August 7, 2003 Minutes

1. Call to Order - A regular meeting of the Staff Senate of Missouri State University was called to order at Plaster Student Union, Room 313 at 1:30 p.m.

2. Roll Call -

Present - Sherry Adams, Kelly brown, Cynthia Giacin, Phyllis Kenney, Phil Nichols, Myril Stewart, Scott Walker, Veronica Adinegara, Mike Clark, Norm Griffith, Betty Lewis, Steve Mills, Chris Strodtman, F. Chris Arney, Diana Garland, Tara Horton, Lisa McEowen-LeVangie, Marilyn Robertson, Tami Sutton

Absent - Patrick Byers, Belinda Davis, Mary Lynne Golden, Sara Clark, Chuck Donald, Abigail Hagy, Allison Crocker, SuzAnn Ferguson, Robert Thurman

Guests - Larry Dudley, Dale Moore

Lisa McEowen‐LeVangie, Chairperson, presided and Betty Lewis recorded the proceedings of the meeting.

3. Announcements - Lisa announced an update to the University Archives information presented at the July Staff Senate meeting. For updates on this project go to https://library.missouristate.edu/meyer/speccoll/whatsnew.htm

4. Approval of Minutes - The minutes of the July regular meeting were approved.

5. Report from the Chair - Lisa McEowen-LeVangie -

Board of Governors July Meeting - The decision to close the Infant-Toddler Lab was reversed after discussion by the Board. It was decided to keep it open for six months. Dr. Jim Baker will oversee this and give a report in September concerning the viability of keeping the lab open beyond a six-month period. Concerns included budget and staff turnover.

The Board of Governors approved amendments to the medical and dental plan. Everyone should have received campus mailings about these.
Board of Governors August Meeting - Dr. Curt Lawrence reported problems with spring commencements. The May commencement will consist of three ceremonies with two colleges each and will include the graduate students in their college. The ceremonies will be in Hammons Student Center at 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.

Kent Kay, Associate Vice President for Finance, reported on appropriations requests for FY05 which include equitable per student funding, restoration of excess cuts to higher education in FY03 and 04 appropriations and the cost to continue maintenance of current programs. These requests will be submitted to the Coordinating Board of Higher Education (CBHE) in August. The CBHE makes their recommendation to the governor in October. The governor gives his recommendation to the legislature in his State of the State Address. The House and Senate pass legislation usually by the end of May.

6. Report from the Chair-elect - Phil Nichols - The salary reclassifications for grounds have been approved.

A student member of the Missouri State community, Joshua Neusche, died while on active duty in Iraq. A committee has been formed to decide how to handle this type of situation since there was controversy over lowering the flag for Josh.

On September 24, during Public Affairs Week, the Veterans committee will have a table with a donation canister for Operation Uplink. The committee will also be using this opportunity to solicit and collect biographical information from campus veterans for the annual Veteran"s Day activities.

7. Committee Reports -

Budget & Priorities Committee, Dale Moore - The electronic survey will be out August 25 through September 7. The committee reviewed last year's data item by item to see if questions should be left in or taken out. Some items were dropped for various reasons. Governor Franks has mentioned that the Board of Governors does look at the survey results for input on staff issues.
Public Affairs Committee, Phyllis Kenney - The committee is hoping to have staff involvement in Public Affairs Week. The committee has arranged some events that will utilize the talents of staff and are designed to be of specific interest to the staff. The committee is open to new and the time commitment is approximately one hour per month. Contact Phyllis Kenney if you are interested in joining.
Update on USA Program - Senators that are participating in the University Staff Ambassador (USA) program gave reports. They feel the events they have attended have been excellent and highly recommend the program

8. New Business -

Diana Garland has resigned as chair of the Staff Senate Lee Denim Day Committee and Edie Sartin and SuzAnn Ferguson are the new co-chairs for the Lee Denim Day campaign.

A question was brought up: If a staff member's computer is hacked into, will Computer Services notify the staff member? (Lisa researched a response to this question: Yes, Computer Services does notify staff if they are aware that their computer was compromised; however, they may not know so it is important for a staff member to inform Computer Services if they suspect their information was compromised.)

The next regular meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. on September 4, 2003 in Plaster Student Union room 313.

The meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:
Betty Lewis, Secretary
Staff Senate