December 6, 2024 Employee Forum Meeting Minutes
Delegates Attending: L. E. Alexander, Caley Allen, David Barnette, Randall Borror, Sharron Bouquin, David Bragg, Renata Buchanan, Shavon Carey-Hicks, Tiffany Carver, Matthew Chamberlin, Warren Chui, Kelsey Dillon, Elizabeth DuBose, Alicea Easthope-Frazer, Adrianne Gibilisco, Sarah Green, Meagan Harvell, Shayna Hill (ex officio), Keith Hines, Rebecca Howell, Samara Howell, Brigitte Ironside, Paige Krier, Jennifer Larson, Torri Mason, Arlene Medder, Mandy Melton, Vanessa Mitchell, Stephanie Morales, Vanessa Morris, Katie Musgrove, Natiaya Neal, Ken Nesbett, Lisa Petersen, Allana Smith Potts, Charlissa Rice, Kelly Scurlock-Cross, Audrey Shore, Theresa Silsby, Paige Simpson, Greg Smith, Sarah Smith, Jake Stallard, James Stamey, Mathew Steadman, Annetta Streater, Charles Streeter (ex officio), Matthew Teal, Susse Toro, Ally Wardell, Michael Williams, Tiesha Williams, Jacob Womack, Natasha Young
Excused Absences: Gabriela De la Cruz, Chassidy Dixon, Shayla Evans-Hollingsworth, Marianna Tilley
Chair Katie Musgrove called the meeting to order at 9:32 a.m. Logging in via Zoom, she wished all well who were attending the morning’s in-person meeting at 1001 Kerr Building. She then welcomed Vice Chancellor for Human Resources, Equal Opportunity, and Compliance Becci Menghini to provide the Forum’s customary Human Resources update, via a pre-recorded video.
In her video remarks, Menghini wished the Forum well. She noted the new leave programs available, the first of which was the bereavement leave program, which applies to all leave-earning employees. This leave may be used for the death of an immediate family member or for the death of a co-worker. The program is retroactive to September 27th, 2024. The University’s Office of Human Resources (OHR) is currently working through the details and is putting together a website with administrative guidance and TIM codes. More details would be available in the coming issue of the WorkWell newsletter as they become available.
The second leave program involves the UNC System Office’s changes to the policy for how new EHRA employees earn vacation leave. This program will go into effect January 1st and will be known as “personal leave.” Current EHRA employees receive annual leave but EHRA employees hired after January 1st, 2025 will receive personal leave. SHRA employees converting to EHRA will have the chance to opt into this new leave program. A current SHRA employee transferring into a new EHRA employee position will be required to do the personal leave program. She said that more details about this program will be available on an upcoming website in addition to the coming edition of WorkWell. All current EHRA employees will have the opportunity to opt into the new personal leave program should they wish to do so. OHR will provide the Forum more information about this program, likely in February.
Menghini noted that the University will close from December 25th through January 1st. Some of these days are holiday break dates, and one of these is a university closed day. University closed days constitute an optional workday, but employees choosing to work during a closed day must obtain advance supervisor approval. Otherwise, if an employee is not working on the university closed day, employees must code leave. She wished all who could take the time off would enjoy the food and fun and rest, hoping that all could return healthy and hopeful and excited for 2025. More information is available on the Human Resources website at hr.unc.edu.
Menghini said that as of January 1st, 2025 the State Health Plan will move to Aetna as its third party administrator. She recalled a previous presentation to the Forum on this subject by Senior Director of Benefits and Leave Administration Joe Williams, stating that this change does not represent a change in coverage, as the State Health Plan is a self-funded plan directed by the State Treasurer’s Office. This change in the third party administrator will not result to changes in co-payments or deductibles. The State Plan will newly offer in coordination with Aetna a tele-doc platform for virtual medical visits. There will also be a 24/7 “ask a nurse” phone line available as part of the transition to Aetna as well as a concierge phone service. Around New Year’s Day employees should receive a new health insurance ID card. Those wanting more information should consult the North Carolina State Health Plan website.
Menghini reminded the Forum that December paychecks will pull out premiums for January coverage. She reminded listeners to check their pay stubs to make sure that the healthcare benefit elections made in October are reflected accurately in their December checks. SHRA employees receiving biweekly pay will see these changes in their December 1st check. Employees with monthly pay stubs will see these deductions at the end of December.
On another subject, Menghini said that the 40th annual Carolina Cares/Carolina Shares campaign is happening now. As of that day, the campaign has raised $204,406 of its $500,000 goal. She hoped that employees would follow links provided in relevant emails or visit the carolinacares.unc.edu website to participate. Employees can contribute via payroll deduction for a range of charities found through the Charity Navigator, including charities working to alleviate the crisis in Western North Carolina.
