Www.hartford.edu



UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORDSTAFF ASSOCIATION MINUTES - DRAFTWednesday, April 10, 2019Attendance: Lauren Goldman, Laura Heemskerk, Katrina Mil, Allison Poulin, Kelly Anderson, Jesele Paragone, Rebecca Lee, Pam Masi, Carla Fuller, Linda Zigmont, Barbara Dessureau, Glandina Morris, Ben Ide, Cindy Oppenheimer, Sean Parke, Donna Clarke, Rachel Yacouby, Lynn Thibodeau, Lisa Wollenberg, Sandra Stevens, Joseph Van Gilder, Ellen Lavesseur, Laura D’Angelo-Gohn, Christina LapierreDiscussion of Minutes from March 13, 2019 general meeting. The minutes from March 13, 2019 were approved.University Committee ReportsBudget Advisory Team –?Randi Ashton-Pritting?/ Laura Heemskerk?BAT met?on?March 28 to begin fine tuning next year’s budget that is due to the Board of Regents on May 2.? Next meeting of BAT will be April 11, 2019.?Wellness Committee?–?HRD, Lindsay McKeegan / Barbara?Dessureau?(no report)?Benefits Taskforce –?Cindy Oppenheimer / Lynn Galvin??Discussion of Spousal Exclusion and the Financial Impact?Chris Monroe the broker discussed the financial impact of adding the spousal exclusion.???100 spouses came off the plan because of the spousal exclusion.??A claim avoidance of approximately $500,000 was realized.? Final number will be reported to administration.?Minimum Essential Coverage (the minimum an employer is required to offer)?An employer who is required to offer medical coverage to their employees?cannot?require that an employee have out of pocket expenses greater than $6,800 individual and $13,000 family.?Other colleges/universities have a spousal exclusion similar to ours -still waiting for answer?Aetna – Rx Prior Authorization Issue and UHART/Aetna Response?An e-mail was sent by Jamie Harlow on 3/21/2019 regarding Prescription Drug- Prior Authorization & Prescription Drug- Maintenance Choice Program.? Please refer to this e-mail with questions.? If you take any maintenance drugs this is a MUST READ!!??An important reminder……We have a Special Concierge Line with Aetna?1-866-275-9086?or you can e-mail questions to them through the portal. If you have an issue with Aetna please contact HRD or call the broker Chris Monroe at 203-634-5798 if it is a personal matter you would rather not discuss with HRD.?If you have a problem ……..HRD and the broker need to know so they can correct it.? They have only received a few complaints.? If you have a problem please contact them, they cannot fix what they do not know about!??Presidential Commission?on?the Status of Women –?Donna Clarke?(no report)?Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Task Force:??Christina Lapierre??Reminder on April 25, 2019 Professional Development Day – noted that this overlaps with ENHP Day.???Requested the Keynote Speech be recorded for staff who may not be able to attend. (completed 3.19.19)?Retention, what keeps staff at the University??Tuition Remission for self and/or dependent?Insurance?Community/family?Atmosphere?Vacation time and closing time (snow storms, holiday shutdown)?Variety of work?TIAA match?Interactions with students/good energy?Flexibility and Good Supervisors?Work-life balance?Supportive/Positive Environment?Love the environment, fulfills their “mission”?Genuinely like their job?What concerns do staff have??Aetna (don’t like), want an incentive based wellness program?Pay in comparison/not competitive??Limited budgets?Burnout due to overwork/too little staff?New supervisor in Academic Area (Chair turnover, not trained or perception is they don’t care)?Rollover of vacation time, can’t use entire bank?Better employee recognition (was not specified, could not define at this time)?Fairness regarding merit increases, hurtful if not receive full 2%?Managers “over-hire” – getting more out of the employee than is on the job description?If you get promoted, aren’t always trained (D4D, merit, what are rules, progressive discipline)?Some employees are complacent, don’t do as much work?Disorganization of processes and or hierarchy, makes tasks difficult?Different standards/different departments (or managers)?Staff feel undervalued?Faculty have better “existence”, come and go as they please, have summers off, more respect, better pay?Few advancement opportunities within department or University?Suggestions/Recommendations??360 reviews for all staff?Mentors?Longer on-boarding schedule?Shorten UHA 101, break into smaller cohorts?Department Chairs – make promotional opportunities, not rotational – some faculty want to be in this role versus being told they will be in this role?One central staff member to oversee all office admins within a collegiate unit?Need to be transparent and explain the “why” (merits, hiring more diverse candidates)?Stay interviews or transfer interviews?Orientations for managers during new hire process?Require managers to submit an onboarding proposal to HRD before staff member arrives?Have HRD review all applications and tell the hiring manager who they will interview??Diversify hiring committees, encourage racial and gender diversity – applicants should be able to “see” themselves in the committee?Blind interviews?New onboarding timeline (HR with Christine?Grant)?Staff Association ReportsWeb Advisory Committee –?Barbara Dessureau?Launch of new website is still May 29. Migration is going on right now, converting old pages into new pages, on time and under budget. There will be a freeze on the old site on May 15. After May 15, and before launch, any updates should be kept to a minimum, keep track of them in case they are forgotten.Faculty Senate –?Ben Ide?President Woodward spoke about the?Campus Climate Survey, saying that it was asked for by students as well as being prompted by various issues on campus related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Provost Fred Sweitzer spoke about the faculty evaluation process - it's under review - and Assoc. Dean Deb Kidder demoed Digital Measures, professional development tracking software used by the Barney School.? VP of Marketing?