Staff Senate Minutes 
of Regular Meeting  
December 14, 2011 – 1:15 p.m.
Martinsville Room
Senators Present:  Suzann Bennett, Angie Campbell, Tony Craig, Brad Green, Zoraida Irizarry, Tina Jenkins, Cay Kolling, Michelle Morgan, Patty Shonk, Anita Thomas, Antoine Thomas                 
Senators Absent:  Maria Barrientos, Tami Duzan, Rick James, Mary Jo Montgomery, Phil Lang
Guests:  Ken Baker, Athletics, Patty Hood, Human Resources, Teresa Sims, Business Office,   Eric Schultz, Athletics
Call to Order:  	The meeting was called to order by Pres. Thomas at 1:18 p.m. 
Approval of Minutes:  The minutes from the November meeting were read.  Tony Craig made the motion to approve the minutes; Angie Campbell 2nd the motion.  Brad Green suggested we resume approving the minutes by email.
Presentation by Ken Baker, Strategic Planning Committee:  
The first draft of the Strategic Plan was handed out to members.  Mr. Baker asked for comments either on the web page or by email to one of the three co-chairs.  Over 900 people were engaged in the process.  Six main themes were developed.  “Who We Are” was a major point of discussion at the recent goals conference. The plan will be presented to the Board of Trustees at their January 20th meeting.  Trustees will help decide how to move forward with the plan.  Ken also mentioned the Noel-Levitz Survey which is in the process of being completed.  Feedback was sought from every department on campus.  Major focus will be on enrollment/admissions/retention and financial aid.
Old Business:  
	A.  Sick Leave Bank – Patty Hood presented information about Sick Leave Bank guidelines. The Sick Leave Bank started in 1998.  A revised policy was drafted in 2006, but never approved.  Teresa Sims gave a brief history about how the idea started by employees discussing ways to take sick leave when they didn’t have any sick leave time left.   Donation of sick leave time was proposed.  Human Resources is interested in having senators and staff develop a new Sick Leave Bank policy that would merge aspects of the current policy with the revised plan.  The Staff Senate will form a committee to help develop that policy.  Members will be appointed at a future date.   
	B.  Storage of Documents - Storage of Staff Senate documents was discussed.  Documents can be kept in the Booth Library Archives Department and library staff will scan documents for archival purposes.  Tina Jenkins made a motion to store old documents in the Booth Library Archives Dept.  Zoraida Irizarry 2nd the Motion.  Motion passed.
New Business:  
	A.  Campus Phone Books -   Elimination of the campus phone books was considered.  Senate decided to make a proposal to put the phone book into a digital format so fewer copies are printed and suggested that departments on campus be contacted to see how many printed copies are needed.
	B.  Election of two A/P senators – Senators reviewed A/P employee submissions for the two (2) vacant positions on the Senate.  After the review, a vote was taken and the Election Committee tallied the votes.  Eric Schultz, Director of Compliance, Athletics and Christine Edwards, Scholarship Coordinator, were chosen as the two new senators from the A/P employee group.  Their term starts immediately and lasts until their appointment expires on 6/30/12.  They will be eligible to run for office in the April elections for the three (3) year term.
	C.  President’s Meeting – Angie reported news from the Exec. Committee’s meeting with President Perry:   Dr. Weber presented the Strategic Plan to the CUPB.  Senator Jenkins inquired about the procedures being used for filling job vacancies/upgrades on campus.  Dr. Perry would like to see all vacancies advertized locally and state wide to get the best possible candidate.  The status of CCR & R layoff notices discussed.  Employees in that department did receive layoff notices but the University received the documentation needed to avoid layoffs just following the meeting.  Dr. Weber gave an update on the status of SB 512 (pension reform bill).  EIU representatives met with the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget recently and Dr. Weber was scheduled to attend a SURS roundtable in Springfield to discuss pensions.    
Committee Reports:  CUPB - Senator Campbell reported from the CUPB meeting that all FY 11 monies had been received.  FY 12 funds are being paid on track with one-half of all vouchers sent in being paid to date.    A consultant has been hired to address the issue of declining enrollment.  Eric Davidson spoke to CUPB about a smoke free campus; topic was discussed by Senate.   
Other News:  President Thomas made the announcement that she was resigning her position as Staff Senate President effective at the end of December meeting.  She is retiring from the University after 28 years of service.  She was one of the original Staff Senate members when the Senate came into being.  Angie Campbell voiced the Senate’s gratitude for Anita’s service to EIU and the Senate gave President Thomas a standing ovation.
Angie Campbell made the Motion to Adjourn.   Patty Shonk 2nd the Motion.  Meeting adjourned at 2:55 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted, Suzann Bennett, Secretary
Next meeting:  January 11, 2012 at 1:15 p.m. in the Martinsville Room