Administrative & Professional Assembly

Meeting Minutes 10/17/06

Room 213 Foy Student Union

 

 

Approved November 14, 2006

 

The meeting was called to order at 2:33 PM by Chairperson Drew Burgering.

 

Assembly members in attendance were Barnese Adair-Wallace, Latresha Brady-Pinkston, Drew Burgering, Pat Deery, , Maria Folmar, David Hennessey, Jane Hoehaver, Harriette Huggins Teresa Logiotatos, Missy Long, Ellen McManus, Vivian Miller, Julie Nolen, John Owen, Kirsten Perkins, April Staton, Tony Ventimiglia and Mark Wilson.

 

The Assembly attendance sheet was initialed by attending members.  Assembly members not in attendance were Lisa Fleming , Katie Mantooth, Greg Ruff and Todd Storey.

 

Minutes from the September 19, 2006 A&P Assembly meeting were approved as amended.

 

Special guest President Ed Richardson was recognized by the Chairperson.

 

Comments from the Chair

1.  The university calendar for 2007 needs one day added for the first mini semester. 

2.  One change that is being presented is a change in the time between classes from 10 minutes to 15 minutes.

 

Chairperson Drew Burgering introduced President Ed Richardson, Auburn University’s seventeenth president.

 

Dr. Ed Richardson’s Comments

Opens by commenting on whether or not he is the seventeenth president since you could debate several presidential tenures, such as when there were two presidents serving simultaneous. 

 

Success requires many pieces and A&P employees are one of these pieces.  A&P employees are highly important.  He will present topics suggested by Drew that are of interest to A&P employees. 

 

Dr. Richardson feels Auburn University is positioning itself to the future.  An organization must realize change is a part of doing business.  If you don’t change then you’ll be left behind.  A good example is General Motors.  At one time GM was a leader in their industry but because they didn’t see a need to change they are being left behind.  Dr. Richardson plans on addressing several initatives he feels are positive changes for the university and helps position for the future.

 

Selecting AU’s next President

Dr. Richardson’s goal is to establish a positive atmosphere for selecting the next president.  He wants AU to be in a ‘no damage control’ state.  He is encouraging the Board of Trustees to start deliberation for selecting a short list of candidates.  Dr. Richardson sees his goal as to do the leg on selecting a president and creating a positive appealing atmosphere but it will be the Board of Trustee’s to make the decision.

 

Enrollment Accountability

There is a growing cry in the SEC, accountability in governance.  He feels it is a growing concern whether or not programs are producing quality education and quality graduates.  Are graduates properly prepared to enter the work force and be competitative?  Accountability needs to be addressed in the issue of higher education costs.  The cost of education is growing faster than the cost of living.  More and more individuals can’t afford to go to college and if they do attend it is the result of increasing debt.  Higher education is important but the rising cost must be halted.

 

Should the concept of no child left behind be considered for higher education and not just K-12?  Dr. Richardson feels that yes, we need to do this but it’s the will that’s missing, it’s back to the attitude of no change.  We have the accountability and ability to make changes to correct these issues.

 

Last Board of Trustees meeting significant decision was made regarding scholarships and enrollment.  It was noted that there’s a need to increase scholarships with more emphasis on higher reaching students.  It’s acknowledged that Auburn has not had to offer scholarships.  Higher academic achievement students lead to higher requirements.

 

Dr. Richardson said that a Student Success Center is being established for students not sure what they want in the future for their education.  The center will provide guidance for students and help ensure a more quality education.  It’s the university’s responsibility to elevate education levels for its students.  He noted that graduates in the fields of engineering and technology will be hired away from the states by international companies, which leads to another initative of economic development.

 

Economic development results in new technology and new research.  Research Park will be integral to this development.  AU has hired a consultant to identify plans for future progress.  The consultant will present his first report in December 9th.

 

Another initiative is Space Planning and Utilization, to know what we have on-campus.  Space is costly to construct and maintain.  Once we identify existing space we can re-allocate appropriately for increased efficiency. 

 

Dr. Richardson indicated there needs to be a change in programs such as the Dean of Admissions and VP Natural Fuels.  Re-organization of the enrollment and admissions area will better utilitze the intellectural assets of the current staff, put employees in positions they are more compatible with.

