuesday, April 22 at 3:00 p.m. in Room 213 Foy Union. Meetings will be announced in the AU Report, as well as online on our web page.

Asmuth passed around handouts and reviewed the 21st Century Commission recommendations. Dr. Muse has asked for feedback from the various governing groups on campus. The documents will be presented to the Board in their current state, but Dr. Muse will forward any dissenting opinions. If adopted by the Board, these documents will be the plan for Auburn University in the years to come. Asmuth encouraged us to read the reports and get feedback to her by November 12.

An Administrative & Professional handbook was discussed. We don't have our own handbook, but currently we use the Policies and Procedures of the Staff handbook as a guide for determining if an employee has been treated fairly (for grievance purposes.) Once an A&P employee has filed a grievance, then the polices of the Grievance Committee will be followed. Asmuth has spoken with Dr. Leischuck and Dr. Ferguson about the writing of an A&P handbook, and was told that Personnel was very close to having a new policies and procedure manual written. This caused some concern because we want to make sure we are represented correctly, or not represented at all in the new staff handbook. Asmuth will talk to Darwin Liverance and ask to see a rough draft before the final version is issued.

Other New Business: We discussed trying to come up with a way that we know the constituents we represent, and maybe have a mailing list of each of the groups we represent so that we can communicate with those groups effectively. This was attempted some time ago, but so many more people read e-mail now that it should be a good way to communicate. Asmuth asked Gottesman to follow up.

A date for the next Executive Committee meeting was set at November 13 at 9:30 a.m. in the Payroll conference room in Ingram Hall.

Durbin moved for adjournment. Vest seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Angie Jacobs, Secretary