Menghini encouraged listeners to consider applying for the University Leadership Education and Development (ULEAD) program. The program will begin another six-month session in the spring. The program is really focused on meeting the challenges of the changing environment surrounding higher education. Applications are being accepted through December 12.
Employees interested in self-guided learning can check out the featured playlists in the Carolina Talent Learning Module. There are resources available there for those interested in project management, public speaking, career development, and organization strategies, with more added regularly.
Menghini took a moment to thank all for their work done in service to Carolina in support of this great institution. She hoped that everyone would take the opportunity to have a little breather over the holidays with those they hold most dear. She felt very lucky to call all Forum delegates colleagues in support of Carolina and wished all godspeed. The Chair thanked Menghini for her pre-recorded remarks, noting that delegates could email her with any associated questions or raise these questions at the Forum’s upcoming Vice Chancellors’ representatives’ meeting.
The Chair then welcomed Senior Work/Life Manager Jessica Pyjas to present monthly wellness updates. Pyjas said that seventy-four Carolina teams participated in the fall’s Miles for Wellness challenge, about 17% of the total number in the State. Around 650 Tar Heels participated, walking together over 170,000 miles through the fall.
Last month, there was a very successful vegetarian holiday cooking demo held in partnership with Carolina Dining Services. Over 40 people participated in-person and 20 people participated virtually. Recipes will be available in Pyjas’ monthly updates.
Pyjas said that OHR will do a Wellness Wednesday session on understanding depression, in time for the potentially fraught holiday season. Wellness Wednesday webinars will pick up again January 8th, with one to follow every week afterwards.
Pyjas noted that the discount program Perks Connect highlights housekeeping services, providing $60 off the first home cleaning services. More details will follow in the WorkWell newsletter. Working Advantage is also a source for many gifting ideas.
Pyjas hoped that listeners would be able to participate in the Jingle Bell Jog that afternoon. Attendees can do a 1.5 mile walk or a 2.7 mile fun run. She looked forward to seeing everyone there and wished all Happy Holidays. The Chair recalled a notice from the new director of Student Stores that full-time employees can purchase a new computer or laptop with only 10% down, with the rest paid via payroll deduction spread over six months. She also noted that the Carolina Blood Drive committee will likely have a team at the Jingle Bell Jog that afternoon.
The Chair moved to the consent agenda, which included the November 1st general meeting minutes. Arlene Medder moved to approve those minutes, with the correction of a couple of statements. Rebecca Howell seconded this motion, which was approved without opposition or abstaining votes.
Moving to committee updates, Shane Brogan said that the Communications and Public Relations Committee would publish the next issue of InTouch early next week. The committee hopes to revive its podcast featuring profiles of different employees. He said that the committee might even poll delegates to find good candidates for these interviews.
Shayna Hill asked to speak next because she had to leave early. She said that the UNC System Staff Assembly had worked for over two years on a bereavement leave resolution. This document was sent upon approval to President Peter Hans and eventually led the UNC System adopting a bereavement policy after the Governor’s executive order granted said bereavement leave program to other state agencies. She praised the great work of the Assembly that delegates might not even know about, particularly thanking Keith Hines for his work these past few years. She thanked all for the opportunity to speak and wished everyone a wonderful break.
The Chair asked Keith Hines to speak about money raised from the Chancellors’ Cup Golf Tournament in September. Hines thanked all who participated or helped with the tournament. He particularly thanked Charlissa Rice and Arlene Medder for their help submitting a bid to host the tournament at Finley Golf Course here in Chapel Hill. He was particularly pleased that this year the tournament had a full field of 30 teams. He amended a statement from a previous meeting, saying that his estimate of $40,000 profit earned from the tournament was in fact inaccurate. Instead, the tournament raised closer to $70,000 for the Janet B. Royster Scholarship. He noted that Jennifer Washington was the UNC Chapel Hill employee who had won this scholarship this year.
Ally Wardell said that the Community Service committee is pairing with UNC Children’s Hospitals for a toy drive. Employees may give through either an Amazon gift list or via a dropoff schedule for donations directly to the hospital. Wardell asked delegates’ help in getting employee help from the units. The committee will consult with the Communications Committee to feature stories in the upcoming InTouch newsletter. Tax deductible forms for these donations will also be available. Theresa Silsby then mentioned that she attended a disaster recovery meeting with the Carolina Center for Public Service. She said that some present had gone to Western North Carolina and had heartbreaking stories to tell. The committee is waiting to flesh out its partnership with SEANC and the Carolina Center for Public Service. The committee also plans to do a building opportunity with Habitat for Humanity in the spring.