 

Shared Governance

Shared Governance means staying updated and being involved.  Dr. Richardson feels you must know the facts and be ready to discuss, get involved.  There should be active involvement in the presidential candidates meetings from all governance groups.

 

Questions

Pat Deery – Timeframe of the presidential search, when will we see forward movement?  President Richardson believes the committee will make good progress and make a report in the November Board of Trustees meeting.  We should see an offer being extended in mid winter. 

 

Harriette Huggins – Cost of education, what kind of paradigm changes are being made to allow students to graduate in four years?  President Richardson said AU should ask, “Do we have sufficient staff to allow for students to graduate in four years?  If not, what do we need to do to correct this?”  There’s the option of extending class time so students can get classes when they are offered.  He feels a goal needs to be set for students to graduate in four years and take the corrective steps to accomplish this.

 

Drew Burgering – Can you share your vision for Admissions and Enrollment?  President Richardson said it’s been found we haven’t used employees to their highest potential.  People are in the wrong slots.  He plans on hiring a Dean of Enrollment Management and changing the current hierarchy in Admissions and Enrollment.

 

Ad hoc committee (Grievance and Constitution) update

Report of the Ad-hoc Committee Assigned to Resolve Constitutional Inconsistencies

Dated:  10/5/06

 

The goal of this committee is to provide recommendations to the Administrative and Professional (A&P) Assembly that would lead to the resolution of inconsistencies between the A&P Constitution and University approved 2006 Grievance Policy currently found in the Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual, Section 8.6.

 

Committee Members:  Kathy Harmon; Cindy Selman (Chair); Altamese Stroud-Hill; Victoria Tate; Tony Ventimiglia

 

This committee has met four times.  In the first three meetings, the committee reviewed the history of the A&P Assembly, its constitution, and the grievance policy.  In addition, problematic issues that ensued during actual grievances were also discussed.  In the fourth meeting, the committee met with an A&P constituent group who were instrumental in the development of the Assembly and constitution to discuss issues of concern and ideas for resolution. 

 

Pursuant to our working meetings, and the constituent meeting, the committee hereby recommends the following:

 

·                   The Statement at the beginning of the A&P Constitution should be removed and remain only at the beginning of the Grievance Policy section. The language should be modified to add the following:

A vote to remove the grievance policy from the A&P Constitution was not approved by the A&P body.

·                   Any change to the Constitution in this regard should be deferred until a new President is selected.  During this time of transition, it is recommended that the Executive Committee develop some type of educational process whereby the body as a whole understands the policy replaced by the President. 

 

·                   When the new President has been selected, the Executive Committee should work to obtain his endorsement and his enforcement that future changes involving A&P Constitutional items will not be modified without first allowing the A&P body to approve the changes.

 

 

Drew asked if we needed a motion on recommendations from the committee.  Drew states there are three recommendations to select from.  How do we want to proceed?

 

A motion by Pat Deery, seconded by ????? for the Ad hoc committee to present a report to the Executive Committee, then the Executive Committee make recommendations to the Assembly, was passed. The Chair reminded the assembly that the committee had been set up without representation from the Executive committee so that a recommendation would not have the appearance of being railroaded by the executive Committee, but since this is the vote of the Assembly, the Executive Committee will come forward to the Assembly with a recommendation at the November meeting.

 

Recognition of Committee Members

Drew presented Certificates of Recognition to A&P employees whose committee service on A&P committees, University Committees, and University Senate committees, ended September 30, 2006.. 

A&P Commmittees:

Nominations and elections: Karen Rankin; John Asmuth; Altamese Stroud-Hill

Professional Development: Victoria Tate; Betsy Terry; Lydia Walls

Welfare: Vivian Miller; Russell Weldon; Tara Maple

Calendar and Schedules: Cathy Ramey; Ben Thomas; David Vedder

Grievance: Ben Shell; Kelly Birchfield; Kathy Harmon; Hayle Kelly; Melvin K. Smith.

