September 19, 2023 Executive Committee Meeting minutes
Attending: L.E. Alexander, Sharron Bouquin, David Bragg, Shane Brogan, Renata Buchanan, Shavon Carey-Hicks, Tiffany Carver, Leslie Heal Ray, Leah Hefner, Keith Hines, Jonah Hodge, James Holman, Rebecca Howell, Stacy Keast, Haydée Marchese, Arlene Medder, Stephanie Morales, Katie Musgrove, Joe Ormond, Laura Pratt, Charlissa Rice, Lori Shamblin, Theresa Silsby, James Stamey, Matthew Teal, Julie Theriault, Ally Wardell, June Weston, Tracy Wetherby Williams, Jacob Womack
Excused Absence: Gabriela De La Cruz
Chair Katie Musgrove called the meeting to order at 11:32 a.m. She called for a motion to approve the minutes of the August meeting. Arlene Medder made this motion, seconded by Lori Shamblin. The minutes were approved by acclamation.
The Chair reported that the Forum’s request for an increase in its budget to pre-pandemic levels had been rejected by campus administrators. Thus, the Forum needs to revisit its FY24 budget to reflect this refusal. The Chair shared her screen to give committee members a look at a new proposed allocation for the budget. She noted that the OHR Business Office had found an additional $6,200 in carryover funds beyond those that the Forum had benefited from previously.
The Chair proposed that the revised budget impose cuts on the website redesign and graphic design video production costs. She sought to preserve an increase in funding for the Carolina Blood Drive and Professional Development Grant programs, in spite of the denial of the Forum’s overall budget increase. She also lowered the amount projected for the July 2023 retreat to just under $2,100 as this expense had already occurred and been paid. She noted that her stipend was less than it had been in previous years as well.
The Chair asked for thoughts or feedback on the proposed budget. She added that the OHR Business Office would put in another request for the Forum’s budget to return to pre-pandemic levels in October when submitting next year’s overall budget request.
Laura Pratt thanked the Chair for the increase in the Carolina Blood Drive budget. She said that food costs are much higher than they used to be. Secondly, the blood drives are getting far more students than previous years, which is great, but also requires the drive to order extra food to feed them. Finally, Pratt noted the recent fire at the Mediterranean Deli, leading committee members to propose paying for this food rather than asking them to donate food as they had in the past.
The Chair asked for additional feedback, noting that the Forum will remain flexible throughout the year if something comes up and funds are needed. Tracy Wetherby Williams moved that the budget be approved, seconded by David Bragg. The motion passed unanimously. The Chair said that the new budget would be passed along to Cheryl Gerringer of the OHR Business Office for their reference. The annual budget will also be incorporated into the typical budget report presented to the Forum Executive Committee each month.
Moving to old business, the Chair said that she had not found the time to make final tweaks and edits to the Forum’s annual report. She asked delegates to look that document over to check for errors and inconsistencies in the next couple of weeks. She had some edits to the delegate lists and division breakdowns and also wanted to look over the “Goals and Challenges” section once more.
The Chair asked Charlissa Rice to speak on the Forum’s timeline streamlining project. Rice had to step away from the meeting for a bit and so asked the Chair to report on the subcommittee’s last meeting. The Chair said that the group had met with website consultant Paul Cardillo to discuss the newly developed Employee Forum calendar to go on the Forum website. The Forum would still use its SharePoint site to create a place for various committees to list things undertaken each month.
The Chair noted that International Housekeepers’ Week was an item that emerged from this discussion and was something that the Forum leadership had completely forgotten about this year. She said that the Forum typically would have planned in August for a proclamation to be approved in time for the celebration, usually falling after the Forum’s September general meeting.
The Chair asked if Haydée Marchese could pull up the homepage to share information on the calendar that she had designed. Marchese said that she was recovering from a recent surgery procedure. Marchese spoke on the specifics of creating the Forum calendar which was rooted in her experience in her department. She said that this section with the homepage is basically the front page of the SharePoint site. Links are available for governance documents and other materials, available for creating and editing for those subscribed. She shared the multiple things that the SharePoint and Teams functionality could do in collaboration with the website.
The Chair offered to meet with Rice and Marchese in the next couple of months to discuss possible improvements to the calendar idea. Stephanie Morales praised Rice and Marchese for their work on this subject. The Chair seconded this praise. Marchese clarified that a page provides the opportunity to add more features, whereas a space is a centralized area in which one can highlight news or create pages for committees. The Chair asked if the calendar could be used for overall organization scheduling purposes as well. Marchese said that this improvement is possible.
Moving on, the Chair noted the next item on the agenda: Forum Bylaws revisions. She said that the Rules committee is working on that document. Jacob Womack said that the committee did not have any current updates to share as everyone has been pulled with work on their regular jobs. He apologized for the lack of progress in this area. The Chair said that the start of this semester has been particularly hectic and said that no apologies were necessary.
The Chair said that projects like the timeline clarification project and the Bylaws revisions which emerged from the Forum Retreat will live on through monthly executive committee updates. She then moved on to community meeting planning. She said that the University Counsel update at the September general meeting on the SFFA v. UNC Supreme Court case had been a great start. She was very pleased that the update occurred. She said that Vice Chancellor Farwell has been spearheading communications about this topic for the university.
