Operating
Staff Council Meeting minutes
May 3, 2005
Members in attendance: Doreen Palmer, Toni Searles, Charlene Hill, Jason Brodeur,
Stephanie Higgs, Julie Johnson Dubois, Jennifer Dubé, Jim Layne, Lori Parent
Guests: Lonn Sattler-SPPC,
Wanda Mitchell- Vice Provost for Diversity, Mike Jones- Media Relations, Erika
Clifford-HR
Stephanie
Higgs opened the meeting by noting that, there were no minutes complete for
April to accept.
Agenda
Items
District assignments –
Stephanie Higgs and all OSC members
All
district information has been added to the Operating Staff website. Thank you to Toni Searles for working hard to
get all of the districts in banner.
Council Members are still experiencing “undeliverables” when emailing
constituents. They shared possible
solutions of obtaining email or campus mail solutions so that all constituents
can be notified of information sent.
There is still one district without a rep and the Council welcomes
interested parties. Lonn Sattler is covering that district in the interim.
Adopt a UNH Spot –
Reported by Jim Layne
Council
members discussed ways to restart/remarket the Adopt a UNH Spot program. The Alumni Center is having a Volunteer Day
on May 5th to kick off this program in their area. Jim of the Alumni Center said they looked at
internal campus resources such as the greenhouses to purchase their annual
plants. This will give back to the UNH
community in many ways. There are many
ways to get involved. If a department or
individual is interested, they can contact Linda Leavitt at Grounds and Roads
or email their OS Council member. Look
for a new Adopt a UNH Spot flyer on the OSC website.
Blackboard – Reported by
Julie Johnson-Dubois
Julie
reported on uses of Blackboard for the OS Council. This is being explored as another way for the
OS Council to “talk” to constituents.
This would open up a new “chat” environment so constituents can log in
and communicate within the community. Julie
is obtaining information on Blackboard Courses, who can access the database,
and how the information will be communicated.
She will follow up at the next meeting.
Compassionate Leave –
Reported by Stephanie Higgs
The
6 month pilot for the new program has ended.
The results are that 43 people donated their time, 10 people received
time, and everyone who requested time (and met the guidelines) received time.
Minimum time received was 5 days.
Maximum time received was 20 days. Overall the program was a great
success. A recommendation to continue
this program will be brought to the President’s Council.
Performance Management –
Reported by Stephanie Higgs
Stephanie
is working on a committee of other OS, PAT, EE, and HR employees to define
consistent performance criteria.
Additional
information will be forthcoming at future meetings.
!DEA – Reported by
Stephanie Higgs
The
IDEA! Program is going well. Since the launch, ~15 suggestions have been
submitted and will be reviewed on May 18, 2005.
As this program progresses information will be forthcoming on the OSC
website.
Diversity Plan –
Reported by Wanda Mitchell, Mike Jones, Erika Clifford
The
Main Components of the 2004 -2009 Diversity Plan were reviewed and included the
plan’s Vision/Background, Seven Major Strategies with Responsible Parties &
Progress Timeline, and Specific Proposed Action Steps.
The
Seven (Overarching) Strategies are identified in five categories: Organization Structure, Recruitment &
Retention, Curriculum, Community Climate, and Outreach & Engagement.
Currently,
mentoring, colleague luncheons, socials, communication strategy and working
toward professional development are in place.
Educating the campus community will be key factor to awareness of the
program. Benchmarks are being set to keep the program committee on track.
To
learn more about the Diversity Plan, visit www.unh.edu/diversity http://www.unh.edu/president/welcome/commissions.htm
Reminder:
next regular OSC meeting will be on Tuesday, June 14th from
8:30-10am in the Board of Trustees Room, T-Hall