THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS
STAFF SENATE MINUTES FOR
THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2006
8:30 AM

Senators present: Beck, Scott; Bekis, Barbara; Boyce, Susan; Cade, Paul; Cantler, Edwin; Carman, Gary; Channell, Jessica; Claunch, Reba; Fair, Angela; Fitzgerald, Peggy; Hawkins, Yolanda; Hurley, Nancy; Istre, Penni; Laney, Carol; Lim, Lorrean; Merrit, Rebecca; O’Bryan, Kathryn; Patterson, Melodie; Stewart, Nancy; Taylor-Strowder, Ora; Turner, Debra; Wilson, Deborah; Young-Taylor, Geraldine.

Senators Absent (Excused): Barham, Mitch; Clarkson, Amanda;  Fullwood, Ann; Hawkins, Roy; Johnson, Mary; Swinger, Sandra; Wheeler, Helen.

Senators Absent (Unexcused): Andrews, Margaret; Ballard, Evell; Ballentine, Jeanett; Blake, Margo; Bragdon, Rebecca; Briggs, Angela; Bronson, Terrence; Butler, Brenda; Copeland, Ruby; Crawford, Deborah; Daniel, Ashley; Lott, Ruby; Mason, C.E.; McArthur, James; McMillan, Bev; Mosley, Stephen; Raiteri, Elizabeth; Woods, Keeya.

Minutes from the October 20^th Meeting:

The meeting was called to order at 8:36 am. All senators were asked if they received the minutes. A motion to approve the minutes as presented was brought before the Senate, and the motion was seconded. The minutes were approved.

Executive Committee Reports:

President’s Report (Scott Beck): President Beck reported that he is still working on the format for the survey concerning issues pertaining to Spectrum/Banner training. He also asked if everyone received the e-mail concerning the Honorary Degree Program. Information pertaining to the program can found at the following web address:

http://policies.memphis.edu/UM1648.htm

President Beck reminded the Senate that there are only 5 meetings left for the year, and that he will be working with the Membership and Election committees to prepare for next year’s Staff Senate elections.

Vice President’s Financial Report (Mary Johnson): Senator Johnson reported that there is $7,586.49 in the treasury. There has been no change since the last report from the November 2005 Staff Senate meeting.

Secretary’s Report (Melodie Patterson): There was no report from the secretary.

Membership Report (Mitch Barham): There was no Membership Committee report.

Public Relations Report (Sandra Swinger): Senator Swinger Public Relations Report was given in her absence. She submitted an e-mail about the Memphis Food Bank Can Drive. President Beck, in Senator Swinger’s absence, reported that The University of Memphis Staff Senate collected 1,100 lbs of food for the Memphis Food bank.

Web Site/ IT Report (Debra Turner): Senator Turner has been working with the Information Technology Department and they are working to set up Luminus on the server which hosts the Senate Web Site. There have been, however, problems with the Apache server, which is not capatible with Luminus. We are still on the College of Arts and Science (CAS) server, and Senator Turner reported that there is a link from the Staff Senate web page to the CAS Server. Training for Luminus continues. There are a lot of virtual sites for the University, and there is a fear that we could lose some of those sites when setting up a connection with Luminus. Senator Turner hopes to have Staff Senate site uploaded onto the Luminus server soon, and hopes that the fears of losing the virtual sites would deminish.

Election Committee Report (Lorrean Lim): No report at this time.

Issues and Reviews (Barbara Bekis): No report at this time

Legislative Advisory Committee (Peggy Fitzgerald): No report at this time.

University Wide Committees:

Bookstore: No report at this time

Facilities and Services: Physical Plant has reported on projects that were going on around campus. They will re-roof the library, the Administration Building and Clement Hall. There have been Fire alarm safety changes in the dorms, especially Rawls, Richardson Towers, and Mynders. The dorms will also be receiving sprinkler systems in order to be brought up to code.

They will also resurface the track and field area on South Campus. It was believed that the track and field area near the field house would be resurfaced, but that project was completed recently. There will be a new women’s softball park on South Campus. Also, there is a drainage project in progress to prepare for lowering Central Ave and constructing a pedestrian bridge over the street. The exact date for the project to begin is unknown.

