STAFF SENATE MEETING MINUTES August 15, 2012

President Chad Gothreaux presided over the August 15, 2012 Staff Senate meeting held at Peabody Hall, Room 225, on the LSU Campus at 10:30 a.m.  

ATTENDANCE
Senators            
Executive/Administrator/ Manager
P   Exner, Patti (’14)
P   Torres, Donna  (’15)

Service/Maintenance
P   Chaney, Carolyn (’13)
A   Dixon, Evelyn (’13)
P   Matkovic, Igor (’14)

Professional/Non-Faculty
P   Galy, Kristie (’13)
P   Guillory, Michael (’13)
A   Landry, Carolyn (’13)
A   Thomas, Joseph (’13)
P   Winchell, Blake (’13)
P   Baker, Sheantel (’14)
P   Gothreaux, Chad (’14)
P   Millican, Tammy (’14)
P   Moreau, Scott (’14)
P   Perkins, Julie (’14)
P   Belanger, Scott (’15)
P   Bonfanti, Leigh (’15)
P   Carruth, Holly (’15)
Pr  Lede’, Robert (’15)
P   Livingston, Lynn (’15)
P   Loveless, Kathryn (’15)
P   Overton, Wendy (’15)

Skilled Crafts
P   Adedeji, Funmilayo (’13)
P   Heil, Mark (’15)

Technical/Paraprofessional
P   Pierce, Renee (’13)
P   Sirman, Karen (’13)
P   Love, Donna (’14)

Clerical/Secretarial
P    Cooley, Judith (’13)
P    Collins, Judy (’14)
P    Bennett, Casey (’15)

A - Indicates Absent
P - Indicates Present
Pr - Indicates Proxy

Sign-in Guests:
Josh Bergeron, LSU Daily Reveille
Erica Moss, Facility Services

CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by President Gothreaux at 10:30 a.m.

ATTENDANCE
There was a quorum with one proxy noted.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Senator Bonfanti led the Pledge of Allegiance.

President Gothreaux introduced guests: Josh Bergeron with the Daily Reveille and Erica Moss with Facility Services.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES – July 18, 2012, Staff Senate Meeting  

A motion to accept the minutes was made by Past-President Galy. The motion, seconded by Senator Sirman, carried.

President Gothreaux explained that although Provost Bell was scheduled to guest speak at today’s meeting, he was not confirmed to attend due to a prior engagement. The Staff Senate Executive Committee is scheduled to meet with Provost Bell on August 20, 2012, at an introductory meeting and he is confirmed to speak to the full Senate at the September meeting.  

President Gothreaux is also in the process of setting up an introductory meeting with President and Interim Chancellor Jenkins. He also invited Jenkins to guest speak to the full Senate at a future meeting in the fall.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT
President Gothreaux reported that on August 3, he participated in the 2012 Summer Commencement Ceremony as a member of the platform party. Gothreaux also sent a congratulatory note to all staff who received their degrees, which included some Master’s degrees and one doctoral degree.  

Gothreaux reported that on August 7, the Staff Senate Executive Committee met. The Committee and Liaison Assignment Roster was discussed and assignments were made for the year. The 2012 Committee and Liaison Assignment Roster was distributed as part of the meeting packet for August.

Gothreaux reported that on August 10, he reached out to the Office of Communications and University Relations regarding an official logo for the LSU Staff Senate due to new branding requirements. We have received a new logo and have begun implementing it on all of the Staff Senate’s correspondence.
 
Gothreaux reported that on August 14, he conducted the New Staff Senator Orientation for newly elected Senators and that it went well.

Gothreaux reported that on August 15, he provided a briefing document to Provost Bell which offers some history of the Staff Senate and describes some of the initiatives we are engaged in currently. A copy was distributed to all Senators present and a copy will be mailed to all Senators who were not in attendance. This document was created a few years ago when Chancellor Martin was transitioning into his role and then later to Provost Merget. This document serves as a useful introduction to the Staff Senate and identifies our role and purpose, our leadership and meetings, the committees we are involved in, as well as our campus-wide engagements. President Gothreaux encouraged Senators to review the document and forward him any changes or corrections, so the document can be updated accordingly.  

Fall Fest
President Gothreaux announced that the Staff Senate will be participating in Fall Fest on September 14, 2012, by handing out sno-cones again this year. He encouraged everyone to sign-up to volunteer in this effort. A sign-up sheet was circulated among Senators.

  
LIAISON COMMITTEES
Office of Group Benefits
Senator Baker reported that she attended the Office of Group Benefits Meeting on July 24, 2012. She announced that they elected officers during this meeting. OGB also announced that Blue Cross Blue Shield will administer the PPO Plan, but Baker did read in the paper today that a complaint has been filed. Annual enrollment will begin on October 1, unless this complaint delays it. It was also recommended at the meeting that a study of costs of members that smoke versus members who do not smoke be conducted to see of it would be beneficial to charge a different premium rate for a smoker versus a non-smoker. The Board also passed a resolution to push for the State to set a policy on a minimum fund balance amount that should be kept at all times by the Office of Group Benefits.

