April 16, 2024 Executive Committee minutes
Attending: L. E. Alexander, Sharron Bouquin, David Bragg, Shavon Carey-Hicks, Tiffany Carver, Leslie Heal, Leah Hefner, Keith Hines, James Holman, Rebecca Howell, Brigitte Ironside, Stacy Keast, Anthony Lindsey, Arlene Medder, Katie Musgrove, Natiaya Neal, Joe Ormond, Laura Pratt, Charlissa Rice, Lori Shamblin, Theresa Silsby, Matthew Teal, Ally Wardell, June Weston, Jacob Womack
Excused Absences: Keith Hines, Haydée Marchese, Vanessa Morris, James Stamey, Julie Theriault
Chair Katie Musgrove called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m. She asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the March meeting. Laura Pratt said that those minutes were incorrect in that they specify her as helping to run the June Forum Officer elections. With that amendment, Pratt moved that the minutes be approved, seconded by Natiaya Neal. The minutes were approved by acclamation.
The Chair moved to the Forum’s monthly budget report, noting the amount of work she, Brigitte Ironside, and Matt Banks have put in to finalize the budget before the end of the fiscal year. She noted that the budget has expenditures separated by various initiatives. She said that many of the remaining items on the budget would be zeroed out and transferred to the next fiscal year.
The Chair asked Forum committees to forward any additional final expected expenses to the Forum Office in the next month or two. Tiffany Carver asked whether the Forum would pay for any costs related to the Forum’s July retreat this fiscal year. The Chair did not think so, as the preference is to keep expenses in their relevant fiscal year. She said that this had been done in previous years when the Forum had extra funds to devote to future years’ projects.
The Chair moved to the Forum’s budget request for the fiscal year 2025. The only large significant change was the re-implementation of Book Club socials for next year. She hoped that the university would choose to meet these additional needs. She also proposed that the Blood Drive keep its budget at $4,000 for the Blood Drive and $20,000 for professional development grants. She said that the proposal will also request a return to pre-pandemic levels for other areas of the Forum budget. She asked committee chairs to work to identify their groups’ future needs for funding in this proposed budget before the final vote in May.
The Chair reported that the Forum was moving forward with its proposed bylaws revisions. She said that the Community Development Law Clinic at UNC Law School has worked to finalize these revisions for consideration at the May general meeting.
In order to allow room for approval of these revisions in time for the June Forum officer elections, the Chair proposed that the Forum hold its first reading of these revisions at the May 8th general meeting, then meet again for a special full body meeting on May 21st to consider the revisions on second reading. She noted that the June meeting is otherwise full with the peer recognition awards and Forum officer elections.
Laura Pratt agreed with this plan in general. She suggested that the Forum communicate to delegates the need for attendance at the second May meeting, so the Forum may have a quorum for these changes. Arlene Medder advised checking in with Parliamentarian Jacob Womack concerning this plan. The Chair said that she had done that and Womack did not have objections.
The Chair suggested that the Forum’s Executive Committee meeting make up the second half of the May 21st special meeting. There was no opposition to this proposal. The Chair noted the need for annual approval of the Forum’s standing rules document. She said that this approval would need to take place soon.
The Chair noted that the University Managers’ Association merger with the Forum received UMA board approval a couple of months ago. She said that the Forum is in the process of implementing agreements related to this merger, particularly regarding peer recognition awards. She would provide more details as they emerged.
The Chair noted that 2024 delegate elections were ongoing and encouraged delegates to vote for candidates in their respective divisions. Matt Banks said that the total number of ballots cast to date was 562 ballots overall, a day before the end of the election period. He thought that this number would increase with the reminder email to go out soon.
Theresa Silsby reported that she had been incorrectly classified as EHRA non-faculty in this year’s ballot. The Chair said that she would work to correct this error with OHR IT. L. E. Alexander and June Weston reported that they had not received delegate ballots this term. The Chair asked the pair to follow up with Matt Banks to sort out this question.
Tiffany Carver suggested that the header to the reminder ballot email be more demonstrative to capture the attention of campus employees. She asked if employees who were hired in the last month would be part of this year’s election. The Chair said that the Forum used a March roster to develop its ballots so these newer employees would have to settle for the chance to participate in next year’s election.