The Chair asked for thoughts and feedback on the September update and ultimately the fate of the proposed community meeting. She thought that holding a community meeting on this topic might prove repetitive given that the officials involved seemed to have shared all that they possibly know at this point. Requesting another such update for October or November may not be that productive.
Rebecca Howell suggested that holding such an update might make more sense after this year’s undergraduate class is admitted. She said that notices have gone out that certain information will no longer be available concerning these admissions. She thought that April or May would be the best time to reflect on this data.
Keith Hines did not think that the Forum would receive any more detail than was provided in September. He thought that the September presentation did not extend much beyond stating that the university will adhere to the law and that the university will stay true to its mission.
Julie Theriault agreed that the Forum did not need to pursue a community meeting on this point now. She asked what additional questions people did not feel were answered in September’s general meeting. She thought that at the Gillings School of Global Public Health staff received a lot of information about what the policy will look like and the procedures that will take place during admissions now.
The Chair thought that perhaps more information is being distributed in a siloed manner to individual departments and units than through the campus-level overview. Theriault thought that perhaps the admissions directors for various units are present in departmental meetings on this question. She wondered if relevant information is not being shared with people who want to know. The Chair agreed with Theriault’s point, noting the amount of work in advising individual schools and units about how to conduct their particular admissions process in compliance with the law. Theriault offered to share what she had been told in these admissions meetings but did not know exactly what questions the committee had.
Arlene Medder thought that part of the reason why the university is not providing specific information is to prevent taking these words out of context. Tracy Wetherby Williams asked if the decision would affect the university’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee and efforts. The Chair thought that this remained to be determined. She did not know of any current active legislation in this area, but this fact could very well change. She thought that behind the scenes at the UNC System level questions are emerging regarding DEI initiatives and projects. She thought that the Forum should keep its eyes open to possible changes in this area. The Chair thought that perhaps the Forum could provide more perspective to those interested through an InTouch newsletter article or even the video of the September general meeting itself.
The Chair then took time to brief the Executive committee on efforts from the University Managers’ Association (UMA) to possibly merge with the Forum. She said that the UMA has struggled with membership and lack of activity following COVID and the Great Resignation. The UMA has not been able to keep active membership or events going in a meaningful way. Thus, UMA leaders have sought out the Forum for discussions about a possible merger, with activities like the Manager of the Year award hopefully preserved by the Forum in some way.
She asked the opinion of the committee on this subject, given that these conversations would take place over the next month or two. Discussions have already progressed regarding outcomes of this merger, including:
- finding ways to incorporate UMA awards into the Forum’s peer recognition process
- folding in professional development opportunities into the Forum’s Education an Career Development committee work
- A history of the UMA would be preserved on the Forum’s website
- The UMA’s standing budget from the Provost’s Office would be folded into the Forum budget
- UMA members would have the opportunity to join Forum committees as non-voting members, the same as any other University employee
The Chair said that the Forum would create a formal proposal with UMA input regarding the merger. Should this proposal be approved by the Forum, it would then go to the UMA for their vote on an eventual merger. She hoped that any transition would be collaborative. She had begun to revise a proposal authored by L.E. Alexander on this topic. The Chair shared her screen, showing the UMA merger proposal to the committee. She noted that Randall Borror has been a member of both the UMA and a Forum delegate. Borror has been a key member of the UMA board and has contributed greatly to these merger conversations.
Haydée Marchese shared her opinion regarding the difficulty that the UMA faced with a lack of interest among managers in participating in campus trainings. She thought that the Forum needed to push on this topic in these discussions. The Chair thought that balancing UMA work with the Forum’s mission was an important part of this conversation. Arlene Medder thought that the Manager of the Year award could recognize managers who support their staff. Sharron Bouquin thought it important to ascertain whether the Provost’s Office will support the merger in order for the Forum to retain control of the UMA budget.
The Chair then asked the committee’s thoughts on creating a proclamation honoring International Housekeepers’ Week in the absence of a formal Forum meeting, as the celebration to mark this event will occur next week. She also noted difficulties with the chosen location and format for this celebration. After discussion, the committee agreed that the Chair would reach out to university leaders to attempt to improve these aspects of the celebration.
The Chair asked the committee’s thoughts on the proposed proclamation. Keith Hines said that the proclamation is something the Forum should do and indeed should not have forgotten to do in September. James Stamey moved that the proclamation be approved by the Executive committee. Julie Theriault seconded this motion. Discussion on the proclamation regarding language then occurred. Following this discussion, the motion was approved without opposition or abstention.
Theresa Silsby asked about Forum preparations for University Day. The Chair described the new format for University Day comments occurring this year. Silsby asked if the Forum would distribute cookies as it had done last year. Keith Hines said that this distribution was part of the Forum’s 30th anniversary celebrations and would not be repeated this year.
The Chair skipped the committee updates this month and moved to meeting planning for the October 4th general meeting. She hoped to keep the meeting free of presentations as much as possible. Members agreed with this impulse given the rather crowded nature of the September meeting agenda.
The Chair thanked Vice Chair Keith Hines for leading the Vice Chancellors’ representatives’ meeting earlier that month. She said that the Forum has received emailed answers from Vice Chancellor George Battle concerning questions raised at that meeting. Matt Banks will work on the minutes from that meeting for distribution to attendees.
Arlene Medder moved to adjourn, seconded by Rebecca Howell. The meeting was adjourned by acclamation at 1:23 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Matt Banks, Recording Secretary