COMMITTEE:  Faculty Welfare

 

MEETING DATE:  February 14, 2008

 

PERSON PRESIDING:  D. Clark

 

REGULAR MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE:  A. Hegde,  S. McGhee, M. Nasea

 

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

 

ACTIONS OF THE MEETING:

 

 

Agenda Item:  Approval of minutes                                                                                          

Action Taken:  Minutes of the January 10, 2008 committee meeting were approved as presented.

Agenda Item:  Retired Faculty Parking Benefits

Discussion:  J. Tawney, Interim Director of Parking, reported the six additional designated parking spaces for retired faculty were marked with signs as of December 13, 2007.  Spaces that limited pedestrian interaction with traffic and were close to buildings most likely to be used by retired faculty were selected. Communication with Carolyn Hampton, Retired Faculty Club, has been the primary method to announce the new spaces to the retired faculty. A parking survey indicated light use of the new spaces. Additional announcement methods were discussed. Tawny indicated that these parking space allocations would not be changed until summer regardless of use patterns.

 

Additional Assigned Duties:  J. Tawney will send an announcement concerning the available retired faculty parking spaces via email to all persons who have RF permit and work with L. Lee, Faculty Senate office, to send a similar announcement to all faculty.

 

Agenda Item:  Benefits Satisfaction Survey

Discussion: J. Toller reported that approximately 30% of the faculty had responded to the Benefits Survey with good representation across demographic categories. Preliminary analysis of the data indicated that health insurance and retirement plan were the highest ranked items for priorities. Health insurance coverage and cost were the most frequently selected as items to change. Committee members discussed avenues for data analysis and preparation for the April 28/29 State Healthcare Plan Board meeting on campus. Data analysis by persons external to the committee was discussed with a focus on confidentiality. It was agreed that narrative responses would not be shared outside the committee.

 

Additional Assigned Duties: J. Toller will complete the initial review of the data. He will consult with the University Attorney to determine if there are any concerns with using a graduate student to analyze the data and any potential survey results publication.  Committee members are to review the data and determine what additional analysis is needed for presentation to the State Healthcare Plan Board. Are there specific items that should be examined for any particular group?

Following a loss of the quorum, the committee became a subcommittee in order to continue discussion.  Any action items identified will be reported to the full committee for formal action.

Agenda Item:  Mentoring

Discussion:  S. McGhee reported that the Mentoring Sub-committee had met with D. Muller and J. Newman. Clear distinction was made between required unit mentoring and complimentary university mentoring. The priority audience for mentoring is probationary and tenured faculty, with fixed term faculty as secondary. Select graduate students referred by their departments might be incorporated at some point. Further clarification is needed to determine if mentoring includes purely professional skill development or is also includes more personal aspects. Discussion on inclusion of formal mentoring responsibilities in the faculty annual report raised questions on measurement of quality and establishing mentoring as a valued activity in the unit culture. The relationship of mentoring with tenure and promotion should also be considered.

 

Additional Assigned Duties: The Mentoring Sub-committee will draft a revision of the existing policy for consideration by Welfare by end of the academic year.

Agenda Item:  Faculty Salary Survey

Discussion:  J. Toller stated the need to be cautious in reviewing the data since it has not been available for thorough review as in previous years.

 

Additional Assigned Duties: J. Toller will contact B. Southard to determine if data has been obtained and will schedule a meeting with Institutional Planning, Research and Effectiveness if needed.

Agenda Item:  Other business

Discussion:  There was some confusion on how best to respond to the request from M. Taggart for Welfare input on specific items in the UNC Tomorrow document.  

 

Additional Assigned Duties: D. Clark will ask B.Southard to seek clarification and determine an input process. Committee members are to read the documents and prepare for discussion in the next meeting.

 

Meeting adjourned at 4:55 pm.

 

Next meeting: March 6, 2008

 

Items to be discussed:

            Benefits Satisfaction Survey

            UNC Tomorrow Response

            Faculty Salary Survey

Mentoring

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Susan A. McGhee