REVISED
COMMITTEE:     Faculty Welfare

 

MEETING DATE:     February 8, 2007

 

PERSON PRESIDING: D. Lawrence

 

REGULAR MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: D. Clark, A. Dralle, D.Lawrence, S. McGhee, M. Nasea, J. Salstrom

 

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: B. Henze, L. Ingalls, S. Simpson, E. Stellway,  J. Toller

 

OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE: K. Bonatz

 

ACTIONS OF MEETING:

 

Agenda Item:  Approval of minutes

Action Taken:  Minutes of the January 11, 2007 meeting were approved.

Agenda Item: Faculty Use of Email Accounts

Discussion:  It was determined that use policies for faculty email were not appropriate to be addressed by the Faculty welfare Committee.   

 

Action Taken: The issue was referred to Educational Policy and Planning.

 

Agenda Item:  Supplemental Pay Policy

Discussion: Proposed revisions to the Faculty Manual, Part VI, I, J Salary Policies were discussed. Statements related to payment of salary by check and specific payment dates were removed to reflect use of the automatic deposit system and existing procedures. Assistant University Attorney, K. Bonatz suggested removal of the Salary Conversion Rate for Faculty Holding Twelve-Month Appointments section primarily because it is redundant of existing policy (Administrative Separation and/or Retreat to a Faculty Position). Two paragraphs about filing specific state and national income tax withholding forms were replaced with one statement acknowledging the faculty member’s responsibility to provide Human Resources with updated and accurate information for withholding exemptions.

 

Action Taken: A motion (McGhee/Nasea) to accept the proposed changes passed.

 

Additional Assigned Duties: M. Nasea will provide the final edited document to L. Lee for inclusion on the Faculty Senate agenda.

 

Agenda Item: Retired Faculty Parking 

Discussion: Information on the status of the parking survey of retired faculty has not been obtained.

Assigned Additional Duties: B. Henze will pursue information in the next Senate meeting.

 

Agenda Item:  Membership of Faculty Welfare Committee

 

Discussion:  Consideration of adding a member of the University Attorney’s Office to the Faculty Welfare resulted in agreement on the value of input on policies but concern for appropriate use of limited personnel resources. Consensus was that Welfare would pursue input from the Attorney’s Office on specific policies undergoing review or revision. This is already available and does not necessitate adding to the committee membership.

 

A discussion on liability issues related to faculty driving state vehicles with student passengers identified Risk Management as the primary contact for information. K. Bonatz will provide clarification via email on liability issues related to faculty driving personal vehicles with student passengers.

 

Additional Assigned Duites: D. Lawrence will have K. Bonatz added to the Welfare email distribution list.  K. Bonatz will review Welfare agendas and contact the chair or attend meetings to provide input on policy items.

 

Agenda Item:  Benefits Sub-committee Report – J. Toller

Discussion:  It was agreed that benefits comparisons would be done on two groups: 1) ECU’s identified peer institutions and 2) the larger campuses of the UNC system when benefits differ from ECU’s. The sub-committee will also attempt to identify a national dollar amount for comparison. After discussion, Welfare agreed on specific items to be examined, emphasizing healthcare benefits and recruitment and retention issues.

 

Agenda Item:  Salaries Sub-committee Report – D. Lawrence

 

Discussion:  Salary data from 2000-2006 has been received and will be examined by means and ranges for each faculty rank by department and years of service. Former administrators will be excluded due to potential skewing of the data.

 

Agenda Item:  Mentoring Sub-committee Report - S. McGhee and M. Nasea

Discussion: After sharing the discovery of an existing ECU policy on faculty mentoring and reporting on the potential for collaboration with the Center for Faculty Excellence, the sub-committee suggested that Welfare review and update the 13 year old policy. Many of the recommendations from the Mentoring Sub-committee Report of November 2005 are already included in the existing policy. Potential considerations include formally recognizing mentoring as service to the university, adding mentoring activity to the annual report, and identifying mechanisms for accountability of providing mentoring services at the department level.

 

Additional Assigned Duties:  The Mentoring Sub-committee will review the policy and bring suggestions back to Welfare. E. Stellwag will join the Mentoring Sub-committee.

 

 

 

The meeting adjourned at 4:45.

 

 

NEXT MEETING:  Tuesday, March 6, 2007 at 3:00 PM

 

ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED:

 

Faculty Benefits Sub-committee report

Salary Sub-committee report

Mentoring Sub-committee report

Draft – Welfare annual report

 

Respectfully submitted,

Susan A. McGhee