7.28.2020 CLAS Staff Council Meeting

In attendance:

1. Sarah Thompson

2. Elly Lewis

3. Sulastri Carr

4. Angela Beale

5. Karen Fennell

6. Carri Boothe

7. Sandra Quinn

Agenda for 7.28.20 CSC Meeting

1. Listening Sessions

   1. Nail down dates/times for listening sessions

      1. 8/4/2020 - 12pm-1pm  - Karen, Sulastri, Angie

      2. 8/5 - 2-3pm - Angie, Carri

      3. 8/6 - 10am-11am - Sarah, Karen, Elly

      4. 8/7 - 1pm-2pm - Angie, Sandra

         1. How many for limits? Waitlist after 10

         2. Get email out today

            1. List days

            2. Link to Eventbrite

            3. Add survey questions

            4. Create Zoom sessions

   2. Come up with structure for Listening Sessions so that there is consistent procedure for running the session

      1. Introduce ourselves

      2. Emphasize that we are here to listen, but give option to introduce some of the prompt questions so that a dialogue begins

         1. Approaching conversations: “These are some of the questions that came up, but we want to hear from you.”

      3. Let staff drive conversation

      4. Might need to prompt to get the event going - Some questions include:

         1. We need to know what your needs are. What would you like to see the Council accomplish this year?

         2. What are some concerns that you may have?

         3. What are some positives?

         4. What do you feel about professional development?

         5. What would make your job better?

         6. Do you feel like there’s a community?

         7. How has quarantine affected your working environment? 

         8. Is there anything that we could do to improve your work-from-home environment? How could we support you?

         9. If there’s time at the end, ask about Safe Return or if it is brought up organically by individuals in the session

         10. Perspective on Diversity & Inclusion

      5. If someone has asked a question and we don’t get to it, circle back to them later - so that we follow up

      6. We will meet Monday, 8/3 10am to go over questions that we receive back to touch base before the Listening sessions begin

2. Diversity & inclusion

   1. Diversity & Inclusion event for all CLAS staff

   2. Nelia Vivieros will be putting together training on anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion for chair’s and dean’s office staff - perhaps have Nelia tailor something to staff later during chair’s and director’s retreat

   3. Should we wait until a bit later? Perhaps too tight a timeline to create an event, but let the new Council know it was at the top of our list

      1. Could try to schedule something  in the future; this is non-negotiable- built into what we’re doing to change the culture

      2. Reach out to Nelia - Hey this is something we’re looking to do in the fall just to put it on your radar - Karen will reach out to Nelia

      3. Could be something that helps folks be involved in Council  - Could be used to recruit folks passionate about these issues

3. Bylaws

   1. Minimum & Maximum # of positions:

      1. Minimum - to fill the officer positions? Or phrase “up to 12?” How many?

         1. Enough to get the work accomplished, but not too many that it would convolute this

         2. Unanimous Vote: “Up to 15”

      2. Voting and Election Time Frame

         1. When should we adjust election and voting - April timeframe for elections - get everyone notified by May

         2. Will change the election times in the bylaws to April rather than February

      3. Executive Member Elections

         1. Officer elections in June so that new officers can take over at the beginning of July

         2. July is the new fiscal year - allows time for newly elected members to adjust

      4. Bylaw schedule

         1. Get bylaws out by Monday, give them 2 weeks to review 3rd

         2. Get them out with adjustments, provide feedback by the 17th

            1. More than 50% of the votes cast to approve

         3. Vote by August 24th on Bylaws

4. Safe Return

   1. Listening to staff that are feeling like they are being forced to return to campus and expressing it to the dean

   2. Listening is probably the only thing we can do because we don’t have a lot of power in this regard

   3. Make sure to make it clear that we can’t do much but convey concerns