Staff Advisory Council
College of Food, Agricultural,
and Environmental Sciences
Minutes

April 14, 1999 - 12:00 - 3:00 Kottman Hall

Present: Betty Aylsworth Rita Bowers Cindy Crawford, Sherri Decant Marjorie Dellinger Janice Dicarolis, Debra Gallagher Becky Hooper, Barbara Lamoreaux, Ann Lighthiser, Kathy Mohler, Mitch Moser, Christine Nielsen, Susan Sommer, Carol Sowers, Regina Vann, Thad Welch, Cathy Zirkle

Absent: Carol Bunn, Mark Erbaugh, Ted Gastier, Jim Karcher, Mabel Kirchner, Patricia Patterson, Shelley Whitworth

Staff Present: Cathy Forte actions.

The regular meeting of the FAES Staff Advisory Council was held. The March meeting was canceled due to bad weather. Introductions were made. Chair Thad Welch welcomed two new members to the Council: Mitch Moser replaces Suzanne Steel from the Section of Communications and Technology and Rita Bowers replaces Ed Poling from Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering.

Minutes of the February 8 meeting were reviewed. Marjorie Dellinger made a motion to approve the minutes as submitted, seconded by Cindy Crawford. Motion carried.

EXECUTIVE TEAM UPDATE

Thad reported the Executive Team met twice since February: March 1 in Columbus and March 30 at Malabar Farm before the Project Reinvent Retreat. The team met to organize the transition from College staff leadership of the SAC to the officers taking over responsibilities. Thad reviewed topics discussed during these meeting. Regina Vann asked if minutes of these meetings could be shared with SAC members. Thad requested that Becky Hooper, Secretary/Treasurer, send copies to the members. Thad also indicated that meeting dates of future Executive Team meetings will be announced to all SAC members who are invited to attend.

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Cathy Zirkle explained her position as Communications Director and the various responsibilities of the Communications Committee. She will be serving in an advisory and coordinating capacity to the Committee. Task forces will be established as needed to follow through on specific tasks, i.e., SAC member directory, creation of a listserv and web page (possible link from the College's web page), etc. Cathy is seeking volunteers to serve where they have an interest or expertise, and asked all who are interested to send her an e-mail response.

Cathy Z. acknowledged and thanked Cathy Forte for writing articles for the next issue of enVision regarding SAC's participation in the Project Reinvent Retreat and also submitting the picture of SAC members taken at the February meeting. Cathy remarked that some individual pictures will need to be retaken.

Regina Vann asked if official SAC letterhead could be developed. It was agreed SAC should have something official. Regina will work with Cathy Forte and develop a draft of possible letterhead when her schedule permits.

OARDC DIRECTOR SEARCH

Guest Ann Ottobre, a member of the search committee for the Associate Vice President for Agricultural Administration and the OARDC Director position, joined the group to invite and encourage participation from staff during the candidates' interviews. Copies of the interview schedules were distributed. Ann explained that not only is it critical for staff and faculty to have opportunity for input in the selection of this important position, but there is also a responsibility of College faculty and staff in convincing the candidates that OSU is a compelling place to work.

BYLAWS

A copy of the bylaws was distributed prior to today's meeting for review by members. Suggestions from the February SAC meeting and input from the Executive Team were incorporated. Sections addressed included additions/clarifications to the Communications Director responsibilities, quorum needed to hold meetings, adding Communications Committee to the standing committees, extensive additions to the membership section, and adding a section on amending bylaws. After discussion and input from members, Debra Gallagher made a motion to adopt the bylaws as amended at today's meeting. The motion was seconded by Barb Lamoreaux. Motion carried. (Refer to attached amended bylaws for specific details.)

MEMBERSHIP TERMS

Thad distributed a sheet listing members' names and asked that each rank their preference of number of years to serve on the initial round of terms. The Executive Team had already established their terms by virtue of the number of years required to serve in their official capacities. To insure that only one third of members rotate off each year, the Executive Team will review members' input and try to honor first choices, however, some second choice may need to be accepted. As agreed at a past meeting, these terms will begin in October, and the time already served these first few months during SAC organization will be not counted. Vice Chair Christine Nielsen will contact members who were not in attendance today to gather their input. A finalized listing of membership terms will be distributed at the next meeting.

UPDATED MEMBERSHIP LIST

Becky Hooper distributed an updated list of the SAC membership which included new representatives Moser and Bowers. (For those not in attendance, Becky will send a copy via campus mail.)

VICE PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL UPDATE

Cindy Crawford reported on behalf of the SAC representatives to the VP Council meeting held last month. Cindy noted that the Council meets once a year to discuss one topic per meeting. The topic discussed at this meeting was what criteria should Vice President Moser use to determine allocation of funds from the College. The council is composed of a diverse representation from Columbus campus, ATI, and OARDC faculty and administrators, stakeholders, and most recently staff members. Although no major decisions were made, Cindy described the discussions and the input from those attending the meeting.

