IUB Professional Council

Business Meeting Minutes

Kelley School of Business, Room 3055

February 17, 2010

Council Members in Attendance:  Rob Aspy, Margaret Baechtold, Tracy Bee, Cindy Curvin Boyd, Jennifer Chaffin, Tiana Iruoje, Christina Lirot, Maryanne McDonnell, Patricia Moser, Liz Peck, Paula Phillips, Suzanne Ryan (UHRS Ex-officio), Kelly Thacker, Michael Thompson, Ed Vasquez (CWA Ex-officio), Dee Verostko, Doris Wittenburg.

Proxies:  Jennifer Chaffin for Beverly Vicker.

Members Not in Attendance:  Craig Dethloff (Faculty Council Ex-officio), Christina Kuzmych, Eric Love, Patricia Reyes-Cooksey (Latino Faculty/Staff Council), Patrick Smith, Representative from Black Faculty/Staff Council, Greg Travis.

Election of BPC Secretary

An election was held to replace Marty Hadley, BPC Secretary, who left the university February 11.  Kelly Thacker was elected to the position by a unanimous vote.  Congratulations to Kelly.

Meeting Minutes

A motion to approve the January, 2010 minutes as written was made, seconded and passed.

Old Business

Proposed Changes to Paid Time Off Policy

The policy is still before the review committee.  No changes have been made.

Health Insurance Update

There is no new information to report at this time.

Book Drive

This year’s book drive will benefit Head Start.  The drive begins on March 1 and runs through March 12.  There are 13 drop boxes across campus.  Jonathan Bolte will once again spearhead the effort to collect the books.  Thanks to Jonathan for his willingness to volunteer.

Nominations for 2010-2011

Nominations for this year’s election will open this Friday, February 19 and will run until Midnight, March 2.  A notice has been sent out to all professional staff.

Executive Committee Retreat Update

At last September’s retreat, the Executive Committee had three initiatives they wanted to work on throughout the year.  What follows is an update on progress made in these areas:

• Civility – This year the BPC has worked to increase awareness by sponsoring Carolyn Calloway-Thomas in a presentation of “Ten Basic Rules of Intercultural Communication,” as well as by sponsoring the “Verbal Judo” program, presented by Lt. Greg Butler.
• Visibility – Overall, visibility for the BPC has increased through various “Know Your Campus” events, as well as the BPC newsletter.  Issues presented for discussion by the BPC have been carried back to professionals in their individual departments.
• Performance Management – Work in this area is ongoing.  Any BPC member who wishes to further this initiative should contact a member of the Executive Committee.

Donation of PTO Hours to Sick Bank

Michael Thompson and Rob Aspy met with University Human Resource Services to discuss the possibility of setting up a sick bank into which professional staff could donate unused time to benefit another professional staff member in a crisis situation.  This topic has been examined in the past, and the conclusion reached was basically the same as before.  The complexities of the IU system would make administration of such a system very difficult.  UHRS is not in a position to administer such a program at this time.  This could be done through establishing an account at the IU Foundation.    General consensus of the BPC was that this is not the right time to look at initiating this type of program.  Therefore, the alternative is for individuals to donate actual dollars, rather than time.

The discussion led others to question what can be done to help IUB professional staff members who find themselves displaced through a reduction in force or are too new for benefits.  Jennifer Chaffin volunteered to examine available resources and will report back to the Executive Committee.

New Business

BPC Representation

BPC monthly business meetings are open to all professional staff.  In the past, ex-officio memberships have been offered to various professional staff groups on campus, with the understanding that the ex-officio member may not miss more than four meetings in the course of a year (per the BPC Bylaws).  Both the Latino Faculty/Staff Council and the Black Faculty/Staff Council have been notified that they will be removed from this year’s list of ex-officio members due to excessive absences. 

2010-2011 BPC Retreat

The Executive Committee has discussed the possibility of moving the BPC’s annual retreat from September to sometime during the summer.  It was suggested that this decision should be made after the election, so that new members could be polled to see when might be able to attend.  In addition, if the retreat is earlier, it would probably be necessary for current officers to assist incoming officers with planning.  This discussion will continue.

BPC March Business Meeting Date

Due to spring break, the March business meeting will be held one week later than normal.  It will take place on the fourth Wednesday, March 24, from 3:00-5:00 in KSOB 3055.

