June 20, 2023 Executive Committee meeting minutes
Attending: L.E. Alexander, Randall Borror, Sharron Bouquin, David Bragg, Tiffany Carver, Stephanie Forman, Leah Hefner, Keith Hines, James Holman, Rebecca Howell, Angenette McAdoo, Arlene Medder, Katie Musgrove, Joe Ormond, Sara Pettaway, Charlissa Rice, Lori Shamblin, Annetta Streater, Janet Steele, Matthew Teal, Tracey Wetherby Williams, Jacob Womack
Chair Katie Musgrove called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m. She asked Matt Banks to present the Forum’s monthly budget report. Banks noted several charges which had not cleared to this point. He planned to follow up on these charges before the end of the fiscal year.
The Chair presented proposals for the Forum’s budget for 2023-24, most notably the restoration of the Forum’s annual budget to pre-pandemic levels. She would work to submit this budget, with several notable changes, to the OHR Business Office to seek approval from the Chancellor’s Office for this increase. The Chair said that she would keep the group updated as to news from OHR, particularly following the end of the fiscal year.
The Chair shared a screenshot of a draft agenda for the upcoming July 12th and 13th retreat. She asked committee members for their input on the timing of events over the two days. She hoped that the Forum would find updating the timeline for work through the year useful as a discussion topic that Thursday. She additionally hoped to have a set of proposed bylaws revisions for discussion by the Forum that same day. She noted that Matthew Teal, Rebecca Howell, and Jacob Womack have taken the lead on this topic to date. Howell said that she works well with a deadline, and noted work that the group has already accomplished on this task.
The Chair proposed different approaches to addressing the various revisions needed for the Forum bylaws. Teal said that the smaller group was happy to present a summary but did not want to make decisions for the entire Forum. The Chair proposed introducing the revisions to the full Forum in July, then continuing discussions at Executive Committee and full general meetings through the year. Teal advised that others could find the draft documents in question at the Teams site under the Rules committee page.
Following this discussion, the Chair proposed that the Thursday agenda go into discussion of challenges from the past year and correspondent goals for the coming year which could then be incorporated into this year’s annual report. She noted the rest of the agenda would follow previous practice as delegates would select divisional representatives, then break into committees.
Arrangements at the Outdoor Education Center on Wednesday the 12th would depend on the Center’s response to questions from the Chair regarding accommodations and meals. The Chair asked that Forum committee chairs finalize their annual reports in time for the July 12th retreat.
The committee did an overview of proposed changes to the annual report based on last year’s discussions about this subject. The Chair asked committee members to pitch in with summaries of various big projects the Forum undertook this past year. The final two sections addressed the Forum’s challenges and goals as they have developed since last year. Arlene Medder and Matthew Teal thought that the Chair had done a good job with the report to this point. Teal suggested tying in specific objectives of the Forum to the campus’ strategic plan.
Joe Ormond said that the Communications and Public Relations committee had published an issue of the InTouch, the Forum newsletter. He would work with Shane Brogan to ensure the committee’s annual report is complete. The Chair noted that the notice for the July book club had just gone out.
Jacob Womack said that the Community Service committee is not engaged in much work now as the end of the fiscal year is pulling members in different directions. The Chair thanked Laura Pratt and Amber Meads for their work on the Blood Drive committee this year. Arlene Medder said that a Carolina Community Garden survey is undergoing final edits by Chair Emeritus Charles Streeter before distribution to campus.
There was no report from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. The Chair thanked co-chairs Janet Steele and Rebecca Howell for submitting their annual report on time.
L.E. Alexander reported that the Education and Career Development committee is still working to select recipients of the Professional Development Grants and the Carolina Family Scholarship. The professional development grants received 97 applications, Alexander said. This large number of applications might delay eventual notification of applicants.
Tiffany Carver made a report from the Membership & Assignments committee, recalling work done on the elections, orientation, and upcoming retreat.
Leah Hefner reported that the Personnel Issues committee had engineered quite a bit this past year. The committee would meet once more on June 29th. Hefner and Teal are still working to finalize the committee’s annual report. The Chair thanked Hefner for agreeing to lead the June 29th Vice Chancellors’ representatives’ meeting. At that time, the Chair will participate in an interview session with one of the applicants for the Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities position.
Tiffany Carver noted the work of the Recognition & Awards committee in planning the Peer Recognition Awards event at the June 14 Forum meeting. She said that the committee will likely impose a word limit on applications in the future, as the committee had too much to read with the large number of applications this past year. The committee is still working on the disposition of the Rebecca Clark award in cooperation with the committee overseeing University Day festivities on October 12th. The Chair encouraged Carver and co-chair Jessi Hill to sign the certificates for distribution to peer recognition winners.
The Chair thanked Parliamentarian Jacob Womack for his work with the Forum’s standing rules document. The UNC System Staff Assembly will next meet at Winston-Salem State University on July 24-25, 2023. The Assembly will host the Chancellors’ Cup golf tournament in Greensboro’s Bryan Park on Tuesday, September 26th.
The Chair called for reports from university committee representatives. Rebecca Howell from the Policy Review committee will provide summaries of that group’s most recent meeting soon. She said that a number of policies have been retired in an effort to consolidate and make current policies easier to read and absorb. She noted a number of policy changes involving the Banner policy involving reservations and usage policy for the Carolina Union, among other items. There was discussion of the university’s lactation accommodation policy and the availability of space for this purpose. Finally, there was a discussion clarifying the longevity pay policy.
Matthew Teal added that Equal Opportunity and Compliance have consolidated the religious accommodations policy and the policy on pregnant and parenting students into an omnibus format. He also noted that the standard on helping with individual account and use data still ties into university policy regarding accessing employee email and other electronic data. He said that hierarchical issues could protect upper-level officials interested in obtaining access to employee information. He asked about rules governing employee data access. Teal added that Finance had retired ten different policies and procedures which essentially restate IRS regulations, a needless duplication.
The Chair encouraged Teal to share news from the Provost’s Office regarding the creation of a staff-focused subcommittee to study the implications of artificial intelligence on the workplace, as well as for teaching and student conduct. Teal was pleased to share appointment duties with the Chair for this subcommittee, although he wondered about the process for making these appointments. He also suggested tying this initiative into the larger Future of Work initiative that has already taken place this year.
Members discussed perspectives of this committee and how the university compares to peer institutions in this area. Tracy Wetherby Williams made suggestions as to the eventual composition of the committee. Members discussed whether ChatGPT has been vetted for sensitive information.
The Chair said that she and Vice Chair Keith Hines will meet with the Advisory Committee on Transportation and Parking the next day to discuss the five-year planning process for that department.
Members briefly discussed the mechanism by which representatives are named to university committees.
In the absence of other university committee updates, the Chair opened the floor for discussion. Arlene Medder noted that the distribution of produce from the Carolina Community Garden now overlaps with the English as a Second Language instruction for some of the housekeepers. These housekeepers don’t want to miss their ESL classes, just as they also don’t want to miss vegetable distribution. The Chair said that Durham Tech provides these classes to housekeepers free of charge, similar to OHR’s now-defunct program for notary certifications.
In the absence of further discussion, the meeting adjourned by acclamation at 12:38 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Matt Banks, Recording Secretary