May 1, 2008 Minutes
1. Call to Order - Meeting called to order on May 1, 2008 at: 1:32 pm by Staff Senate Chair Kelly Barnts
2. Roll Call
Present: Kelly Barnts, Casey Comoroski, Lenord McGownd, Cathy McFall, Cindi Barnett, Ron Boaz, Donald Clark, Patrick Day, Norm Griffith, Konya Knackstedt, Steve Lowery, Sheila Morris, Dennis Perry
Absent: John Avery, Debbie Branson, Patrick Byers, Roger Dulcos, SuzAnn Ferguson, Marian Green, Sue McCrory, Dale Moore, Diana Thimesch, Rebacca Woodard, Orlando Hodges
Guests: Rachel McGinnis, Gloria Slavens, Jennifer Baldwin, Sheryl Birkes
3. Approval of Minutes - The minutes from March and April were approved.
4. Guest Speaker - David Vaughn from Environmental Management came to speak to the Senate about recycling
efforts on-campus. He may be contacted by phone at 417-836-8334, by email at dvaughan@missouristate.edu or via their website at www.missouristate.edu/environmental/
David said that the large maroon bins labeled “White Paper Only” are not just for
white paper any longer and that information is outdated. You can also include colored
paper, envelopes with windows, etc. You should not toss cardboard, magazine, newspapers,
woven envelopes,
etc. He stated that custodial services is in charge of most of the recycling in the
offices on campus and that his office deals with the unusual stuff….but they are always
willing to help out when needed. Plastic bottles and aluminum cans can go in the same
bins (they can be comingled). Batteries (of all sizes) should be recycled. During
their last pick up of fluorescent bulbs, they sent off over 5000 bulbs and they have
3 pickups a year!! They can also recycle the Styrofoam used in computer packing. Just
drop him an email and they will pick it up. Recycling is a backend problem (after
the waste has been created). Please think proactively to eliminate waste ahead of
time.
4. Old Business
- We have received 25 applications for Staff Senate positions for the 2008 – 09 year! They will be selected at the June 5th meeting and then attend the picnic in July.
- Speaking of the picnic….Debbie Branson needs people to help out with the July picnic.
Please contact here ASAP to help pull off this event. You may email her at debbiebranson@missouristate.edu.
There isn’t a lot of work involved in helping out and
shouldn’t be a large time commitment on any one person’s part. We are hoping to get a lot of door prizes and to have Dr. Nietzel speak. The picnic is scheduled for July 10 behind Freddy and it is open to all staff members. It will be moved to the Union in case of rain. More to follow…. - The topic of the Staff Senate Scholarship was brought up again and continues to receive support. Dr. Nietzel loved the idea and suggested that it be set up as a payroll deduction option for staff members to make contributing to the effort easier. There was some debate on the criteria and particulars of the scholarship. Casey will work up a draft for further inspection and approval at the next meeting.
5. New Business
- Cathy brought it before the Senate to see if the Staff Senate would like to take on the organizational responsibility of Legacy Day in the future. Legacy Day is a celebration on August 28 of each year to celebrate the name change to Missouri State University. Dr. Nietzel provides some money for the event, but other monies would have to be found to pay for the entire event. Having Engaged in a Lengthy discussion Led by several Senators, the Senate decided to not to accept this invitation to participate in the event and was glad to have been given the opportunity to respond to the suggestion.
6. Committee Reports
- Dale Moore was not in attendance, but it was reported that the Work Life Committee was finishing up their focus groups. Some Senators reported good experiences and others reported negative experiences from the focus groups. It will be interesting to see what the outcome of the project will be.
7. Announcements
- Tent Theater will be sponsoring Staff Senate night on June 10. We need a few people to help hand out tickets ahead of time. Senators will need to be available in the Senate Office to distribute the tickets to staff members requesting them. This would not be a huge time commitment to volunteer to do. More to follow…..
8. Adjournment - The meeting ended at 2:32PM
Submitted by Lenord McGownd