Staff Council Annual Meeting Minutes – May 2018

Staff Council Updates
September 11, 2018

Staff Council held their 2018 Annual Meeting on Tuesday, May 22 at 8:30AM in Lakeside 101/102. Below are the meeting minutes (to be approved on September 18, 2018) for your review. These minutes can also be found on the K: Drive, located at K:\Staff Council\Staff Council – Meeting Minutes\June 2017 – May 2018 (Note for Windows 10 users: the K: drive is now the P: drive on your machine). Please send any recommended revisions to Cullen Bostock at cbostock@champlain.edu prior to the September 18 meeting.

I.   Welcome – Call meeting to order (Christina Erickson)

II.   Approval of the April meeting minutes (see in K:drive/Staff Council Meeting Minutes),

• A motion was made to approve, motion was seconded, and the April meeting minutes were unanimously approved 

III.   Treasurer’s Report – Patrick DiMambro (Treasurer)

IV.   Committee Updates

Staff Welfare & Advocacy Committee

• Committee Members
  • Daniel Selicaro (Chair), Maddie Braz, Justin Cawley, Christina Erickson, Linda Goodrum, Christa Hagan, Will McCrary, Toni Finnegan, Conor O’Brien, Jean-Marie Severance, Cheryl Taylor, Michael Blanco (Staff Council Executive Board Liaison), Jennifer Archambault (People Center Liaison) and Debra Dayman (People Center Liaison).
• Notable 2017-2018 Accomplishments:
  • Vermont Equal Pay Compact – Advocated for Champlain’s signing of the compact to support the College’s strategic goals and commitment to gender/pay equity for equal work.
  • Tuition Exchange – Some people regarded Tuition Exchange as a benefit, and not a scholarship program. Worked with People Center to update communications of scholarship eligibility and outline selection criteria for the TE program
  • Modern Think – Helped encourage honest and open staff participation in the one survey which can help affect real change at Champlain
  • Staff Retention/Exit Interviews – Worked with People Center to examine the exit interview process for a better analysis of the reasons people leave the College, and how to improve staff retention.
  • Staff Compensation/Staff Raises – Examined the pay range structure in place since 2008; new ‘Demystifying Compensation” workshops being planned. Re-examining merit-based raise structure, and researching whether moving to a equity based distribution is in the staff’s best interest.
  • Advocating for Staff – Reminding the College that staff matter just as much as faculty, and deserve to be recognized for their efforts.

Communications & Engagement Committee

• Committee members:
  • Roland Palmer (Chair), Katy DelGreco, Katie LeClair, Jen Perlee, Sandy Yusen,, Nic Anderson (Staff Council Executive Board Liaison)
• Notable 2017-2018 Accomplishments:
  • Reviewed and updated the Guide For All Employees and Employee Perks web pages linked to The People Center
  • Reviewed, updated, and maintained the Staff Council web pages
  • Regularly communicated what was happening at Managers Round Table
  • Solicited nominations and selected the 2018 Staff Council Award recipient
  • Solicited nominations for the open Staff Council board positions for our Annual Meeting and Elections happening today!
• An update was also provided regarding the New Staff Welcome Program. Since June 1, 2017, 39 new staff were welcomed by one of 28 volunteer Staff ambassadors. Special thanks to the following Staff Ambassadors who were matched with a new staff member this year: Vikki Gauvin, Becky Peterson, Ted Laskaris, Elin Melchior, Cheryl Taylor, Leslie Carew, Shaylea Scribner, Patrick Volz, Luke Lewis, Nic Anderson, Jodi Kuzia, Kara Berg, Jimena Huaco, Linda Goodrum, Maggie Melvin, Tyler Dion, and Tanya Hinterstoisser!
• A special congratulations to the 2018 Staff Council Award recipient, Joe Williams!