The Panhellenic Building will be shut down for repairs. Some of the offices from the University Center will move to Mitchell Hall, Wilder Tower, and parts of the Panhellenic Building that will not be closed. The start date for the work to commence on the University Center will be some time in the summer months, but no specific date has been given. The Post Office will move to Richardson Towers. Carpenter is building 4 new units. Some sororities may be move over to the Carpenter Complex. The date had been pushed ahead due to some conflicts. At this point, no one may schedule anything past April in the UC. Some groups/organizations may use the Rose Theatre for smaller conferences. No one knows what will happen to the Café. Also, it is unknown if the Tiger Den will be expanded. The Staff Senate’s concern is where the Senate Chambers will be moved to, especially during the summer months.

Senator Wilson suggested that we use one of the rooms in the Rose Theatre for our meetings, one of the Panhellenic conference rooms or the room in the Geography Building. Senator Hurley and President Beck will check with the President’s office about if there have been any further discussion as to where our meetings will take place.

The United States Postal Service has agreed to sell the old Memphis Post Office Front Street Station in order for the University of Memphis , School of Law to conduct classes at that location in the next few years. For more information about the agreement, refer to the following web page:

http://www.memphis.edu/releases/jan06/law.htm

Also, there is a misconception that all of the construction on campus is being funded by student fees and tuition. The new UC, however, is being funded by the fees, thus the encouragement of having the students name the new UC. Other projects, such as the Central Avenue construction project and other improvements, are not being funded by student fees.

Senator Wilson asked about the e-mail sent by Physical Plant concerning the office workers in some of the buildings no longer being able to leave the trash cans in the hallways. There was a question as to if there was a plan to replace the liners of the trash cans, and there wasn’t one. The concern may be more centralized to one building rather than university wide. President Beck will look further into this concern.

Fee Refunds & Appeals: No report

1^st Year Experiences: No report

Food Services/Dining: Seat is empty/no report

IT Administrative Advisory: No report

Public Records & Forms: No Report

Space Planning: No report

Traffic & Parking: No report

Old Business: The issue was raised as to the current location of the Faculty Senate’s meetings. The Faculty Senate was known to meet in the Psychology Auditorium, but now the location is unknown. The Senate would like to know where the Faculty Senate currently holds its meetings for future references.

New Business: The Auto Zone Lifeblood Center – There were questions as to how to get the word out about the Lifeblood Center being located on campus and that it is open for business. Not a lot of people know about the center being on campus. One suggestion was to put links to the Lifeblood Center web page onto the Staff Senate web page.

The Lifeblood Center, located above the University Bookstore, is open Tuesday through Thursday, from 9 am to 5 pm. There is no number listed in the campus directory. They are listed on the Mid-South.org Lifeblood web page, which is linked to the University of Memphis web page. Also, if you make a donation, you get a free cholesterol check. There was also the suggestion to create a link from the Campus Lifeblood Center to the University of Memphis’s homepage.There is also an incentive for University employees to give blood at the last hour of the workday. There is also the idea of putting a link on the Resources and Services web page, and on Spectrum. It is unknown if the center sets up during the Staff Appreciation Day. There was a suggestion to announce where the center is located on one of the phone messages while people are on hold. Another suggestion was to publish information about it in the Weekly Update, the Daily Helmsman, or any other media format.

Senator Bekis brought up the concern about a decrease in the amount of recycling participation across campus. This was presented at one of the 1^st Friday Forums. We are trying to reduce the amount of waste that is produced around campus. Not only is there a problem with wasting paper & plastic, but some offices may be wasting packaging materials and printer cartridges.

Senator Istre stated that Printing and Copying Center has a recycling program with their vendor. There is also an agreement between the IT department and its vendor on toner cartridges. The university has tried not to throw away old computers, cartridges, or any other products that could be refurbished. Offices across campus would have to sign up for pick up times through Physical Plant if they were to participate in the recycling program. It is believed that there will be an issue brought before the Staff Senate soon.

The contact person in Physical Plant concerning the recycling program is Calvin Strong. Also, if your department wants to purchase recycling containers for its office, anyone can send an e-mail Senator Rebecca Merrit and she could provide information about where to get the bins.

Also, Senator Turner has set up a Staff Senate group on the Spectrum web page. Right now, only the executive committee is set up. There was a question as to if all of the senators should be included. This would encourage people to work with Spectrum more. There is a message board, a calendar, photo section, news, etc., on this page. Senator Beck thought that the content should be restricted, as far as what can be reviewed.

Bylaws Committee: No report

There was no further business brought before the committee.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 am.

Respectfully submitted,

Melodie V. Patterson
Staff Senate Secretary