MINUTES

Staff Forum

June 28, 2006 * 3:00 PM

Ms. Olga Contreras-Martinez, Chair, called the meeting to order at 3:05 and gave the invocation.

New staff were asked to introduce themselves. In attendance were Ms. Gina Wilson, Administrative Assistant in Humanities; Ms. Mandy Ponder, Enrollment Specialist from Enrollment Services; and Maria Sanchez, Recruiter from HEP. All attendees were then asked to introduce themselves, state which office they worked in, and give a little information about what was going on in their areas. It was suggested this method be used at all Staff Forum meetings, so that attendees could get an idea each semester of what other areas on campus might be working on. Information shared:

• Furniture installation in the new Nursing and Health Sciences building will start on July 10, and faculty and staff will be moved in time for classes in the fall.
• Human Resources has just completed an online orientation site for new employees and has revised the Classified Personnel Handbook.
• Alumni and Development are starting to work on this year’s Annual Fund Campaign. The new student housing plan has been approved for 500 beds.  Ribbon cutting for the Health Sciences building is set for August. 
• The Office of Institutional Research is currently working on ABAC’s response to the off-campus SACS review, and QEP. SACS on-site review will occur in the fall.
• Academic Divisions are gearing up for Fall Semester, trying to get all faculty and classes in place.
• OITS is looking into getting ABAC announcements worked into the background music people hear when we put them on hold.
• HEP is finishing up the last year of the four-year funding cycle, and are waiting to hear the results from their proposal for the 2006-2010 cycle. CAMP is currently in it’s second year of funding.
• The Library is busy with the search for a new Public Services Librarian.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes of the Spring 2006 meeting were not available at this time, they will be e-mailed for approval at a later date.

Old business:

The quickly planned Valentine’s Day fundraiser netted $437. Ms. Contreras-Martinez thanked the volunteers who worked hard to put together in one week a successful venture, and those who blew up and tied and untangled and delivered and bought balloons, and cooked baked treats for sale, worked the tables, and everything else on the big day.

Budget numbers, included on the agenda, were reviewed.

New Business:

The by-laws have not been looked at since 2002, and ABAC has undergone several changes since then. In trying to put together a committee for the awarding of the Roy Jackson Staff Excellence Award, Ms. Contreras-Martinez ran into some trouble finding people who still worked here and/or could represent units across the campus, as stated in our current by-laws. There is also the question of whether Staff Forum needs to have a Grievance Committee, as stated in the by-laws, when there is a system in place through Human Resources. Ms. Contreras-Martinez would also like to see the Quorum vote addressed – who counts and how, based on attendance at meetings and/or status as a staff member. Scheduling meetings more than once a semester, to allow for more planning and shorter meetings, also needs to be looked at.

The following volunteers will serve on the By-Laws Committee to address these issues:

Nancy Anthony

Brenda Doss

Trina Jones

Bam Pirkle

Pathelyn Smith

Sandra Sellers

Teresa Williams

An initial meeting will be set up so that Chair Contreras-Martinez can charge the committee, and a chair of the By-Laws Committee can be selected.

Plans are being made for a called meeting in July, to introduce Dr. David Bridges to the Staff Forum. The Staff Forum Chair and Vice-Chair will meet with him on July 5 to schedule this meeting and discuss with him our concerns about staff recognition with the regime change, and ask him to please assist Staff Forum by encouraging campus supervisors to support their staff’s participation in our meetings.

Staff members are strongly encouraged to attend the meeting with Dr. Bridges in July – this will be our chance to let him know that we do care about what goes on around campus, and we do wish to make our voices heard.

Announcements:

A Thank You note from the 2006-2007 Staff Forum Scholarship recipient – Ms. Tara Williams, daughter of Mike and Teresa Williams, was read.

Persons who were nominated for the Roy Jackson Staff Excellence Award were announced, to give recognition to those outstanding staff members who did not win the award this year:

Janie P. Baldree

Evonne S. Connell

James Felton

Ernest Kelly

Pamela Leonard

Barbara Pirkle

Lyn Smith

Janet Weaver

Shirley Wilson

Ms. Janice Payne, Administrative Assistant for the Division of Agriculture and Forest Resources, was presented the Jackson Award at the 2006 Honors Day ceremony this past April 12.

Ms. Ellen Resta has revised the Staff Forum webpage. Visit it at www.abac.edu/staffforum/

We hope in the future to include photos of meetings and staff in action and refreshment recipes (and others) on the page. Any suggestions/ideas should be forwarded to Ms. Resta.

Ms. Julie Boland announced that there will be a Tifton’s Night Out Event hosted/organized by the Housing Authority held on August 1, from 6-9 pm. This would be a good opportunity for Staff Forum members to get together and assist with, have a display at, and/or participate in the event. Additional information will be shared as it is received.

With no further business or announcements, the meeting was adjourned at 4:10 PM.