September 1997

Staff Advisory Council Minutes
Thursday, September 11, 1997
LaFortune Student Center - Notre Dame Room
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Present: Rhonda Barkley, Sue Baum-Lentine, Jan Blazi, Larry Born, Dan Brazo, Phyllis Campbell, Tammy Chapman, Victoria Cotton, Gina DeLaruelle, Debbie Fox, Toby Green, Mary Anne Hoebeke, Carl Hubbard, Pam Jobin, Chuck Klein, JoAnn Longenecker, Norma Mezykowski, Don Newsom, Jennifer Schafer, Diane Schlatterbeck, Amy Tremel and Scott Uekert.

Absent: Debra Bennett, Rachel Boyd, Rita Grontkowski, Sue Penrod, Michael Purnell, Doris Smuda, Fred Sonneborn and Deanna Zukowski.

HR Liaisons: Rich Nugent, Pam Zarazee, Rita Winsor and Denise Murphy.

Dan Brazo, Chair called the meeting to order at 1:10 p.m.

Deb Fox from the Election Committee updated the Council on the special election that took place for District #24. Deb stated that two individuals nominated themselves and the new representative for District #24 is Mary Anne Hoebeke from the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Deb, Dan and the Council welcomed Mary Anne to her first Council meeting.

Dan told the Council that Rita Vanderbosch had contacted him to notify the Council that she will no longer be able to update the Council's Web Page due to her retirement. Dan asked if there were any volunteers from the Council who would be interested in updating the Web Page. A Council member noted that there is a non-exempt staff member that does not serve on the Council that would be interested in handling this task. Another member of the Council stated that in the College of Arts and Letters, a professor may be interested in having some students work on the Council Web Page for classroom assignments. The Council asked Scott Uekert to look into this option and report back to the Council at the October 9, 1997 meeting.

I. Approval of Minutes from the August 14, 1997 meeting
Larry Born made a motion to accept the August 14, 1997 meeting minutes. Amy Tremel seconded the motion. A vote was taken and all present Council members voted in favor of passing the motion.

II. Retirement Benefits Discussion
Rita Winsor, Assistant Director of Human Resources thanked the Council for asking her to come and discuss issues that the Retirement Ad-Hoc Committee brought forward from the Council. Rita introduced Denise Murphy, the new Manager of Benefits to the Council.

Rita and the Council had detailed discussions with regard to: * The features of the various pension plans offered by the University * Retiree Health Insurance options currently available * The possibility of providing Annual Statements to employees on pension plan information * Disposition of any unused sick hours * A review of the benefit summary given to each employee upon retirement * Exit Interviews with Human Resources are available upon request * Appropriate recognition for retiring staff employees

After this discussion, the Council agreed there is a need for more education campus-wide to explain to employees current benefits for active staff, as well as those conferred upon retirement. The Council felt that an increased amount of smaller articles with regard to retirement should be placed in the StaffNews, and possibly an increased number of presentations should be made to specific areas across campus explaining the University's current benefits for retirees.

III. Select Women's Committee members from the Council
Dan Brazo asked the Council for volunteers to serve on the Women's Committee. The volunteers that will serve on the Women's Committee from the Council are:
Rita Grontkowski Norma Mezykowski Tammy Chapman Gina DeLaruelle Toby Green Scott Uekert

The Council will select the volunteers from the non-exempt staff to fill the remainder of seats on the Women's Committee at the October 9, 1997 meeting. The letter asking for volunteers from non-exempt staff who are not Council members that are interested in serving on the Women's Committee will be going out on Wednesday, September 17, 1997.

IV. Review New Topics List
Dan stated that with the limited time remaining in the meeting, the Executive Committee will convene to get the New Topics list finalized and be prepared to discuss it at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Also, the Executive Committee will set an agenda for the October 9, 1997 meeting.

Chuck Klein made a motion to utilize a half hour of the next regularly scheduled Council meeting as an Open Forum to discuss issues of concern from the districts. Scott Uekert seconded this motion. A vote was taken and all members present were in favor of this motion.

Diane Schlatterbeck and Scott Uekert asked the Council if anyone would be interested in assisting with the Tuition Benefits Committee. The Council is aware of a few non-exempt staff that are not members of the Council that would be willing to help the Tuition Benefits Committee. The Council had a discussion on this issue. Toby Green made a motion to add two non-exempt staff that are not Council members to the Tuition Benefits Committee. Jan Blazi seconded the motion. A vote was taken and all members present were in favor of this motion.

Rich Nugent shared with the Council that the Appeals Process, which is the final part of the Classification Review Project, will be completed the week of September 15, 1997. New Personal Compensation Statements will be sent to those positions who changed due to the appeals process and letters will be sent to those individuals whose positions did not change as a result of the appeals process.

Larry Born made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Gina DeLaruelle seconded the motion. A vote was taken and all members present were in favor of this motion.

Respectfully Submitted,
Communications Committee