Staff Senate President Updates

• The following proposal has been tentatively approved by the University Coordinating Committee (UCC):
  • To increase staff and student representation on the UCC by including the Staff Senate President-Elect and Associated Student Government (ASG) President as regular, voting members.
  • To adopt a co-chair model for the UCC where the UCC Chair will take the lead on faculty issues and the Staff Senate President will take the lead on staff issues.
• The proposal requires Category 2 changes per the Charter Amendment Process.
• The Staff Senate will vote on this proposal during the January 16th meeting.
• Please read the meeting minutes for additional details on this subject.

Working Groups Updates

• The Staff Benefits Working Group is fully staffed and has an updated list of issues to pursue this coming year.
• The Diversity and Inclusion Working Group needs more senators to serve. Senators should reach out to Kori Lennon, Staff Senate President-Elect, as soon as possible if interested in serving.

WASC Re-Accreditation Updates (Guest Speaker: Ed Ryan, Vice Provost for Planning & Institutional Effectiveness and Chair of WASC Working Group)

• Ed Ryan provided an update on the WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) Reaffirmation of Accreditation process.
• The WASC Working Group would like to solicit feedback from the staff on the draft self-study report. The Working Group would like staff members to review and provide input on the self-assessment section (i.e., Section 8) that addresses four challenges the University faces:
  • compensation/housing
  • diversity
  • institutional support for student success
  • collaborative governance

• Staff members can provide their input by sending an email to WASCscu@scu.edu, or by speaking directly to a member of the WASC Working Group.

• Please read the meeting minutes for additional details on this subject.

University Finance Forum (Guest Speakers: Michael Crowley, Vice President for Finance and Administration, and Jessica Matsumori, Associate Vice President for Finance)

• Michael Crowley and Jessica Matsumori provided a general overview of the University Budget Council (UBC) and the budget process.
• The UBC meets 7-8 times per year, with the first meeting held in October. Two staff members serve on the UBC: Brian Moon (Staff Senator) and Kori Lennon (Staff Senate President-elect). The topic for each meeting is based on major P&L (Profit and Loss) categories.
• A Budget Forum occurs in late February and is timed to follow the Board of Trustees’ (BOT) meeting that approves the macro budget recommendations. Staff are encouraged to attend this and other related Budget Fora.
• On November 20, John Ottoboni, Chief Operating Officer and Michael Crowley, VP of Finance and Administration distributed an email that featured an overview of the University’s financial position last year, the anticipated financial position 5 months into this fiscal year, and this year’s key areas of concern. Overall, the email reiterates that the University has a fiscal plan to manage cash flow concerns responsibly.
• The Staff Senate President opened the floor to questions. Responses to Staff Senators’ questions were arranged into the following topics:
  • Macro and Micro Budgets
  • Unit/Department Budgets
  • University Debt
  • Tuition Dependency
  • Endowments and Philanthropy
  • Benefits
  • Parking Fees
  • Housing
• Please read the meeting minutes for a summary of the discussion in each of these areas.

December Assembly Meeting Preview and Discussion:  University Housing

• The next Staff Senate meeting will focus on university housing with guest speakers Chris Shay, Assistant Vice President for University Operations, and Robin Reynolds, Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Services.
• Staff Senators were asked to submit questions related to university housing on the provided index cards, or email them to staffsenate@scu.edu.

Staff Senators will vote on two issues during the December and January meetings:

• Whether to draft and submit a resolution on a tiered parking-fee structure.
• Whether to approve the proposal to amend the Governance Charter by adding one staff member and one student member to the UCC, and to adopt a co-chair model for the UCC.  (Please note that voting on this proposal will take place during the January 16th Staff Senate meeting.)

The November 21 meeting minutes are saved on the Staff Senate Google Drive.

Please join us in Graham Commons A
immediately following the December Staff Senate meeting in Nobili Hall.

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All staff are invited.
We hope to see you there!

All staff are invited to attend Staff Senate Meetings. 

PLEASE NOTE:
The Staff Senate potluck will take place in Graham Commons A
following the Nobili Dining Room meeting.