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Professional Advisory Council Minutes – March 9, 2011 Please submit agenda items for the May 11, 2011 meeting to Judy Allarey by May 1, 2011. The meeting was convened at 2:30 p.m. by Mr. Pusecker.
Excused: Suzanne Stanley #12 Others present: Peter Krawchyk, Jerry Cutler, Patty Fogg, Tom LaPenta, and Judy Allarey. Introductions Mr. Pusecker introduced Jerry Cutler, Director of Human Resources and Peter Krawchyk, Director for Facilities Planning and Construction. Mr. Cutler, who is also a lawyer, gave a brief summary of his background working with the State of Delaware where he served as state manager of labor relations from 1996 to 2007 before becoming director of labor relations and employment practices. Mr. Cutler taught human resource management, labor relations and related courses at UD, Penn State, the Johns Hopkins University School of Continuing Studies and Wilmington University Graduate School.
For more information on featured projects, please visit: http://www.facilities.udel.edu/default.aspx?pageid=154 January 12, 2011 minutes were approved as written. Constituent Concerns: What is the timeline for UD to become a smoke-free campus? Ms. Smallwood shared that Healthy People 2020, is an initiative led by the U.S. Surgeon General to eliminate smoking. More information is available online at http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/. Why does it cost $25 to obtain a replacement ID card? According to the Registrar’s Office, the replacement fee amount is determined by central administration. The replacement fees received go into the general fund, not the ID Office, which is part of the Registrar’s Office. The fee was increased in July on 2009 from $15.00 to $25.00. Employees are charged the same fee as students to replace a lost card. Stolen cards are placed free when a police report for the incident is provided. Last year only 113 employees were charged to replace a lost card. Seventy nine have paid to replace a lost card since July of 2010. Constituent inquired about the status of the compensation review. Mr. Cutler responded that the review, which is exhaustive, is continuing. UD wants to ensure that they are getting industry report to make sure that it is competitive with the market. Are there plans to implement 360 degree performance evaluation to facilitate discussions among employees and managers around management growth areas and strength, and improvement in employee-manager relations? Mr. Cutler stated that there are no concrete plans at this time. What is the University’s policy about unit expectations for off-hours work, being on-call and handling of compensation as well as perceived inequitable handling of release time for education? Mr. Cutler suggests that employees should discuss these issues with the supervisor to have a better understanding of the unit’s expectations. Why is the UD Emergency Alert System not being used for weather alerts and University closing? According to Public Safety, UD Alert is used when there is imminent threat to the safety and welfare of the University community. When there is the threat of snow, the majority of the time, we have notice that the weather event is coming, so employees are anticipating checking for information, but are not in immediate danger. Plus, there is already an established system for notifying employees of late openings or closings due to weather: the UD homepage. If there is a flash flood warning or tornado warning, the UD Alert would certainly be used. Concern related to crosswalk: Cars are required to stop for pedestrians, but what about cyclists? Who has the right of way, cyclists or pedestrians? If pedestrians have the right-of-way, how can that be enforced? Public Safety responded that bicyclists are obligated to follow the same rules of the road as a person operating a motor vehicle, so the pedestrian in a marked crosswalk has the right of way. If an officer observes a violation he/she can take enforcement action. Every fall and spring Public Safety put a little extra effect into the enforcement of bicycle safety violations. Is it feasible for the University to run a shuttle from the Wilmington campus on Route 52 to Newark if constituents would pay a small fee? Mr. Garbini, the PAC representative serving on Parking and Transportation Committee, stated that there are no plans at this time because demand is not high. The emphasis for the shuttle system is moving people around Newark campus. On ongoing concern for the Center for Disabilities studies is the UD shuttle bus stop on the side of Wyoming Road for students who are not able to safely cross the crosswalk at Library Avenue. Transportation Services is currently reviewing this, along with other route changes. Constituent made a suggestion to put up a ‘no left turn’ sign at the point where cars turn left immediately upon entering the lot to get to the Early Learning Center (ELC) entrance. Public Safety responded that having a ‘no left turn’ sign would only force the vehicles farther in to the lot with two more turns and two more stops signs and would increase the risk to pedestrians, including the kids. If drivers stop at the sign, and the turning vehicles use their signal, it should not be a safety hazard. Public Safety recently worked on some improvements to the ELC lot with Facilities and speed humps will be installed in the next few weeks. Transportation and Parking Committee Report: Parking rates for the upcoming year was discussed.
Miscellaneous items from the committee meetings:
Faculty Senate Report – February 7, 2011 Provost Apple discussed the continuing effort to improve academic rigor. He cited increases in library use, including a 30 percent increase in the number of individuals entering the library and a 17 percent increase in the number of items checked out. Mark Barteau presented “Envisioning the Science and Technology Campus” . He noted that the plan for the former Chrysler site continues to evolve but that interdisciplinary research successes identified in the strategic plan provide the model in three key intellectual areas:
The goal is to make UD a national and international resource for energy and environmental technology and education. The new ISE-Lab currently being built will house both DENIN and UDEI and will not compete with the Science and Technology Campus but rather leverage those investments to attract additional partners and get the results of our research and teaching out into the world more rapidly. Planners have adopted a 3 + 1 approach for the development of the Science and Technology Campus. The three strategic priorities areas are energy and the environment, life and health sciences, and national security and defense and the 'plus 1' is the enabling infrastructure that will be needed. The Consent Agenda approved revisions to several undergraduate majors and minors and graduate level programs and the renaming of a master's degree. Faculty Senate Report – March 7, 2011 Provost Apple reported that over 20,000 admission applications were received this year. The incoming class should reach an all time high in academic quality, reflected in the high SAT scores. A review of past acceptance procedures was conducted since we missed our enrollment goal last year. Early admission letters were not instituted, but instead 4,300 “wink letters” were issued to entice the best students not accept other offers. A concerted effort has been initiated to improve customer service for both the prospective students and their parents. This looks to be not only the best class academically, but also the most profitable. The looming budget cuts from the state will have a noticeable, but manageable effect. State funds can be categorized as either unrestricted or designated. The unrestricted portion of about $90 M is all given back in the form of subsidies to in-state students. The portion funding specific line items, which has been about $30 M, will be cut by 15%. Each Dean has been asked to find the best way to absorb the decrease. Highest priority will be given to saving people funded on those lines. Apple emphasized that there might be some painful cuts, but that we are much better off than most schools. It will be a tough year for the state, and our decreased funding is understandable considering the alternative might be someone else losing his or her health care. A discussion followed on proposed changes to the faculty promotion and tenure procedure. An open hearing will be held on March 14. An ad hoc committee investigating calendar issues presented a report. Currently classroom space is oversubscribed at midday, with excess capacity early and late in the day and on Fridays. An earlier suggestion by Provost Apple to consider adding Saturday classes was quickly discounted. A survey with several options was sent to faculty resulting in 465 responses. The least popular option is to make no changes. Under consideration is adding more 75-minute classes, extending the day to 6:15 pm and delaying the start until 8:30 am. Student surveys are currently being conducted and a summary of recommendations will be made at a future meeting. New business was introduced requesting a review of the drop-add period. Several faculties have complained that students seem to be abusing the system and that requests to add are becoming overwhelming. It is also unfair to those students unable to get into a class, when others wait until the end of the period to drop. Twenty-two Announcements for Challenges addressing name changes were unanimously approved, as were three Resolutions. Announcement Meeting Adjourned Respectfully submitted, Reviewed by: Paul Pusecker, Gerald Hendricks |