March 22, 2024 Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
Attending: L. E. Alexander, Sharron Bouquin, David Bragg, Shavon Carey-Hicks, Tiffany Carver, Shayna Hill, Keith Hines, James Holman, Rebecca Howell, Brigitte Ironside, Stacy Keast, Haydée Marchese, Arlene Medder, Katie Musgrove, Natiaya Neal, Joe Ormond, Laura Pratt, Charlissa Rice, Theresa Silsby, Matthew Teal, Julie Theriault, Ally Wardell, June Weston, Jacob Womack
Excused Absences: Gabriela de la Cruz, Vanessa Morris, Lori Shamblin, James Stamey
Forum Chair Katie Musgrove called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m. She asked for a motion to approve the February minutes of the committee. Arlene Medder made this motion, seconded by Laura Pratt. The motion was approved by acclamation.
Brigitte Ironside and Matt Banks presented the Forum’s monthly budget report for March. The Chair followed with a description of the 2025 proposed budget by the Forum. Ironside had revised the budget to demonstrate where expenses were incurred in InfoPorte. Ironside said that she had worked to capture all of the expenses and categorize them appropriately. She listed off expenses thus far for various initiatives. She also noted that there was now a separate page for professional development grants. Banks voiced his gratitude to Ironside for her work in revising the Forum’s budget estimates.
The Chair presented a draft 2025 budget, which included proposals to return the Forum to its pre-pandemic budget. She said that the budget carryover line changes year by year depending on how much the Forum had not spent the year prior. She noted that the new budget proposal differed from pre-pandemic levels due to the increased Carolina Blood Drive support of $4,000 implemented last year given increased responsibilities of that group.
The Chair also noted the proposed merger with the University Managers’ Association and the Forum’s assumption of the UMA funding for peer recognition awards and career development initiatives. She said that the Forum would need to keep this pot of funds distinctly separate from the overall Forum budget.
The Chair asked committee chairs to update their estimates based on proposed initiatives for fiscal year 2025. She hoped that the Executive Committee could complete its budget proposal by May. She noted initial proposals to develop a mini-conference by the Education and Career Development committee, following UMA plans to do the same.
Laura Pratt asked if the budget includes a written justification to the powers that be to persuade them of the declared need. The Chair recalled that Matthew Teal had requested this addition last year to provide more context for these numbers.
Another delegate asked if the Forum would produce a stipend for the proposed Chair-Elect position. The Chair said that the Chair-Elect would not receive a stipend until they graduated into the Chair position itself.
The Chair asked Banks to produce the monthly budget report again that depicts committee initiatives. She asked committee chairs whether they planned to carry through with these initiatives in this fiscal year. For example, she concluded that the Forum would likely carry over line items for website redesign and graphic and video production. She asked committee chairs to clarify their plans for the rest of the fiscal year, noting that various financial deadlines will begin as soon as May. Theresa Silsby said that the reservation process with Habitat for Humanity had been rather slow this year for the Community Service committee. The Chair advised Banks to go ahead and purchase a new printer for the Forum Office as the current one does not work well. She noted other potential initiatives that may not be completed this year and asked committee chairs for their comments.
Regarding the Forum Bylaws revisions, the Chair said that the Community Development Law Clinic is still working on these, with hopes that a first draft would be ready for the Forum’s May meeting.
The Chair said that the UMA merger is going as anticipated, with UMA leadership consulting with its members regarding the Forum’s merger proposal. She hoped to hear from the UMA soon with a definitive answer on this subject. Similarly, the Forum’s timeline proposal needed deferral because of the crowded nature of the Forum’s work this spring.
The Chair said that delegate and officer elections will occur this spring. She said that she, Keith Hines, Tiffany Carver, and Matt Banks have worked to resolve details related to the delegate election. She said that the group hoped to receive supervisor approvals in response to the Chancellor before putting ballots together. She shared a timeline of these activities, outlining the Forum’s upcoming work and duties remaining.
Regarding officer elections, the Chair thanked Matthew Teal for volunteering to help behind the scenes again this year. She shared a document outlining the Forum’s election process during virtual sessions. She looked forward to the June 5th final election of officers and asked for volunteers to learn from Teal. She noted possible complications regarding the Forum’s proposed Bylaws revisions occurring at the same time as officer elections.
Keith Hines asked if the proposed committee name change requested by the UMA would require action by the Forum. The Chair said revision of committees listed in the Forum Bylaws would require formal approval by the full Forum. Hines proposed renaming the Membership and Assignments committee to the Membership, Assignments, and Events committee as a means to recruit committee volunteers at each retreat. The Chair followed up with a further suggestion of possibly renaming the group Membership and Engagement Committee instead and said that this potential name change could be folded into the name changes under consideration in the Forum Bylaws in May. She said that the Bylaws also could receive two different sets of revisions over the course of the calendar year.