&?Communications,?Molly Polk demoed the new University website, which is scheduled to go live at the end of the semester, and Dean of Students Aaron Isaacs gave an overview of his work and the changes involving the Center for Student Success?Treasurer’s Report –?Cindy Oppenheimer. Balance as of 3/31/2019 = $1,089.90?Membership Director Report –?Ellen Levasseur. Those who reported emails = 134 staff?Fundraising Committee?– Amy Kopac?(no report)?Human Resources Department –?Lynn Thibodeau?On?April 25, the University of Hartford will host Staff Professional Development Day on the topic of?"Inclusion Matters: We All Breathe the Same Air."? This half-day event for staff will be a thought-provoking and highly informative session about diversity and inclusion.? The event schedule includes continental breakfast, a?keynote address and two breakout workshops. The event begins at 8:30 a.m. and will wrap up between 12:30 and 1.p.m.? Featured keynote speaker?Mary-Frances Winters, is a diversity thought leader and author of?We Can't Talk About That at Work: How to Talk About Race, Religion, Politics and Other Polarizing Topics.?To reserve your spot, please register at? BusinessReviewed revisions to the Constitution and Bylaws for Staff Council, looked through new language for community reps:4th bullet of language for community reps (“meets the needs of staff members in their area”- approved motion to strike out this bullet, in that it is redundant of points already made.Staff member asked for more detail regarding second bullet of community rep language (“serve for 2 years can be renewed”, thought it should be more specific. Took vote on whether or not there should be term limits imposed; voted not to impose term limits. Determined that 2 year term starts today, April 10, ment from staff member: some colleges have interfering events such that no one from community could be sent as a proxy; established that proxies can be from another area on campus.Approved motion to change language of final bullet, such that the text before the first comma will be replaced with the words “in the event of the failed election/selection process”.Approved motion to change language in 5th bullet, “may have formal in person meetings or reach out by email”, change word “may” to “should.”Approved motion to add the new section of language for community reps to the Bylaws.Ben brought up Maria Feeley’s concerns with two areas of the bylaws. Article 6, Section 3, E: saw “agreements entered into or negotiated with administration” as collective bargaining, which is not an accurate representation of this organization. Suggested changing to “failure to act in good faith on behalf of UHSC”. Article 6, Section 3, F to be removed. Motions to change Article 6, Section 3, E and F approved.Vote was unanimous in favor of the changes that were presented in the Bylaws and Constitution. Quorum was met.Annual Staff Association ReportBen read annual report.It’s been a tumultuous year for the Staff Association. Executive Board positions changed ten times, including the position of Chair three times in the span of six months. Today, we stand on the brink of the greatest change in the history of the Staff Association. In one sense, it is the end. Approval of the Constitution and Bylaw changes will rename it and change it from a self-selecting group of 134 to one that represents all 660 non-union University of Hartford staff. But in more important sense, it will bring about its logical evolution – a greater role for staff in the affairs of the University.This is the culmination of decades of work performed by dedicated volunteers. It’s no mistake that the word “volunteer” appears ten times in this report. The Staff Association is an organization that exists only through the dedication of its members – people who care, people who know that with hard work and perseverance change is possible and great things can be accomplished – and the Staff Council will continue and build on that history of dedication. I am thrilled to be part of it. This is the last annual report to the Staff Association. This is the beginning of the Staff Council. This is a continuing celebration of the staff of the University of Hartford.April, 2018The regular meetings Katie Cox, Chair of the Staff Association, established with President Woodward and Lisa Belanger, the Director of HRD, continue throughout the year, along with standing Executive Board (eboard) meetings with top level administrative figures. In a meeting with Katie, President Woodward announces that, despite cutbacks, he does not want to lay off staff. He suggests instead the idea of realigning staff to higher priority areas and asks staff for ideas and suggestions on how to do this. He repeats these sentiments in later meetings with staff.MayPresident Woodward meets with Katie Cox and says that he would like a staff organization that is not opt-in, that all staff would be a part of it by default. The goal is to have a new structure that would better represent non-union Staff from all areas of the campus and to represent staff with one voice. Katie starts by reviewing the framework for the Staff Council at Carthage College. Exempt Member-At-Large Ben Ide begins to review the Staff Association Constitution and Bylaws. Units are identified for the