Staff Networking & Recreation Committee

• Committee Members:
  • Kelsey O’Connor (Co-Chair), Shaylea Scribner (Co-Chair), Joseph Williams, Patrick DiMambro, Maggie Melvin, Melissa Carlson, Jared Cadrette, Jimena Huaco, Bianca Bellot, Michael Wall, and Aram Sevakian (Staff Council Executive Board Liaison).
• Notable 2017-2018 Accomplishments:
  • Hosted 3 Programs:
    • Murder Mystery Social (November)
    • Let the Good Times Bowl! (March)
    • Staff Social: Oakledge BBQ (June)
  • Hosted 5 Pop Up Events with an average attendance of 10-20 people/event:
    • Archives Arcade Night (September)
    • Dog Park Get Together (October)
    • Gingerbread House Decorating (December)
    • Trivia Nights (February)
    • Pine Street Crawl (May)

College Council

• Staff Representatives to College Council: Christina Erickson, Will McCrary, Melissa Carlson, April O’Dell, John Lanzetta, Pat Boera, Elin Melchior
• Meeting topics over the course of the year included:
  • New meeting format/planning (September)
  • “What does it mean to be a Champlainer” (October)
  • Revisiting President Laackman’s 4 questions: (what do you love about Champlain, what would you like to fix, what do you hope Don does & does not do?) (December)
  • Student Leadership as a microcosm of the student experience (January)
  • Budgeting prioritization (April)
• College Council is also awaiting final Cabinet approval for their proposed bylaw revisions.
  • Preamble: “The College Council is the only Champlain College body where representatives from faculty, staff and students meet to discuss matters of the College and advise the President.  The Council brings diverse perspectives and promotes a sense of community. The Council affords representatives from across the College the opportunity to raise issues of importance to the College, hear perspectives from diverse stakeholders, and provide the President guidance on how best to advance the College in the best interest of all stakeholders.”
• Meeting notes can be found on the new College Council webpage: www.champlain.edu/collegecouncil.

V.   Staff Council Elections

2018-2019 Staff Council Open Positions and Candidates:

President – 2 year term

• Shaylea Scribner – Administrative and Events Coordinator – President’s Office
• Joseph Williams – Project Manager – Leahy Center for Digital Investigation

Treasurer – 2 year term

• Patrick DiMambro – Budget Analyst – Finance

Board Member – 1 year term (3 positions available)

• Jen Adrian – Creative and Communication Manager – Emergent Media Center
• Tara Arneson – Assistant Registrar – Registrar’s Office
• Mikael Blanco – Student Accounts Representative – Student Accounts
• Jennifer Clarke – Area Coordinator – Residential Life & Community Standards
• Bridget Grim – Area Coordinator – Student Engagement
• Jackie Marcoux – Area Coordinator – Student Engagement
• Elin Melchior – Senior Administrative Coordinator – Office of Int. Education
• Aram Sevakian – Maintenance and Move Coordinator – Physical Plant

Voting was tallied, and the new 2018-2019 Staff Council Executive Board members are:

President – 2 year term

• Shaylea Scribner – Administrative and Events Coordinator – President’s Office

Treasurer – 2 year term

• Patrick DiMambro – Budget Analyst – Finance

Board Member – 1 year term (3 positions available)

• Tara Arneson – Assistant Registrar – Registrar’s Offic
• Aram Sevakian – Maintenance & Move Coordinator – Physical Plant
• Mikael Blanco – Student Accounts Representative – Student Accounts 

Congratulations! And thanks to all who ran! 

• Important Note Regarding the Vice President Position
  • As Andrew Dubuque is stepping down from the Vice President position, Staff Council Bylaws say the Executive Board can appoint a replacement. It was announced that Jared Cadrette has been appointed and has agreed to complete the final year of the VP term.

VI.   A Very Important & Serious Activity

• Attendees split into 2 large groups and participated in a single-elimination, Rock Paper Scissors tournament. Congratulations to the Staff Council RPS Champion, Shaylea Scribner!

VII.   Closing – if you have questions, feedback, ideas – please speak to Christina or one of our Executive Committee members