Renata Buchanan said that the Carolina Blood Drive effort is readying preparations for the December 11th Holiday Carolina Blood Drive. The drive will begin at 7:30 a.m. and all scheduled appointments have been filled. Drop-ins can attempt to give during the unannounced hour, at 2:30 p.m. She said that the volunteer list still has spaces available. The drive will also send a team to the Jingle Bell Jog later that afternoon.
Rebecca Howell said that Forum delegates will also have the chance to march in the holiday parade in Chapel Hill and Carrboro early Saturday morning. Lineup will be at 9:15 a.m. and Howell promised to treat all marchers in Carolina attire for coffee or hot chocolate. The Chair said that this is the first time that UNC is formally participating in the Chapel Hill holiday parade. She said that it was a great honor that the University requested that the Employee Forum compose part of this marching group. She hoped that more delegates would volunteer to march Saturday morning.
Arlene Medder conveyed the following Community Garden report:
Lots to do before the cold weather sets in… Fortunately, [we] had 39 volunteers attend [our] two workdays this week and thanks to their hard work, compost was chopped and turned, beds were cleared, Swiss chard and spinach seedlings were planted, old fencing was dug up, row covers (old and new) were secured with sandbags, leaves were raked and the last of the peppers and roselle buds were harvested along with collards, kale, mustard, arugula, turnip greens and radishes, some of which were distributed Tuesday afternoon to 2nd shift housekeepers, just in time for Thanksgiving.
L. E. Alexander said that the Leadership, Education, and Career Development committee is currently reviewing around 85 applications for the professional development grant. Notifications to applicants should go out soon.
Keith Hines thanked all who provided the Membership & Engagement committee with their committees’ attendance report. Hines said that he and Tiffany Carver will study these reports along with the general meeting minutes and Vice Chancellors’ representatives’ minutes to gauge delegate attendance. He said that the Forum would want to clear space for employees who have the time and energy to be delegates and said that delegates cannot do the work if they are never present for meetings. He said that delegates should understand their commitment to the work requirements prior to election.
The Chair added that delegates can communicate the reasons for an absence to the Forum Office or Forum officers to make that absence excused. Tiffany Carver said that the committee intends to send out letters to those who have not been active politely asking them to step down, so that other employees who ran in the Forum elections can assume the vacant position. She took a moment to recognize former delegate Todd Hux, who will retire from UNC January 1st. The Chair thanked Hux for his contributions to the success of the golf tournaments, blood drives, and wider Forum these past years.
Theresa Silsby asked delegates’ responsibility regarding attendance at Vice Chancellors’ representatives’ meetings. The Chair said that these meetings are an opportunity to raise one-on-one questions with the administration in a setting with more time than monthly general meetings. She hoped that delegates would participate in at least one of these meetings a year. Delegates are encouraged to but need not ask questions in order to attend. Jacob Womack clarified that delegates are expected to attend two meetings during a delegate’s elected term.
Sharron Bouquin said that the Personnel Issues committee did a deep dive at its last meeting on parking issues. She thanked the Chair and Vice Chair for answering questions regarding the five-year parking plan. It was noted that the Personnel Issues Committee and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee will soon form a subcommittee on salary concerns. Members should contact Bouquin or Greg Smith to obtain meeting information.
There was no report from the Recognition and Awards or Rules committees. Moving to University committees, the Chair said that the Advisory Committee on Transportation and Parking plans to reconvene in early 2025. The committee felt the pain points associated with the rollout of parking under the new plan this past August. The Chair looked forward to meeting with the new Transportation and Parking leadership team to discuss this work.
Matthew Teal said that the Policy Review Committee would meet the following week to discuss research specific policies, with a January meeting set to clarify how the University assigns space to units. The Chair said that the Carolina Engagement Council met a couple of weeks ago to advise the Carolina Center for Public Service on Hurricane Helene relief efforts.
Sarah Green said that the next and potentially final Carolina Peer Support Collaborative meeting would occur next week. As far as she knew, the group will not receive further funding. The Chair said that the Chancellor has indicated an intent to continue funding peer support groups past their federal grants’ expiration. Lisa Petersen reported that the chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee resigned last month due to concerns with university procedures. The committee will work to decide where it will go from here. The Chair thanked Petersen for stepping forward to volunteer as the co-chair of the Chancellors’ Cup Golf Tournament effort next year.
The Chair said that the Public Affairs Council had met a couple of weeks ago, gathering federal, state, and local public affairs teams to provide quarterly updates to a group of senior leadership deans, campus leaders, and others.
