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

July 19, 2000
Piketon, Ohio

Present: Rita Bowers, Marjorie Dellinger, Janice DiCarolis, Deb Gallagher, Ted Gastier, Jim Karcher, Ann Lighthiser, Kathy Mohler, Christine Nielsen, Pat Patterson, Susan Sommer, Carol Sowers, Regina Vann, Shelley Whitworth, Cathy Zirkle.

Regrets: Betty Aylsworth, Carol Bunn, Cindy Crawford, Mark Erbaugh, Becky Hooper, Mabel Kirchner, Barbara LaMoreaux.

The regular meeting of the FAES Staff Advisory Council was held at the Centers at Piketon, Ohio and began at approximately 10:30 A.M.

1. Review June minutes. A motion to approve minutes from the council's June 21, 2000 meeting was offered by Ms. Dellinger and seconded by Ms. Mohler. Ms. Nielsen noted bullet number six under the section titled, "Drs. Moser and Newcomb Meeting" should be deleted. ("He suggested that time be set aside during these meetings to invite that location's staff to be part of an open discussion.") She explained this topic was discussed in the meeting, but it was not one of Dr. Moser's comments. Motion approved unanimously with the above correction.

2. Executive Team Update and Announcements. Ms. Gallagher reported the executive team of Ms. Nielsen, Ms. Hooper, Ms. Zirkle and herself met via conference call on July 14, 2000. Items discussed by the officers included: determining the council meeting format during the Piketon staff discussion; updating officer responsibilities and expectations by submitting individual officer position "descriptions;" planning the council's August retreat and September annual meeting; discussing the upcoming officer election procedure; developing a plan for the executive team while Ms. Nielsen is on leave; determining membership replacements for Sherri DeCant, Anne Groves and Thad Welch. Ms. Nielsen noted she is currently drafting a letter for Dr. Moser's signature to replace these three members.

3. Meet with Staff from Piketon. The council and Piketon staff were self-introduced. Ms. Nielsen welcomed the Piketon staff to the meeting and offered a brief overview of the council, its formation, and its mission. Ms. Zirkle reported improved communication among the college's staff members due to accomplishments by the council's communication task forces: the enVision task force, listserv task force, membership directory task force, web task force, and promotional display task force. She noted increased staff involvement in college administration via staff representation on groups such as the Vice President's Advisory Council, the Guiding Coalition and the Facilities Master Planning Group. Ms. Gallagher noted accomplishments and works-in-progress of other council task forces, including the survey task force, staff development task force and employee rewards task force. Comments from the Piketon staff regarding FAES experiences and issues included: (a.) feedback regarding taking classes due to Piketon proximity to the Columbus campus and branch campuses, the status of the Alternative Tuition Assistance Program, and the availability of educational video conferencing at Piketon; (b.) feedback regarding recognizing the college staff by offering staff rewards and awards, and the current annual and monthly staff reward and recognition system at Piketon; (c.) concern about attending OSU employee orientation due to its location on the Columbus campus; (d.) interest in the University's recent decrease in its contribution to the staff's Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP) (Post-script: Ms. Nielsen sent a follow-up email regarding this topic on 7/25/00.); (e.) concern regarding receiving on-site training or video conferencing with Information Technology Services (ITS, formerly UTS); (f.) positive feedback regarding meeting with the council because the discussion provided the Piketon staff with perspective about council issues and initiatives. (One Piketon staff member indicated that prior to meeting with the SAC, he likely would have disregarded council communication. Meeting with the SAC on a personal basis will make a difference because he will now pay greater attention to council correspondence and activities).

4. By-laws Amendment. A motion to amend the council by-laws, section V. "Membership," item E. "Vacancies," was offered by Ms. Whitworth and seconded by Ms. Sowers. This item will now read: E. Vacancies ? Council shall notify the Vice President to solicit an appointment from the vacating unit/department head to fulfill the remainder of the vacated term. All subsequent terms will be served following the above specifications. Former members who have been off the Council for 12 months are eligible for appointment. Motion approved unanimously.

5. Slate of Officers for 2000?2001. Ms. Gallagher reported two council members are nominated for upcoming officer elections. Ms. Sommer is nominated for Communication Director and Ms. Mohler is nominated for Secretary. No additional nominations were offered from the floor. The officer elections will take place at the August council meeting.

6. Task Force Reports. (Ms. Zirkle distributed a paper report to the council, covering the Promotional Display, enVision, Project Reinvent video and annual meeting summaries.) 

Promotional Display. Ms. Zirkle reported the display was in Piketon since late June and encouraged council members to review it in the center's lobby. The display was given to Mr. Gastier following the council meeting and will be exhibited at Stone Lab for next month's retreat. Millie Scheid in Communications and Technology agreed to update the display in September, 2000 after the council's next officer team is installed. -enVision. Ms. Zirkle reminded the council to read Ms. Crawford's article titled, "Staff Advisory Council Elects New Vice Chair" in the July/August issue of enVision. The article included news about compiling survey results and the prize drawing for survey participants, Ms. Gallagher's election to the vice-chair position and a brief bio about her, and a summary of the "Foundations" program facilitated by Paul Axtell in May. Ms. Crawford is scheduled to submit another article in August for the September issue of enVision. It was suggested this upcoming article highlight the council's meeting with the Piketon staff and include Piketon staff comments.

