Staff Assembly Meeting Minutes
March 4, 2003

Present: Jean Andrus, Chris Arreguin, Ruben Ayala, Victor Baeza, Ross Bailey, Karen Baker, Emily Burgwyn, Jackie Callanan, Alice Carter, Nancy Carter, Rafael Chavez, Carlene Coover, Kay Edmondson, Marilyn Eudaly, Roger Fisher, Ervey Garcia, Terri Gartner, Rebecca Glass, Julie Graver, David Grebel, Nancy Grieser, Josh Harmon, Ida Hernandez, Dorothy Holland, Pam Hughes, Pamela James, Jacobo Juarez, Mary Kaszynski, Mary Lane, Joe Laster, Tommy Love, Debbie Mar, Jake Martinez, Valeria McDougle, Dennis Odom, Tara Pope, Barbara Savak, Donna Shepherd, Kathy Smith, Emily Sullivan, DeVonna Tinney, Hao Tran, Alison Trinkle, Juan Varela, Esco Weatherspoon, David Yale

Guests: Faculty Senate Chair Peggy Watson; Faculty Senate Chair Elect Nadia Lahutsky; Rachel Julian, Director of Fitness & Wellness, University Recreation Center; Mario Bravomalo, L.P.T. - Director of Physical Medicine, Osteopathic Health System; Janine Boling of LIFE Center; and Skiff reporter Sarah Chacko

Absent: Jonathan Brown, Dan Dehart, Laurie Fetter, Marshall Gordon, Jack Hesselbrock, Sharon Hudson, Maria Leyva, Darron Turner

The meeting was called to order at 3:35 p.m. Chair Karen Baker thanked Josh Harmon, Craig Elders and Carlene Coover for taking pictures of Assembly members for the web site. She reviewed the February minutes, and they were approved. She welcomed Peggy Watson, Chair of the Faculty Senate.

Guest Remarks: Dr. Peggy Watson reviewed some of the issues facing the Faculty Senate this year. She said the biggest issue was the revision of the core curriculum. Watson said the Senate is considering several things such as traditional courses, TCU’s mission statement, religion, leadership, culture, diversity and ethics in revising the curriculum. She said the advising process, grievance policy and an honor code were also issues. Watson said that the Senate, like the Staff Assembly, is looking at compensation and funeral leave.

Updates of Campus Business: John Weis, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Human Resources, spoke about the proposed wellness program, a collaborative effort between Human Resources, the staff of the University Recreation Center, LIFE Center, and other campus resources. Scheduled to start at the end of April, the program will allow TCU's employees to get a basic assessment and health profile for $20. Additional tests may be performed for additional charges. Tests will be conducted on-campus by Life Center staff. TCU will not receive the results of any tests all of which will remain confidential. After an employee has a health assessment, LIFE Center staff will set a 12-week program including fitness goals. If the employee meets the goals, he or she will have the $20 fee refunded plus receive a free year membership to the University Recreation Center.

Rachel Julian, Director of Wellness & Fitness, discussed the wellness program. She emphasized that TCU will not receive anyone's personal information. Mario Bravomalo of the Osteopathic Health System reported the success of the program with his employees. Janine Boling from LIFE Center said that participants take a 40-question survey and blood tests such as glucose and cholesterol. Employees will receive a seven-page report and meet with a nurse. From this report, an individual plan will be developed.

Program: Shari Barnes and John Weis gave the Assembly a quiz to test representatives' knowledge of TCU's benefits. Their Power Point presentation "What's Your Benefits IQ?" is available at http://www.staffassembly.tcu.edu/links.html along with other Assembly presentations.

Information covered included:

·        TCU paid over $5 million in 2002 for employee health insurance. TCU pays 63% and the employee pays 37% of the yearly premium. The average age at TCU is 47, and employees are frequent users of health insurance.

·        Employers are not required to give vacation time or breaks.

·        Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is available for employees who have been at TCU at least 1 year and who need time off due to personal illness or illness of an immediate family member. It runs concurrently with sick and vacation leave. It is unpaid unless the employee has accrued sick and vacation leave but holds the same or similar job for 12 weeks. Paperwork is available at Human Resources, and a certification process is required. TCU can place employees on FMLA. Twelve weeks is available for an employee on a rolling calendar basis.

·        After initial employment, additional life insurance requires proof of insurability. You can take life insurance with you if you separate from employment with the University; however, the cost will be higher.