Annetta Streater said that the Tuition and Fee Advisory Task Force and student fee subcommittee had updates on new programming moving forward, with a full vetting of requests at the leadership level to come. The university will likely need to decide on a slight increase in tuition and fees for new programs.
The Chair moved to Old Business, namely the second reading of resolution 24-04, regarding inaccessible emergency and safety planning. Sarah Green thanked everyone for their feedback regarding the resolution over the past month. She said that the authors chose to remove any mention of changes to the funding for security or police forces in the resolution. Green and Sarah Smith met with the Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office to obtain specific data for the resolution but had not yet received this data in time for discussion. This section had also been removed from the resolution. Green said that the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee had voted to endorse the resolution to put their backing behind the work.
Sarah Smith thanked Officer Tiesha Williams for collaborating with the committee to provide insight into the scope and feasibility of this effort. Smith read the revised resolution 24-04. Rebecca Howell moved that the resolution be approved, seconded by Theresa Silsby. The Chair offered a couple of grammatical and formatting changes during the discussion on the resolution. Howell thanked the committee and those who participated in writing the resolution.
An employee asked if anyone else had an experience with the ongoing ADA compliance survey which is happening campus wide. This employee had their building tested and found some things that do not meet ADA guidelines. Jacob Womack said that the accessibility review to check ADA compliance should not delay consideration of resolution 24-02, as the review will not be completed until April 2026.
The Chair called the question on the motion, asking for a roll call vote. The vote was held with all votes in support of the resolution with none opposing or abstaining. The Chair thanked the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee for its work on the resolution, as well as Sarah Green and Sarah Smith. She was proud to state that resolution 24-02 had been approved by the Forum.
The Chair noted that the next Vice Chancellors’ Representatives’ Meeting is due to occur Thursday, January 9th, 2025 at 2 p.m. via Zoom. Matt Banks will send out invitations to delegates to attend that meeting. Delegates need not raise questions to attend these meetings. The next Staff Advisory Committee to the Chancellor (STACC) meeting will occur Thursday, February 13, 2025.
The Chair called for announcements from the floor. Arlene Medder said that Davis Library will feature miniature horses behind the building for those interested. Audrey Shore shared that the policy change leading to the removal of DEI language has caused some concern in her area (Development). She had attended a meeting with prospective donors who asked about funds that exist online that one could technically still make a gift to but that are associated with departments and initiatives that no longer exist. She had not been able to ascertain what procedure would govern how funds that are no longer going to be used would be dissolved. She said that Give UNC’s online page still has these funds up for the most part. ACRED (Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity) donors had asked Shore the plan to have these funds removed or to communicate with others that these funds are no longer active. She wondered whether this concern was under consideration when the decision was made.
Sarah Green said that the Kenan-Flagler Business School had a DEI office with an accompanying fund online. She suggested bringing the concern to a future DEI Committee meeting. She also suggested looping in any Finance contacts Shore might have, to find a clear path to deal with questions emerging from the Finance side. Green said that this change required only a change of codes, not a complete dissolvement, in the Business School. She offered to connect Shore with Finance teams at the Business School to assist if needed. Many of these programs have moved to another department or have changed names but not efforts. Thus, money would still be useful to these groups. She said that this was definitely something to be pursued to ensure efficacy for the donors and the school.
Shore thanked Green for her response. She said that this issue probably ranges far above her pay grade but noted that it had fallen back on her in conversations with donors. She did not know how much power she had to move the issue forward, but she would like to do her due diligence to provide clarity for ACRED members. She said that these members raised a valid question when asking how to direct people online when giving to UNC funds that are not represented.
Members wished the Chair safe travels in her voyage to India over the winter holiday. Sarah Green invited delegates to a showing of “Inside Out” at the Business School during their Employee Appreciation week. The event will feature hot cocoa and popcorn and is advertised as a community conversation. Green could provide parking passes to anyone interested in attending. The Chair gave kudos to Keith Hines and Tiffany Carver in Membership and Engagement for their work these past couple of weeks organizing the morning’s social. She regretted not being able to attend in person and would look forward to the next in-person event in March. She hoped the bagels and spreads were good.
David Bragg moved that the Forum adjourn the meeting, seconded by Elizabeth Dubose. The meeting was adjourned by acclamation. In closing, the Chair wished all Happy Holidays, and to those who celebrate, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Kwanzaa. She wished all a Happy New Year as well. Finally, she wished good luck to the Blood Drive effort occurring next week.
Respectfully submitted,
Matt Banks, Recording Secretary