March 12, 2012
Cabinet Members:
President Mike Richards
K.C. Brekken, Director, Communication & Events
Constance Brooks, Director, Government Affairs & Diversity Initiatives
Thomas Brown, Senior Advisor to the President
Patty Charlton, Senior Vice President for Finance & Facilities
Chemene Crawford, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs – absent
Darren Divine, Vice President, Academic Affairs – absent
Richard Hinckley, General Counsel – absent, Diane Welch, proxy
Shellie Keller, Chair, Administrative Faculty Assembly
Rob Telles, President, Classified Council
Jacque Matthews, Executive Director, Foundation
Joan McGee, Chief Campus Administrator, Charleston Campus
Charles Milne, Faculty Senate Chair-Elect – absent
Aimee Riley, President, Student Government
Josh Ruter, Interim Campus Manager, Henderson Campus – absent
Tracy Sherman, Faculty Senate Chair
Mugunth Vaithylingam, Chief Information Officer
The meeting was called to order by Dr. Richards at 9 a.m.
The notes of the February cabinet meeting were approved.
Patty Charlton updated Cabinet members on the Funding Formula. The Round Table discussions were well-attended and had good feedback, especially from students. The formal discussions between NSHE institutions just prior to the Board of Regents meeting, however, grew a bit heated. CSN did gain some ground as the funding gap is being addressed and we will be updated as new information becomes available.
The most current information is posted on the NSHE website:
http://system.nevada.edu/tasks/sites/Nshe/assets/File/Initiatives/fundingformula/New_NSHE_Funding_Model._dtd_3.12.v9.for_final_distribution.pdf
Dr. Richards told the group that at the Board of Regents meeting, CSN’s culinary department was highlighted, and the student speaker from the department represented CSN well. The meeting also gave CSN the opportunity to spotlight some other departments at the hosted dinner for the Regents outside the E Building. Featured at the dinner were a massive barbecue and smoker built by welding students, beautiful candies created by our pastry chefs and students, culinary students who cooked the dinner and CSN’s orchestra who provided music for the event.
Joan McGee reported on the CSN Strategic Plan and the relationship between the Plan’s objectives and accreditation. To ensure that responsible parties are clear on the compliance piece, and to make everyone aware of the Strategic Plan and the tasks contained within it, Joan is meeting with as many employees and students as she can. So far she has met with almost 75 people, with many more to go. Updates reporting progress on Plan tasks will be due July 1st each year. Those updates will be compiled and reviewed, and a revision to the Strategic Plan will be made if necessary. Feedback from NWCCU reviews, reports and visits will be also taken into account each year when discussing any revision. This 3rd year of the accreditation cycle will prompt a site visit from NWCCU and they have scheduled their visit for October 15-17 this year.
Thomas Brown reviewed the many projects being undertaken by Human Resources. The division’s emphasis is on communication, training, customer service and especially how those relate to CSN’s mission of Access, Quality and Diversity.