The Chair reported that the Chancellor’s search process has begun. Members discussed the possibilities related to this search. The Chair noted the possibility that the Forum might host a listening session for staff employees related to this search at a future general meeting. She said that events had moved the date of this meeting from June to April, to be held at the School of Government in a hybrid format. She asked the committee’s help in planning this event. She outlined a proposed agenda for the April meeting.
Laura Pratt asked if the April listening session would count as a community meeting. The Chair thought that it would. She noted plans to consult with School of Government staff to accomplish the different tasks involved in the production of a general meeting, with the addition of the webinar format added.
The Chair noted that delegate elections will culminate with the orientation of new delegates on April 24th. Theresa Silsby said that the TIM system changes would go live in April as well. She advised that the Forum invite Director of Payroll Walter Miller to speak on these changes at the April 3rd meeting. Others mentioned the performance management review season and the possibility of honorary delegate resolutions. The Chair recalled initial plans to hold the June general meeting at the School of Government, with a social event beforehand. She outlined the possible order of the agenda for that meeting.
The Chair asked Parliamentarian Jacob Womack’s thoughts on these events. Womack said that the Forum is not bound by open meetings law, although it still attempts to follow these rules for transparency’s sake. He said that the Forum would be bound to have an open session preceding its closed session and would need to have this session occur during a public meeting.
The Chair called for committee updates. There was no substantive report from the Communication and Public Relations Committee. The Book Club is seeking additional readers for its bimonthly meetings.
Ally Wardell said that the Community Service committee’s March Kindness Drive will occur through March 31st. She thanked the Chair for having advertised this event on the Forum’s social media channels. She hoped the eventual Habitat for Humanity event would take place this June.
Laura Pratt noted that the Carolina Blood Drive will hold its summer drive May 1st at the Smith Center. She encouraged volunteers to sign up to assist with the canteen or even to donate. Arlene Medder said that the Community Garden committee would meet Wednesday at 8 a.m.
Rebecca Howell said that the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee had met to discuss upcoming events such as Pride Week April 4-8, the Black Women’s Lunch March 28th, and the May 5th lavender graduation ceremony put together by the LGBTQ Center. Howell also noted that the university’s wellbeing committee would soon issue a survey to faculty, staff, and students on the utility of these days at Carolina. Howell anticipated that campus units will discuss how these days work and ways to improve them based on the feedback received. She encouraged all to complete the survey. Members discussed news of a possible name change to Pride Week at Appalachian State University.
- E. Alexander and Shavon Carey-Hicks noted that the Education and Career Development committee would meet with Kathleen Guerra, the new head of Human Resources organizational and professional development. The committee also hopes to meet with leaders in the Carolina Women’s Center as well. Professional Development grant applications will open again in June, as will the Carolina Family Scholarship application process.
There was no further update from the Membership & Assignments committee. Leah Hefner and Sharron Bouquin spoke on the Personnel Issues committee meeting and its discussion of the SHRA salary ranges. Hefner identified a lack of understanding among employees and managers of this process. She applauded the Human Resources email yesterday and today on this subject. Hefner noted continuing concerns about campus staffing levels. The committee hopes to have Vice Chancellor Gordon Merklein speak on affordable housing at a future meeting.
Charlissa Rice said that the Recognition & Awards committee has worked to incorporate the UMA awards (Manager of the Year and Outstanding Encouragement of Leadership Development (OELD)) into its Peer Recognition awards process. The committee will meet in May to discuss nominees for these awards as well as the Rebecca Clark Staff Award for Moral Courage. There was no update from the Rules committee.
Keith Hines said that the UNC System Staff Assembly met the previous week in Raleigh to discuss Bylaws revisions and other work. Assembly Chair Shayna Hill reported on the organic attempt to figure out how to treat one another as the Assembly moves forward. Keith Hines asked if the Chair could ask the Chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill to host a reception similar to the one hosted by UNC Greensboro at the last golf tournament. The Chair said that she would make this ask with the help of Vice Chair Keith Hines.
At this point, the Chair departed for another meeting. Vice Chair Keith Hines led the meeting through the remainder of university committee updates. Hines said that the Advisory Committee on Transportation and Parking will soon advance the university’s five-year plan to the Board of Trustees for a final vote. He said that people earning less than $75,000/year would see a significant decrease in their parking costs in the new pricing structure. He added that the drive to provide free parking for those earning less than $50,000/year was advocated for but ultimately not approved. If the Board of Trustees ratifies the new plan, it will likely be implemented starting in August.
There were no further university committee updates. David Bragg moved that the meeting adjourn, seconded by Brigitte Ironside. The motion was approved by acclamation, and the meeting adjourned at 1:09 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Matt Banks, Recording Secretary