Ms. Zirkle noted the Project Reinvent video was taped on June 23, 2000. Marilyn Trefz's question, "How do you see that the efforts of Project Reinvent and the culture of experimentation have made a difference to the faculty/staff in the college?" was to be answered with seven points discussed during June's executive team meeting (these points included in Ms. Zirkle's report distributed to council members by email on June 22, 2000). However, this answer was too lengthy and edited to include the following points: the SAC was formed in 1998 and is a direct product of Project Reinvent; the SAC is a medium used to bring staff issues to the forefront and advice the Dean of these issues; there is greater staff inclusion in the administrative processes of the college through staff representation on administrative groups; the elimination of this status barrier between faculty and staff is also evident at the department level; staff communication has improved significantly. 

Web. Ms. Sommer reported that she, with Communications and Technology's and OARDC computer support staff's assistance, has updated the council's site. The site address is: http://cfaes.osu.edu/staffadvisorycouncil. The email address listed on the site is: oleskiewicz.1@osu.edu. Ms. Sommer passed around a paper report summarizing the council's web site activity over the last 12 months, indicating the site has had 222 hits this month and a total of 421 hits since August, 1999. As the Web task force has completed its mission "to create an informational SAC home page," Ms. Sommer offered a motion to disband the Web task force at this time. The motion was seconded by Ms. Gallagher. Motion passed unanimously. -Listserv. Ms. Lighthiser noted the continued concern regarding the OSUE staff not receiving email messages sent to the staff listserv due to an email account activation problem in the Extension offices. She said the staff listserv will be updated when the problem is rectified. 

Survey. Ms. Dellinger said data received from the survey is being compiled by Mr. Erbaugh's student. Council task forces awaiting survey information should determine the specific sections they wish to obtain data from and draft a list containing these survey sections. The task force chairs will then email the cumulative list of survey sections to Mr. Erbaugh. Ms. Dellinger indicated the responses in Part III of the survey ("A Letter to the Vice President") will be analyzed by Marilyn Trefz. As the complete survey results are expected in August, Ms. Gallagher will ask Mr. Erbaugh to give a report at next month's meeting. Due to confidentiality issues, it was noted that the survey results released will be generalized. 

Staff Rewards. Ms. Vann reported this task force has scheduled a meeting for August 8, 2000. Consequently, a report will be given to the full council at its August meeting. The task force currently has drafted a brief outline as a response to Dr. Moser's charge. Ms. Vann indicated the council's original deadline of September to respond to Dr. Moser's request may have to be extended.
 
7. Other Reports.  Guiding Coalition. No report, as this group does not meet during summer quarter.  VP's Advisory Council. No report, as a meeting was held on July 13, 2000, but no council representative was able to attend. 

Facilities Master Planning Group. Mr. Gastier reported this group has a meeting scheduled on July 20, 2000. He offered the following brief report: a contract may be signed soon with consultants to prepare a Master Plan for the college; the Board of Trustees is expected to vote regarding the facilities in Apple Creek; and the question remains regarding ATI expansion. (Post script: Mr. Gastier sent a report via email on 7/21/00.)

8. Next Meetings Details.

August at Stone Lab. Mr. Gastier, host of the August meeting, distributed paper copies of the Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce's "2000 Island Guide." (The information is available on the Chamber of Commerce's web site at: http://www.put-in-bay.com/.) He offered the following suggestions to the council: do not take a vehicle to Gibraltar Island (if so, accommodations must be proven); take the Jet Express to Put-in-Bay and the boat from Put-in-Bay to Gibraltar Island; and stay at Port Clinton or Catawba. Mr. Gastier reserved the meeting room in Stone Lab from 10:45 A.M. until 1:45 P.M., including a cafeteria luncheon and island tour. All transportation costs will be reimbursed. Mr. Gastier and Ms. Whitworth agreed to determine a council meeting place and time in Port Clinton on the morning of August 18, 2000. They will notify the council of this place and time by email. The council's general consensus was that the agenda for the August meeting should include: regular meeting, task force breakouts, survey review, officer voting, and social time. ? September Annual Meeting. Ms. Zirkle reported that a location for the annual meeting is yet to be determined. Information is being received from the Longaberger Alumni House, University Plaza (formerly The Ramada), Buckeye Hall of Fame Café and OSU Faculty Club. She expects to give information to the executive team regarding these locations by July 28, 2000. Jodi Miller, photographer in Communications and Technology, agreed to take portraits of new members during the annual meeting.

9. Nominations Process for Officer Positions Next Year. This item was deleted from the agenda, as it was discussed under item number five above.

10. Other Business. Laura Tiu, a Piketon staff member, spoke to the council regarding her appointment by President Kirwan to serve on a university wide task force researching work life and benefits issues. She indicated the task force will release a survey in October and asked the council to promote the survey to staff members. It was suggested a notice about the work life and benefits survey be sent to the college staff listserv. Ms. Zirkle agreed to ask Ms. Hooper about sending a thank you letter to the Piketon staff and administration for hosting the council's meeting.

11. Tour Piketon. Don McFeeters, Center Director, welcomed the council to the Piketon facility and offered a brief overview of the center's mission. The following center staff members spoke to the council about their respective areas at Piketon: Jimmy Lindner and Julie Fox, Business and Economic Development; Ron Miller, Forestry; Melissa Fitzpatrick, Soil and Water Resources; Laura Tiu, Aquaculture; Brad Bergeferd, Horticulture. The council enjoyed a tour of the Aquaculture and Horticulture areas.

A motion to adjourn the council meeting was offered by Ms. Gallagher and seconded by Ms. Whitworth.

Meeting adjourned at 2:35 P.M. Minutes recorded by Cathy Zirkle.