Update from the Staff Senate President

• Access to Landed, a home-purchase assistance program previously available only to current faculty, has now been extended to current staff.  Visit their website at www.landed.com. 
• Inauguration Feedback
  • Several senators appreciated the Staff Senate President’s speech at the inauguration ceremony.
  • Staff Senate recommendations for future inauguration events:
  • Increase faculty, staff, and student attendance at the event.
    • Cancel classes so students can attend.
  • Encourage faculty and staff from different schools to attend.
  • Increase Jesuit presence.
  • Provide more direction for the ceremony procession (comment came from staff who participated in the procession).
  • Change order of ceremony and speakers.
  • Provide clearer messaging regarding logistics and arrangements.

Forum with Millicent Kenney from Transportation Services

• The Staff Senate President and the Director of Transportation Services held an informal Q&A session based on questions that were raised by Staff Senators and members of the Staff. 
• These were some of the questions:
  
  • To where/what do our annual parking fees get allocated each year? What does that total look like?
  • What was the rationale behind raising University Parking Fees to $400/year? Can we expect this amount to ever decrease?
  • The Staff Senate is considering putting forth a resolution or charge to Staff Affairs/UCC to explore the impact of creating a tiered or progressive Parking Fee Structure, potentially based on salary grade. Can you share any positive aspects of this change? Negative aspects? How would your department be impacted by such a change?
  • Why do departments have to pay the University to park University owned assets on University-owned property?
  • Can more “convenience” or technology be built into our parking system, so as to allow departments to more easily invite guests to campus without having to deal with our relatively complicated procedures? 
• To read the answers to these and other questions, please read the meeting minutes.

Post-Forum Discussion with Senators

• Based on the Q&A with the Parking and Transportation Director, the Staff Senate President posed whether the Staff Senate should (1) proceed with a formal charge and send it to the Staff Affairs or Benefits committee, (2) wait and obtain more information before a formal charge is drafted, or (3) table the discussion? 
• Twenty-one senators voted to table the discussion until the November Staff Senate meeting in order to obtain additional information about possible parking rates and implications surrounding the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT). 

November Assembly Meeting:  Financial State of the University

• A discussion on macro-level finances with speakers Michael Crowley, Vice President , Finance & Administration; and Jessica Matsumori, Associate Vice President for Finance. 

The October 17, 2019 meeting minutes are saved on the Staff Senate Google Drive.

All staff are invited to attend Staff Senate Meetings. 

Share your ideas and concerns, hear updates, and connect with staff from across campus.