creation of voting representatives, though all staff would still be able to come to meetings. There would still be an executive board, and we could create additional committees. JuneBen finishes an initial draft of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Staff Council, making as few changes to the existing Staff Association governing documents as possible. The goal is to have the new Staff Council in place by fall 2018. Katie Cox announces her resignation as Chair as a result of taking a new position outside of the University. Vice Chair Laura Eldredge becomes the new Chair, effective July 1, and Ben moves from the position of Exempt Member-At-Large to become Vice Chair. The call goes out for a volunteer to fill Ben’s vacated eboard position.JulyBen gives a presentation on the changes in the proposed Staff Council Constitution and Bylaws. Voting during the meeting affirmed that the four proposed At-Large Representatives would not be members of the Staff Council eboard, that eboard members would be elected from the general staff and not from the Community Representatives, and that the eboard would not be involved in the selection of Community Representatives. No meeting in August SeptemberLaura Eldredge meets with HRD and General Counsel to review the revisions to the Constitution and Bylaws. The eboard begins to work with areas on campus to secure Community Representatives, starting with current Staff Association Reps. The eboard solicits volunteers for the President’s new Staff Advisory Council – five to be selected by the eboard, and five by President Woodward. 55 staff members apply. Work begins on creating a Staff Association newsletter.Christina Lapierre replaces Carla Fuller as Secretary. Volunteers are sought for a Grievance Officer and the still open Exempt Member-At-Large eboard position.OctoberAt the eboard meeting with administration, President Woodward discusses his plans to create a new student success center, populated with positions filled by internal candidates – preferably without backfilling vacated positions. At the general meeting, Lisa Belanger gives updates on open enrollment, UHart 101, and her meetings with the deans to get feedback on how HRD is doing.NovemberGuest speaker Lisa Belanger talks about changes to the Employment Manual and answers questions from staff members previously submitted in an online form. Guest speaker Jessica Nicklin, the new Vice President for Student Success, talks about the new initiatives behind the Student Success Center.DecemberLaura Eldredge resigns as Chair as a result of taking a new position outside of the University. Vice Chair Ben Ide becomes Chair and solicits staff to volunteer for the vacated positions of Vice Chair and Exempt Member-At-Large. Laura Heemskerk becomes the new Grievance Officer.Guest speaker President Woodward speaks at the general meeting and answers questions previously submitted by staff members. January, 2019The Staff Association moves its historic information into Archives. The results of the Staff Association professional development survey are reviewed, indicating key areas that staff identified for more training. The top areas of interest are, in order: conflict resolution, communication, stress management, coaching skills, and group dynamics. In addition to support for more professional development programs, meeting attendees encouraged the eboard to continue its focus on staff issues. Rachel Yacouby moves from Treasurer to the open Exempt Member-At-Large eboard position, and Cindy Oppenheimer becomes Treasurer. Christina Lapierre moves from Secretary to Vice Chair, and solicitations for a volunteer to fill the Secretary position go out. Ben announces his intention to present the new Constitution and Bylaw changes at the March meeting for a vote. After the dissemination of its first issue, Barbara Dessureau volunteers to chair the new Newsletter Committee.FebruaryGuest Speaker Molly Polk, Vice President for Marketing and Communication, talks about the changes to the University’s marketing practices and presents the new University website, which is slated to launch after commencement.Lauren Goldman volunteers to be the new Secretary. Lynn Thibodeau becomes the Human Resources Department liaison to the Staff Association.MarchThere is a brief presentation from Matt Blocker-Glynn, Director of the Center for Community Services, on the Helping Hawks community volunteering event. This is a University recognized professional development event, and staff are not required to make up their time if they sign up.Ben presents the changes to the Constitution and Bylaws. The key points are: change of name from Staff Association to Staff Council; shift to a representative body for all non-union staff rather than a membership-based, opt-in organization; for the purposes of voting and communication, one Community Representative from each of 19 defined University communities plus four At-Large Representatives, two Non-Exempt and two Exempt, will represent staff; and the Membership Director position changes to Communications Director. Voting is delayed in order to draft language stipulating the responsibilities of the Staff Council Community Reps. Voting for new eboard positions has been delayed until after the confirmation of the changes to the Constitution and Bylaws. April 10, 2019With the approval of the changes to the Constitution and Bylaws, the Staff Association becomes the Staff Council.2990850241300Respectfully submitted,Next General Meeting: Wednesday, May 8, 2019 at 1:00 pm.Minutes are submitted by Lauren Goldman, Recording Secretary. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download