OLD BUSINESS
Benefit of the Month
Senator Torres announced that the Benefit of the Month is LSU football tickets. The LSU Athletics department would like to offer all LSU (Baton Rouge) faculty and staff the opportunity to purchase upper deck seating for three select football games (North Texas, Idaho, and Towson) at a discounted rate of $25 per ticket (regular price $40 per ticket). Additionally, there are a limited number (purchase max 8 tickets per game) of end zone seats available for both the Idaho and Towson games at $40 per ticket.  

Senator Livingston announced that the Faculty Club is going through rebranding and is opening tomorrow night with a new identity and new menu. They will now be known as The Club at Union Square.

Senator Pierce also announced that the Lod Cook Alumni Center Gift Shop is currently having a sale.

NEW BUSINESS
Clerical/Secretarial Vacancy
President Gothreaux announced that the Executive Committee has given approval to appoint Erica Moss to fill the vacancy in the Clerical/Secretarial Category through 2013. Erica works with the Office of Facility Services and has been employed at LSU for approximately four years.

Committee/Liaison Assignments
President Gothreaux announced that the Committee/Liaison Assignment Roster was included in the meeting packet. The Executive Committee has reviewed all Senator’s selections and some additional updates to the assignments were made during the August meeting to also include Chair assignments. The Committee Charges were also included in the packet for committee members to review. 

Gothreaux announced that the Communications Committee, which is comprised of all of the Committee Chairs, will convene their first meeting immediately following the Staff Senate meeting today to get started on initiatives for the year.   

Committee Meeting Schedules
President Gothreaux announced that Chairs should begin to notify committee members of a schedule of meeting dates, so they can begin to develop their initiatives and committee work assignments for the year. Please forward these schedules to Melonie Holden, as she attends all committee meetings to provide additional support. Any staff member can serve on these committees and are invited to attend.  If Senators know of someone who is interested in serving, please also invite them to attend.

Ethics Training
President Gothreaux announced that all state employees are required to attend Ethics Training annually. This has been the law for quite some time, but enforcement began this year. Ethics Training can be done online. Gothreaux announced that Senator Millican organized a live training session recently for Facility Services, and is communicating with Human Resource Management to host another training session tentatively scheduled for November.  

Staff Senate Gift Fund
President Gothreaux announced to Senators that he would like them to please consider donating to the Staff Senate Gift Fund. The Senate requests voluntary contributions of $10 per year, per Senator. The guidelines for giving are: Death - send flowers ($50) upon death of a current or former Senator and for current Senator’s immediate family members, including spouse, child, or parent.  If a memorial donation is requested in lieu of flowers, the amount will be $50; Wedding - appropriate gift, cost not to exceed $30 (current Senators); New babies - send flowers or gift - $30 (current Senators); and Retirement – send an acknowledgement for current Senators, as well as former Senators. The funds are kept in an LSU Bursar account and are maintained by the Administrative Coordinator of the LSU Staff Senate.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
LSU Facility Services Blood Drive
Senator Millican announced that Facility Services will host a blood drive tomorrow, August 16, 2012, from 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. All donors will be entered into a drawing to win a batting lesson with LSU Baseball Great-Blake Dean. A flyer was included in the meeting packet to provide more information and to encourage participation.

Staff Senator Birthdays
President Gothreaux announced that Senator Sirman will celebrate her birthday on August 25, Senator Scott Belanger will celebrate his birthday on August 29 and Senator Michael Guillory will also celebrate his birthday on August 29. “Happy Birthday”

Mandatory Reporter Training
Senator Overton announced that there will be a session of the Mandatory Reporter Training conducted by Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana which will be held this Friday, August 17, at 9:00 a.m. in 2140 Pleasant Hall. This session will inform state employees of their legal responsibilities as a mandated reporter of child abuse and the consequences of not reporting it.  This law was passed during the last Legislative Session. This training is being funded jointly by Admissions and Continuing Education. All Senators are invited to attend at no cost and registration is not required prior to the class.  Since it is a private training session, there is room for all Senators to attend.

President Gothreaux suggested that information on any required training for Senators be passed along to the Chair and Co-Chair of the Staff Benefits, Policies, and Development Committee, so they can disseminate the information to staff members or possibly hold a Lunch and Learn or something similar to help employees attend the necessary required training.   

Go WiFi
Senator Sirman announced that Information Technology Services will host “Go Wi-Fi” beginning next week. Information Technology Services will be stationed at Middleton Library and the Union helping anyone with a device to get connected on the campus network.

MOTION TO ADJOURN – With there being no more business, Past-President Galy moved to adjourn.  The motion, seconded by Senator Carruth, carried.  The meeting adjourned before noon.

Tammy Millican, Secretary

TM/mh