Angela Beale

Carri Boothe

Eleanore Lewis

Francine Olivas-Zarate

Karen Fennell

Laura Cuellar-Franco

Sandra Quinn

Sarah Thompson

Sulastri Carr

Recorded by Elly Lewis
 

Introductions & Committee Chair Roles

The committee agreed to:

• Laura Cuellar-Franco for CLAS Staff Council Chair
• Angela Beale for CLAS Staff Council Co-Chair
• Sulastri Carr as Treasurer
• Elly Lewis as Secretary

There was a brief discussion that the committee will review the assigned leadership roles after 1 year to decide if the role structure needs changes, whether the committee will have leadership roles at all, or to keep the roles as they are.

Review of Mission Statement

The proposed mission statement was read and reviewed as such:

• The purpose and mission of the CLAS Staff Council is to serve as a voice for CLAS staff by advocating for and promoting the interests of staff through facilitated communication between staff and the Dean of CLAS
• Promote and provide the opportunity for staff professional development
• Promote and provide staff community building

There was a brief discussion and agreement upon the mission statement.

Organizational Structure

Subcommittee functions were discussed as follows:

• Funding Committee: Figure out how much funding we will need for community building and have remaining for professional development. Report numbers back to council.
• Professional Development Committee: Create a means for staff to apply for funding (application). Create a process to distribute funds. Create deadlines for application process and report progress to council.
• Work Climate Committee: Coordinate community building opportunities for staff. Create a means for open communication between council and staff within CLAS or facilitate communication between staff and the Dean of CLAS. Request annual meeting with Dean to discuss issues. Report progress back to council.

 Subcommittee roles were assigned as following:

• Funding Committee: Sulastri, Carri, & Angie
• Professional Development Committee: Sarah & Elly (Kelly Stritzinger was later added to this committee.)
• Work Climate Committee: Karen, Sandra, & Francine

Announcements

• Timeliness & Budget: It was emphasized that the $5,000 budget for 2019-2020 fiscal year must be completely spent by June 30^th, 2020. No carryforward will be allocated in the speedtype. Because of this time limit on funds, subcommittee action items need to be completed as soon as possible.

Discussion

• Staff Forum suggestions: 3 avenues for communication
  1. Email to staff listserv to notify CLAS staff of forum
  2. Forum itself –
     • Suggestion: There should be a facilitator with a clear outline to guide the direction of the meeting. The facilitator should be able to ensure that complaints lead to suggestions of productive solutions.
     • Suggestion: Randomize the physical seating at the forum to ensure that CLAS staff mix and meet one another.
     • Suggestion: Have facilitator ask about a specific positive aspect in CLAS staff work. For example, “What is going right?” or “What ideas have you seen work well in your department/unit?” etc.
     • Suggestion: Ask “What kinds of things would make life easier?” Then, assess list of suggestions for feasible and helpful ideas to implement.
  3. Online form – for anonymous feedback and suggestions
• Questions about what the working & formal definition of “staff” is within CLAS. Who fits into staff? PRA’s? The Work Climate Committee will work to clearly define “staff” by the next meeting.
• It was suggested that the Dean mention the creation of this committee and that she supports it at the Chairs’ Meeting on 10/03/19.

Next Steps