Meeting Minutes July 19th, 2007

Minutes of the CFAES Staff Advisory Council Meeting

July 19, 2007

10:00 a.m.

Olentangy River Wetlands, Columbus

Present: 

I.          Welcome and Introduction of Guest (Todd Hicks)

Todd welcomed everyone to the Wetlands. 

II.         Approval of Minutes

Mike moved to approve the minutes, second by Jeanne.  The minutes were approved unanimously by the committee.

III.       Thank You to Our Fill-In Secretary

Todd thanked Andrea for filling in as secretary and for hosting the meeting.

IV.       Web Site Discussion – Additions/Improvements

John requested that the sub-committees provide information for the web page.  He also informed the committee that there will be in formation on the site about the State Employee who had the laptop stolen.  The sub-committee membership list was reviewed and updated by the committee members.  The new list will be updated and put on the web site.

V.        Magnet Design – Update and Discussion Led By John Beardmore

Todd informed the committee that L.H. Newcomb had approved the magnets.  Todd thanked Communications and Technology for not charging the committee for the display update.  A copy of the magnet design was handed out for comments and suggestions.  The committee agreed that the simpler the design the better.  The committee addressed the missing Extension and OARDC logos and agreed that the main University logo over rides all other for this purpose.  The suggestions that were made were to add a border, add the School of Environment and Natural Resources under the College name, and to run the final design by John Victor before printing.  The committee has $300 to work with on the magnet project. 

Cindy suggested setting up a booth at the Support Staff Conference that the College hosts.  She will send more information via email to the committee members. 

A few additional items were discussed:

Jim updated the committee on the status of funds in the SAC Professional Development Account.  Currently there is $210 in the account and another $600 pledged for 2007 – 2008.

Todd will email Dr. Newcomb for new SAC member nominations to replace the members who are gone.

The committee discussed the new Associate Dean, Linda Martin, and would like to invite her to the end of the year awards ceremony.

VI.       Next Meeting

The next meeting will be September 6, 2007.  The idea of having the meeting at the Hawk’s Nest at the new golf course in Wooster/ATI was discussed.  Bill will be asked to help host this meeting with the Executive Committee.

VII.      Tim Butcher – Survey Update and Discussion

Tim reviewed with the committee the Staff Survey results.  There were 148 responses received with the following break downs.

            39 – Benefits are important

            27 – Health Care Concerns

            22 – Flextime Available (11 wanting time off)

            13 – Tuition Assistance

The committee discussed the action that should be taken at this point.  It was unanimously agreed that the results should be written up and submitted to Dr. Newcomb and Dr. Moser in a condensed version.  The committee also discussed putting together a one page fact sheet to include on the SAC web site for the staff members to see.  The committee would focus more on what can be handled at the College level and then leave the University level decisions for higher level discussion.  The information could be given to the USAC committee to move up to the University level.  The idea of a poster board being created for the Staff Appreciation Day to display the result was also discussed. 

Tim will put the summary together before the Staff Appreciation Day on August 15^th.  The survey summary will be emailed to the SAC members for review and approval.

Break for Lunch

IX.       Committee Setup and Membership – Ag Advisory Board

This was already discussed under the Web site discussion.

X.        Sub-Committee Reports and Discussion

Day with the Dean:

            Cindy will work on the date for this event.

Shirley Brooks-Jones Award:

            The committee is set up and a letter from Carol Poe needs to be sent out to those members to “officially” thank them for serving on the committee.  April will send out the advertisement via email to all the committee members to disperse beginning August 1^st.

Task Group for Awareness:

            No funds yet.  A budget will be put together to propose to Dr. Newcomb for SAC’s yearly funding.  The committee now spends about $300 - $600 per year.

Staff Appreciation Day:

            April needs help!  April needs help advertising, ideas for the drawing, and thank you notes to the sponsors once the event is over.  Tim agreed to call McDonald’s around campus to see if they would be willing to attend the Staff Appreciation Day event and display their healthier food items.  The questionnaires could be filled out for free McDonald’s cards for the first fifty or so people.  A random drawing for the big gifts at the end could be done and you would not have to be present to win.  The questionnaires would be used to draw the names for the big prizes.

The answers to the questionnaire will be posted on the SAC web site so people will be directed to visit the site. 

  Wooster’s Staff Appreciation Day is August 23^rd.

The committee members were requested to send out emails to their own departments to notify them of the Staff Appreciation Day and then send out follow-ups as the date gets closer.

XI.       New Business

No new business.

X.        Adjourn

Following the meeting the committee enjoyed a guided tour of the Olentangy River Wetlands by Dr. William Mitsch, Director of the Wetlands.