Some highlights from the Human Resources staff:
• About 35 active/pending recruitments are underway to fill approximately 46 positions
• Initial work has begun to draft a potential college-wide attendance policy
• HR is working to certify more FMLA specialists
• Working on the deliverables for iNtegrate Phase II
• Many payroll/benefits sessions for new hires were held for individuals and groups
• Conducted benefit information training during spring convocation week
• Ongoing monthly work with iNtegrate/PeopleSoft and MyCSN regarding name changes and inconsistent data
• Implemented the automated I-9 completion system and trainings for the system
• More updates to the HR website
• I-Leave Training is being developed
Some highlights for Affirmative Action:
• New Title IX Policy regarding communication requirements – Thomas and AA staff participated in a required training webinar
• Thomas and AA staff also have another Title IX webinar scheduled March 23 and an additional 6 week training course through NACUA for certification
• Developing new course for required on-going discrimination training as per the Board of Regents’ new policy
Some highlights from the Cheyenne campus:
• Remodel is continuing with the main Student Services area to begin in the next couple of months
• Conceptual plans are being developed for a remodel in the culinary kitchen and Russell’s restaurant
• Equipment requests for new signage for the Main building have been approved and facilities will begin on the drawings shortly
• New paint, seating and carpet will go into classrooms 1068 and 1227 this summer, with classroom 1661 next in line for new seating
• Currently developing a construction schedule to re-pave the delivery area behind culinary
• Emergency blue lights are being installed in the parking area for police
CAPE:
• Spring calendar of offerings is ongoing
• Planning for Classified in-service days
• Preparing for sessions that will be facilitated during the spring including Supervisory series; Conflict Resolution; Adobe Acrobat forms & portfolios; MS Excel 2010 as a database and uploading rosters; MS Word 2010 long document formatting and mail merge; MS Outlook 2010
• Continuing to conduct MyCSN Training and supporting staff with assistance as requested
• Customized training on customer service by request
Constance Brooks attended all meetings and round tables about the funding formula and is working to ensure legislators understand it. She reported that Henderson and Cheyenne campuses will be early voting sites for the primary and election. Charleston campus itself will not be an early voting site, because the Charleston Library on the northeast corner of the campus is a site already. With regard to the Diversity aspect of Constance’s area, she told the group that the Women of Excellence luncheon will have Punam Mathur as keynote speaker. She encouraged all to attend. For future events, she is working through some ideas for improving the quality of the events while possibly reducing the number of them. She is also thinking about diversity themed graduation events and is working with Jacque Matthews on scholarship funding as well.
Supplier Diversity continues to improve, but low bid restraints are problematic. Also, the certification requirements for small businesses are cumbersome; so before there is significant change, there must be some change in that area.
Diane Welch reported that she and Richard Hinckley are working on several projects which are keeping them very busy:
• Cases in litigation
• Working through Health Sciences policies to do with student pregnancy and blood borne pathogens, radiation exposure and animal contact
• Working through leave and attendance policies
• Revamping disciplinary procedure
• Standardizing language for vendor contracts to ensure NSHE interest is protected
• Attending State Bar/NACUA events
Rob Telles was proud to report that classified employee, Angel Clemens, chose the name for CSN’s end of the year event: Reflections of Success. He also said the Employee Recognition luncheon is in the beginning stages of planning and is scheduled tentatively for May 31. Classified Council is giving a lot of thought to the in-service days and ideas for classes that would make the week more relevant, interesting and increase attendance. He also reminded everyone of the upcoming bake sale which will have a St. Patrick’s Day theme and will take place on each of the 3 main campuses.
Dr. Richards said a recommendation from EDIC included sharing of HR openings and applicants between NSHE Institutions. The method and practicality for that sharing is a topic of discussion currently.
Next week Dr. Richards would be sending a series of announcements through all email and through the ICS about the following topics:
• New admissions policy requiring high school diploma or equivalent
• Certain deadlines for students to make arrangements for payment to preserve class registration
• New application process for residency
• Financial Aid eligibility will change to requiring a high school diploma or equivalent.
• New payment due date will be June 1
NSHE has contracted with Business Benefits, Inc. to do benefits analyses of the NSHE Institutions’ benefits. They will be working with the compensation committee and paying special attention to health insurance.
March 26-30 the Vice President for Student Affairs candidates will be on the Charleston campus for open forums and interviewing with Dr. Richards afterward. He encouraged the cabinet members to participate in the forums to get to know the candidates.
The Salvation Army requested volunteers to help residents study to pass their GED exams. Anyone interested can contact them at (702) 870-4430.
Patty Charlton reminded the group of the year-end purchasing deadlines.
Jacque Matthews told everyone the date of this year’s CSN Celebrity Golf Tournament. It will be June 15 at Badlands Golf Club.
Meeting adjourned at 10:15 a.m.
Next meeting scheduled April 9, 2012.
aml