The Chair recalled that the Membership & Assignments committee will consider the results process Thursday, making needed appointments. The committee will hopefully reveal the results either Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. New delegates will receive an orientation at an April 24th Zoom meeting, then will be sworn in at the Forum’s May 8th general meeting. Prior to the meeting, the Chair had shared with members a copy of the delegate handbook for revisions to this document before orientation. The Chair then shared a copy of the draft orientation agenda with the committee for its review. Members agreed to lead discussion on different agenda topics at the orientation.
Jacob Womack clarified that a second Forum meeting was all right procedurally and said that the Forum would not need two readings of its standing rules document. The Chair said that the Forum would consider the standing rules at its July retreat. She asked the committee to look over the most recent copy of the delegate handbook to find needed changes.
The Chair said that the committee would consider the timeline revision process at a future meeting. She then moved to planning for the two May general meetings, outlining what the agenda would look like for each. Jacob Womack confirmed that the Forum would be in good standing by putting consideration of prospective officer positions on its first May meeting agenda. The committee agreed on how to present the bylaws revisions and officer election nominations in an order that would ease understanding for the new delegates. The committee then discussed the consideration of an honorary resolution and the eventual presentation to the honoree.
Finally, the committee discussed potential arrangements for the Forum’s July retreat. Tiffany Carver and the Membership & Assignments committee would handle final planning for this event, including coordination of catering and potential Outdoor Education Center activities. The Executive Committee thought it best to hold the retreat over two days, starting Tuesday July 9th in person at the Outdoor Education Center and finishing via Zoom that Wednesday, the 10th, in order to accommodate the scheduled Vice Chancellors’ representatives’ meeting July 11th. The committee also developed a rain plan for the 9th in case the outdoor events are cancelled. Matt Banks would handle the room arrangements and catering details for these days.
The Chair called on all Forum committee chairs to write annual reports for their groups in time for distribution before the July retreat, if at all possible. She hoped to produce an overall annual report for the Forum based on these committee reports in June/July. Committee chairs could study the Forum website for previous examples of annual reports, as a model for this year’s documents.
Moving to committee reports, Shane Brogan reported that the Communications and Public Relations committee would publish InTouch by the end of the week. Natiaya Neal went over the Book Club committee’s budget for next year.
Theresa Silsby of the Community Service committee said that the group raised $762 in its March Kindness drive for PeeWee Homes. Silsby was still working to solidify the date for an upcoming Habitat for Humanity build in June. Laura Pratt said that the Blood Drive committee would hold its summer drive on Wednesday, May 1st. She asked listeners to consider donating and/or volunteering for the drive. Arlene Medder noted that the Carolina Community Garden discussed a new floodwater system with new accessibility beds. The Garden also hopes to secure parking spots near the Garden for volunteers on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. She recalled a recent Daily Tar Heel story on the Garden that quoted delegates.
Rebecca Howell reported that the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee noted several affinity group celebrations that will occur in conjunction with commencement.
- E. Alexander said that the Carolina Family Scholarship applications would open that day, and campus employees should soon receive a notification email on this topic. The Education and Career Development committee may extend its deadlines in order to accommodate the new FAFSA schedule this year. Alexander asked committee members to consider serving as reviewers for scholarship applications. Additionally, the committee will consider Professional Development Grant summer applications soon, with those opening June 1st.
Tiffany Carver said that she had emailed the director of the Outdoor Education Center regarding the Forum’s July 9th retreat on behalf of the Membership and Assignments committee. The Chair noted potential name changes to this and other Forum committees with the upcoming bylaws changes.
Leah Hefner said that the Personnel Issues committee has attempted to schedule Vice Chancellor Gordon Merklein to discuss affordable housing and university efforts in this area. She said that the committee planned to issue this invitation again for May and June. The committee held a lengthy question and answer session with Senior Associate Vice Chancellor Linc Butler concerning the new salary ranges. She said that this session had been very informative for delegates. Hefner and Sharron Bouquin have followed up with two people submitting comments through the Forum’s anonymous comment function, concerning manager oversight and reclassification of their position.
The Chair reported that the Recognition and Awards committee plans to meet in early May to discuss peer recognition award efforts. She noted a similar need for volunteers to evaluate these applications.
There was no report from the Rules committee. Nor, was there an update from the UNC System Staff Assembly. The Chair asked that the committee skip its university committee representative updates in the interest of time.
Tiffany Carver made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by L. E. Alexander. This motion was approved by acclamation and the meeting adjourned at 12:57 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Matt Banks, Recording Secretary