 

University Committees:

Institutional Bio-Safety – Abigail D. Carreno

Insurance and Benefits – Vivian Miller

Multicultural Diversity Commission – Barnese Adair-Wallace

Student Discipline – Maria Folmar

Traffic Appeals Board – John Lohmeyer; Talitha Norris; Cathy Hawkins

University Budget Advisory – Harriette Huggins

 

University Senate

Calendar and Schedules – Cathy Ramey

Senate Welfare – Nancy Bernard

 

Spring Health Fair Information

Jenny Swain was unable to attend due to work obligations. She emailed Drew her comments so he could update the Assembly for her.  Below are her comments.

 

            The Health Fair Committee has been meeting recently coordinating efforts to combine the HR's Wellness Fair with the Lifestyle & Health Fair usually done in the Spring time.  This year the Lifetime Wellness and Fitness Expo 2007 will be held in March 2007.  This Expo will provide such things as Blood Pressure, Cholesterol Screening, Nutritional Education, Aerobic Demonstration, Body Composition, Heart Health Information and many many more services and information.  Kroger is usually a major contributor of this event and provides health foods and samples.  Over the last few years we have witnessed an increase of participation by not only staff, faculty but employees as well.   I want to thank the A&P Assembly for writing a letter of support to the proposal presented to the Commission's Board for help in funding the $12,000 cost of cholestoral screenings.  We received letters from all governance groups and many other offices across campus.  Our hopes are that this Expo will be several days long with competitions and demonstrations and speakers.  We value everyones support for this and look forward to bringing more information to you later.”

Drew penned a memorandum (inserted below) from and with the approval of the Executive Committee and forwarded it to Dr. Jeff Sibley, Chair, Concessions Board in support of the spring health fair. 

_____________________________________________________________________________

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Dr. Jeff Sibley, Chair, Concessions Board

FROM:            Drew Burgering, Chair A & P Assembly

DATE:             September 26, 2006

SUBJECT:       2007 Lifetime Wellness and Fitness Program: 

 

In sending this letter the Executive Committee of the Administrative and Professional Assembly would like to support the efforts of the Health and Wellness Fair Committee in its plan for the 2007 program. We represent the 1,200 A & P employees on campus and would like to applaud the efforts of this committee to try an offer to all faculty, staff and students the opportunity to have their cholesterol tested at this up coming fair. 

In order to accomplish this task there is need for funding to provide the test kits for the cholesterol screening. We are aware that the Health and Wellness Fair Committee is making an appeal to the Concessions Board to help in off setting the cost of these screening kits. I hope you will seriously consider this request and realize the impact this could have to the well being and to the education of the whole campus.

Again, we would like to show our support for this request, and to also offer any assistance we can in helping this event be successful.

 

Executive Committee Members:

 

Drew Burgering, Chair              Harriette Huggins, Past-Chair         Maria Folmer, Chair-Elect

Communications & Marketing   LRC                                              CGS   

23 Samford Hall                        Haley Center                                 Haley Center

844-5242                                 844-4293                                      844-4899

 

Missy Long, Secretary             April Staton                   Todd Storey               Vivian Miller

OIT                                         Pharmacy Practice         Airport/Aviation          Business Outreach

Telecom Building                      Walker Building             Airport                       Lowder Building

844-3500                                 844-4195                     844-4606                   April Staton 844-6455

 

 

Child Care Survey

Pat Deery provided an update on the upcoming child care survey for employees.  A paper copy of the survey will be forwarded to employees that do not use a computer as part of their job duties, therefore, do not have access to an online survey. 

 

The survey notice will be mailed in the next couple of weeks.  The results of the survey will be posted on the A&P web page.

 

Other Comments and Updates

The Ad hoc Committee, Grievance and Constitution, will forward its recommendations to the Executive Committee.  The Executive Committee will then submit its recommendation to the Assembly.

 

Drew has sent an email to Don Large following up on their conversation regarding governance and Secretary stipend.  Drew has not received a response as of today.  Justification of the Secretary stipend is additional meetings in one year and the responsibility of maintaining the A&P web page.

 

New Business

No new business.

 

Open Forum

No speakers.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 3:57 pm.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Missy Long

A&P Secretary