REPORT FROM PROJECT REINVENT RETREAT

Vice Chair Christine Nielsen lead this discussion. Seventeen SAC members attended. Very positive comments were shared regarding various aspects of the retreat. The retreat gave members an opportunity to learn more about the College, how the various department and unit staff/faculty/students interrelate, the mission to "change the culture" of the College by removing barriers as relates to internal College functions and with our stakeholder. SAC members integrated with the already established Project Reinvent participants, and the Staff Advisory Council now provides a formal channel for staff issues to be addressed. As a result of the retreat, many important focus issues have been delegated to the SAC.

LINC INNOVATIVE PROPOSAL

Marilyn Trefz joined the meeting. She and Thad announced that the LINC proposal had been funded for $5,000. The dates of June 3-4 were set for the retreat with staff from Mansfield -- to be held at that campus, beginning at 11:00 on the first day. Paul Axtell will serve as the consultant in developing a common team building experience the first day. During the second day, the Mansfield staff and SAC will separate and work individually on their specific project with assistance from Paul Axtell. The Mansfield staff have determined their project will be to redesign the student orientation process. The SAC project is yet to be determined.

Marilyn reported the Leader Teams from Project Reinvent met as a follow up to the Project Reinvent Retreat, and as mentioned above, many opportunities were identified for the SAC. A listing of these opportunities was distributed to SAC members. (Becky will send a copy to members not in attendance via campus mail.)

The LINC proposal and cost-sharing funds from Bobby Moser's account and the Mansfield campus will provide meals and cover Paul Axtell's fees, however, no funds are available for overnight lodging. Regina Vann suggested that as a new group this would be an ideal opportunity for the SAC members to stay overnight to develop camaraderie and grow as a team. Some staff indicated they have a travel budget, while others may need some financial assistance. Thad, Christine and Regina will coordinate a possible overnight stay during the retreat. It was suggested that some funds may be available from L. H. Newcomb who offered to provide dollars at the Project Reinvent Retreat for follow-up activities. Marilyn also reported that Paul Axtell will be conducting a separate session the evening of June 3 on listening skills that will be open to faculty and staff.

Thad will meet with Marilyn following today's meeting to review the project the SAC will focus on during this retreat. More details and refining of this project will be held at the May meeting.

GOALS

The consensus from the group was to combine goals that had been identified earlier by SAC members and the new opportunities list from the Project Reinvent Retreat. Below is the combined list of goals.

• Employee rewards/recognition
• Orientation/development issues for new employees
  • - shadowing and mentoring
• Unify Extension/Teaching/Research
  • - joint conferences and in-services
  • - shadowing
• Encourage "team concept" between faculty, staff, students
  • - form work groups
• Increase staff involvement in College activities and processes
  • - staff competencies
  • - greater representation by staff
  • - staff development/self-improvement/mentoring/shadowing
• Develop list of issues/concerns of staff (evolve into strategies and requests)

Although "making the College a compelling place to work" was originally listed as a goal, after much discussion the consensus was that this phrase would be the "umbrella" covering all SAC goals.

After a voting process by members present, the priority goal at this time was determined to be "increase staff involvement in College activities and processes." The LINC project will focus more directly on "staff development/self improvement/mentoring/shadowing." A suggestion was made that SAC might be able to incorporate something with staff appreciation week which is held in the fall. This might also be an opportunity to submit another funding proposal to L. H. Newcomb.

NEW ITEMS OF BUSINESS

Fall Faculty Meeting --

Cathy Zirkle reported she had been contacted by John Allred who invited the SAC to become involved in planning and attending the fall faculty meeting (another spin-off from the Project Reinvent Retreat). The date will be October 7, and the meeting will be held in Columbus. Regina Vann made a motion to have SAC proceed with this involvement, seconded by Carol Sowers. Motion carried. Volunteering to assist were Regina Vann, Debra Gallagher, and Janice Decarolis. Cathy noted that if others wish to assist, please e-mail her your interests with a copy to the Executive Team. Vice Chair Christine will be the liaison for this activity.

Meeting Dates --

The consensus was that the SAC establish a designated day each month for regular meetings. The third Wednesday of each month was determined to be the best day. Meeting locations will rotate around the state and be hosted by the member(s) at their location. Cathy Zirkle will develop a calender of dates and locations and send to members. It was also agreed the time of meetings will be 12:00 - 3:00.

Next Meeting --

The May meeting will be held at the Knox County Extension Office on Wednesday, May 19, with a brown bag lunch. Becky will coordinate these arrangements. The major agenda item will be the LINC project.

Parking Sticker --

Some members do not have access to parking stickers for the Columbus campus. Thad will arrange to get parking stickers to anyone who needs them when meetings are held in Columbus.

Cindy Crawford made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Kathy Mohler.

Submitted by,

Becky Hooper
Secretary/Treasurer