Minutes of the September 1, 1999 Meeting
Sarah Fraker opened the meeting at 2:00. Present were Teresa Taylor from Academic Affairs; Greg Durham, Jim Graham, and Rachel Peavey from Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Robyn Ansley and LaBau Bryan from Arts and Sciences; Elizabeth Pape from the Terry College of Business; Sandy Smith from the College of Education; Jennie Ward from External Affairs; Joe Cochran for Henry Bridges, Mike Callihan, Debbie Helsel, Frank Patman, Melissa Stoker, Sharlyn Tate, and Wanda Thaxton from Finance and Administration; Jenny Yearwood from Forest Resources; David Knox from the Graduate School; Merrill Edens from the College of Journalism and Mass Communication; Joyce Moss from the School of Law; Jeannie Johnson representing Legal Affairs, the Office of the President, and the Equal Opportunity Office; George Russell and Kim Wheeler from Public Service and Outreach; Don Bullard and Sally Kroehnke from Research; Jeanell Muckle from Social Work; Jody Hall and Margaret Stephan from Student Affairs; Tony Hughey from the College of Veterinary Medicine; Clyde Anglin, Parliamentarian; and Brenda Keen, Secretary. Sige Burden, Loretta Harper, Duane Ritter, and David Williams from Human Resources were present for a portion of the meeting, and Margot Peter, staff liaison on the Parking Appeals and Faculty Benefits committees, and Joan Stroer from The Athens Banner Herald/ Daily News also attended.
Absent were David Levenson from Academic Affairs; Laura Alfonso, Freya Browning, and Donna Kent from Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Leisa Seabolt from Environmental Design; Susan Wilson from Family and Consumer Sciences; Leroy Carruth from Finance and Administration; Liz Stich from the College of Pharmacy; and Allison Wright from the College of Veterinary Medicine.
The minutes from the August meeting were approved.
Associate VP for Human Resources Loretta Harper introduced two new employees in her department: David Williamson, Benefits Director, and Duane Ritter, Organizational Design and Compensation Services Director. She emphasized that classification and pay delivery systems are a very high priority of the department. She asked that representatives contact her department with ideas or suggestions.
Loretta announced a change in the way benefits are administered and communicated, in that Benefits Counselors have been assigned specific areas of campus. She handed out a chart showing which counselor is responsible for each area of campus. She will speak at the November meeting and report on the new benefits software and other information. (The HR department has a very helpful web page at http://www.busfin.uga.edu/human_resources/.)
Reports of Standing Committees
The Executive Committee met on August 19 and set the schedule for meetings for the next year. Robyn reported that a copy of the Strategic Plan is in the council's office as a reference and that the Human Resources Department is continuing its opportunities for supervisor training. The university's policy and procedures manual has been changed to reflect that employees may use sick leave time to care for members of their immediate families. A Bylaws Committee has been established to revise the UGA-SC bylaws. Members are Sarah Fraker, Brenda Keen, David Levenson, Elizabeth Pape, and former representative Gil Head. The Legislative Committee needs volunteers. Robyn suggested it would be a good committee for out-of-town representatives to join, since much of its work is done via e-mail. The next Executive Committee meeting will be September 16.
The Communications Committee has not met. Elizabeth provided copies of the committee's activities over the past year.
The Health and Safety Committee had no report.
The Needs and Concerns Committee had to reschedule its meeting to September 7 at 2:00 in the Vet School Board Room.
The Classification and Pay Committee canceled its August meeting because Loretta Harper was unable to attend as planned. It will be rescheduled and announced at a later date.
Reports of Ad Hoc Committees
The
President's Report
Sarah is working with Elizabeth and Brenda to compile an "annual duties" checklist of tasks that must be done whenever new UGA-SC officers are seated. She sent letters to President Adams regarding meetings with the Executive Committee and Staff Council funding. She asked for suggestions for speakers to make presentations at future meetings. She reported that she spoke at the first Convocation and read a copy of her speech (included at the end of the minutes).
She spoke to Parking Services and found out they have no jurisdiction over whether a department should approve use of a state vehicle; however, they did agree to provide permits to enable representatives to park in the deck at no cost. Margot Peter reported the University Council will not appoint faculty members of the Parking Appeals Committee until the end of the month.
New Business
Kim asked if membership in the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) is mandatory. Although faculty have the option of using an alternate retirement plan, Board of Regents policy requires that all staff members join TRS.
LaBau asked if there will be any changes in dental insurance. Jody replied that Loretta's department is looking for an additional provider, but it would not be offered pre-tax.
Jennie noted the Alumni House is about to undergo renovation and expressed concerned that workers in the building might be exposed to asbestos. Clyde assured her that this is a routine renovation and there would be no exposure.
There was discussion about employees not knowing about all of their benefits; the Employee Benefits division of Human Resources is very helpful and can provide information. Sarah pointed out an informed employee is an empowered employee. She asked if the group would be interested in having someone from Benefits speak at a meeting; everyone agreed they would. Margot suggested we invite Deborah Hinshaw.
The meeting adjourned at 3:50. The next meeting will be Wednesday, October 6 at 2:00 in Masters Hall of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.
Submitted by Brenda Keen, Secretary
Convocation Speech
August 22, 1999
Sarah Fraker
Welcome to the University of Georgia! Now I know you're going to hear that a lot today. But when I started at UGA, we didn't have a convocation. We didn't have a chance for folks to greet us and let us meet the key players that would be shaping our years at UGA.
So, I was new to UGA, new to Athens, new to the whole idea of the college experience. I was excited, nervous, and felt like a very small student at a very large university. I wondered why I hadn't picked that nice small liberal arts college that my High School advisor had recommended.
There were so many people!
The good news is, I survived. I survived by getting to know those people and taking advantage of what they could teach me. In fact, I survived so well that when I graduated, I found that I didn't want to leave Athens, or the University. They had grown on me. I didn't want to give them up. I didn't want to give up all those wonderful people. Students staff and faculty.
Now of those people, I'm not going to talk to you today about the students, the endless learning experiences that are just waiting for you - packed inside each person that you'll sit with in class. I'm not going to expound on the learned faculty members and how you will discover that book knowledge isn't the only thing that they can teach you.
What I am going tell you about is the group of people that I am honored to represent. The Staff of the University of Georgia. We're often the folks behind the scenes. We keep up the grounds and buildings, we keep the books, we do the copying so that your professors have tests to hand out at exam time. Aren't you lucky! Each one of your admissions applications was reviewed by several UGA staff members. Believe me, I worked in that department.
We're also right under your noses. We work in the dining halls and in the dorms, we answer you financial aid questions and we calm your fears when your Hope grant doesn't show up in Oasis when you think that it should. We also might work beside you if you choose to do work-study or fill one of the many student positions available at UGA. In a general sense though, we work together with all of you, keeping the University a great place to learn.
And of course, learning is what is most important here. I encourage all of you to take advantage of that. Let our wealth of knowledge become your wealth of knowledge. Take the time to get to know the people here at the University. You'll be amazed at what we have to offer. And if you take the time, and the day comes and someone asks you what the best part of being at UGA was, you can say "the people:" the people were the best part - students, staff, and faculty.
I wish you all the best.
Thank you.