·        If you go on long-term disability, you can keep your health insurance coverage only if you meet the rule of 75 for retirement purposes. If you leave TCU, your money may be withdrawn or rolled over, but this is dependent upon the types of plans in which you have invested. Supplemental retirement is not taxed until it is drawn from your account after separation from the University.

·        Personal leave is available for nonexempt staff and is to be used only for official business which has to be done during work hours (and cannot be done at any other time after hours) such as getting a driver's license, legal business or attending parent teacher conferences.

·        Benefits make up varying percentages of employees' salaries due to participation in specific benefit plans. For example, participating in the tuition assistance program, participating in family coverage under the health insurance plan, etc., directly impact the percent of salary.

Chair's Report: The executive committee is meeting with Chancellor Ferrari March 18. At the April Staff Assembly meeting, Vice Chancellor Carol Campbell will speak. There will not be a program in May because of officer elections and a reception honoring Chancellor Ferrari.

Committee Reports:

Community Service - Julie Graver announced there is still time to sign up for the Race for the Cure run.

Reading Frogs - Mary Lane asked for volunteers to sign up as judges for reading contests. Also she asked representatives to submit their ideas for a new name for Reading Frogs since it conflicts with the Reading Frogs Score a Goal in the Classroom program. Lane also asked representatives to report volunteer time off.

Elections/Chancellor's Staff Award - Emily Burgwyn said that Staff Assembly ballots are out. After votes are counted, online voting will begin. After two days of online voting, those who didn't vote online will be sent paper ballots. Burgwyn reported that Chancellor Ferrari has asked vice chancellors to have their nominees for the Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Service to him by March 21. The award will be presented April 24 at the annual Retirement and Service Recognition Program.

Professional Development - Alice Carter said that Vice Chancellor Don Mills and Ben Alexander will speak on how TCU is marketed to prospective students Wednesday March 19 at noon in Student Center Room 205. The deadline for the Staff Award for Books & Fees is May 1.

Web Page - Kathy Smith said that if representatives weren't photographed to see her.

Karen Baker thanked the committee chairs for their work. She asked that chairs submit annual reports which will be used to compile the Assembly's Annual Report.

Bylaws Review: David Grebel asked representatives to look over the proposed bylaw changes. He said that the vote would be in April after a discussion. Assembly bylaws require a staff vote of 2/3 and ratification of the Administration.

Discussion of Funeral Leave Proposal: The proposal was broken into two parts. The first motion (see below) was to equalize funeral leave between exempt and nonexempt staff (current policy carries a distinction between exempt and nonexempt staff). This passed with all voting representatives in favor of the motion.

"A short-term leave of absence or leave with pay not to exceed three days, is granted in the event of death in the immediate family of a staff member. An additional period of time may be granted at the discretion of the immediate supervisor and will be charged as other leave. Requests for a short period of absence from work to attend funerals of other family members or friends will be charged as other leave. Prior arrangements must be made with the immediate supervisor. The above use of time away from work for the funeral of immediate family members should apply to both nonexempt and exempt staff."

The second motion featured a definition of “immediate family" (see below).

"We move that immediate family by blood of marriage be defined as follows for the purposes of this policy:

Spouse

Father            Father-in-Law            Stepfather

Mother            Mother-in-Law            Stepmother

Sister            Sister-in-Law            Stepsister

Brother           Brother-in-Law            Stepbrother

Son            Son-in-Law            Stepson

Daughter        Daughter-in-Law            Stepdaughter

Grandparents      Grandparents-in-Law      Step Grandparents      Grandchildren"

The Policy Review Committee recommended defining immediate family as a means of eliminating inconsistencies in how supervisors currently grant funeral leave. Among the items discussed were whether others should be included - aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and domestic partners. Some representatives mentioned their constituents wanted domestic partners included on the list. Some saw TCU's current policy of leaving the decision up to supervisors by not defining family (see existing sick leave policy) as more progressive. Others were concerned about inconsistencies in the application of funeral leave when left undefined. It was decided to send the second motion back to the Policy Review Committee for clarification. The Committee was asked to consult existing policies which apply to family as well as coordinate with Faculty Senate about their expressed concerns with the definition. Feedback from staff should be directed to Hao Tran. The committee will report again in April and the Staff Assembly will vote.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 p.m.