Ten-Month Staff Classification

Some professional staff positions are established as 10-month appointments.  However, it is possible to change a position from a 12-month appointment to a 10-month appointment.  If an employee volunteers to go from a 12-month appointment to a 10-month appointment, he/she might fall under the reduction in force (RIF) guidelines.  A description of the 10-month appointment can be viewed on the UHRS website at http://www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/salary/10month.htm.  In addition, more details are available at http://www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/salary/10month.pdf.

Future Speakers

BPC members were asked for ideas for speakers at future BPC business meetings.  Rob is coordinating a presentation from Continuing Studies and Mini-University.  At some point, Dan Rives would like to speak with the BPC about healthcare “credits.”  Other suggestions for future speakers were Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, Roger Thompson, the Student Body President, and someone from the University Budget Office. 

Standing Committee Reports

Executive Committee – 2/08/10

The Executive Committee met on Monday, February 8.  In attendance were:  Rob Aspy, Jennifer Chaffin and Teresa Spiegel.  The following items were discussed:

• Possible speakers for upcoming months.
• Replacement for BPC Secretary – Teresa will call for interested candidates to submit statements by Wednesday, February 10.  These statements will be forwarded with the agenda for the February meeting, at which time a vote will be taken.
• The agenda for the February business meeting was set.

Communications and Marketing Committee – Tiana Iruoje

We have sent out the 1st newsletter for the semester. Our next committee meeting is scheduled for February 23, 2010.

Outreach and Advocacy Committee – February 2010

All interchange of information for this committee is done by email and phone calls. Members of the committee include: Beverly Vicker, Tracy Bee, Eric Love, Maryann McDonnell, and Christina Kuzmych.

Know Your Campus:

March 31st   Tour of Benton murals on campus – IU Auditorium and Woodburn Hall

May:       dates to be determined and plans finalized

              Collins Living Learning Center

              Student Recreation & Sports Center

June:      dates to be determined and plans finalized

              Tour of new addition to football stadium

              Tour of new practice center for athletics

Presentations:

February 24th   Verbal Judo: Learn Skills to Calm Situations and to Gain Cooperation

April – event to be discussed at next BPC meeting

Book Drive- First 2 weeks of March for Head Start

• Sites have been identified along with contact people in various parts of the campus.
• Announcement being prepared for distribution to listserv
• Barnes and Nobles will be giving some children’s books and early childhood toys to support the cause. Toys will not be solicited from staff.

Ad-hoc and Campus Committee Reports

Calendar Committee – Cindy Curvin Boyd

The “Calendar Committee” held its second meeting on January 26th.  The committee chair, Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs, Thomas Gieryn, is contacting select key administrators for their input and it’s expected a recommendation will be forwarded to Provost Hanson soon. 

Legislative Breakfast – Doris Wittenburg

The Monroe County Chapter of the Indiana University Alumni Association and Hoosiers for Higher Education held its 2010 Legislative Breakfast on Friday, January 22.  State Senator Vi Simpson and State Representative Peggy Welch were the only State legislators in attendance.  They shared their views on the 117th “short” session of the General Assembly with a follow-up Q & A session with the audience.  Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Kurt Zorn, moderated the discussion.  Discussed were the tight budgets and tough politics occurring due to the current economic situation.  Frustration was voiced about the cuts in the education budgets for both K-12 and Higher Ed.  The legislators said there has been little communication from State Budget Office about the budget and where exactly the cuts are being made. Vi Simpson has called for the completed budget cut list, but the State Budget Office says that no such list exists!   The legislators talked about various bills being discussed and commented on Governor Daniels’ State of the State speech.  Bills discussed were redistricting, ethics reform, allowing Sunday carryout in microbreweries, putting property tax caps into the state constitution, township and local government reform, and net metering.  Also proposed are bills for jobs creation and tax credit for businesses that rehire workers, emphasizing that the economy must be addressed and Hoosier families must be put back to work.

Search and Screen/Review Committees

Kelley School of Business Dean Review – Liz Peck

The committee recently had its first meeting.

Law School Dean Review – Christina Kuzmych

The Review Committee for the Dean of the Maurer School Law School is in the final draft phase.  The report will be submitted to Provost Hansen shortly.

SLIS Dean Review – Rob Aspy

The committee will convene next week.

Journalism Dean Review – Maryanne McDonnell

The committee will meet in two weeks.

Announcements

The March business meeting will be held in Kelley School of Business, Room 3055, Wednesday, March 24, from 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

At the end of today’s business meeting, each member was invited to give a 2-3 minute presentation on what role his/her department plays within the university.

Meeting minutes respectfully submitted by Teresa Spiegel.