Meeting Minutes

July 2018 Minutes

 

Minutes for July 2018 Monthly CAP Meeting

Thursday, June 28, 2018, 1:15 PM | Levis Faculty Center, 3rd Floor

 

Attendees: Brent West (1), Amy Hovious (2), Randall Sandone (2), Maggie Jarvis (3), Andrew Reynolds (4), Micah Kenfield (4), Mindy Spencer (5), Carl Baker (6), Betoel Escobar (7), Brian Brauer (8), Victoria Huart (8), Rebecca Ferrell (9), George Gottschalk (9), Nancy Walsh (10), John Scott (11), Jeff Stein (11)

 

Excused Absences: Richard Gegg (1), Leslie Vermillion (3), Lisa Merrifield (6), Chantelle Thompson (7), Sol Roberts-Lieb (10)

 

  1. Call to Order
    1. Meeting called to order at 1:15 PM by Chair Hovious.
  2. Guest Speaker: Rusty Barcelo
    1. Rusty Barcelo, who served as the Visiting Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Diversity, presented on the Office of the Chancellor’s efforts to address diversity, equity, and inclusion concerns.
    2. An external review of current campus diversity efforts was conducted, and a report was submitted to the Chancellor in 2017.
    3. The full external review report is available on the website for the Office of the Chancellor. One of the most critical areas of growth noted was how siloed and decentralized campus’s current diversity efforts are.
    4. A search is now underway to hire a Vice-Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to head an office that identifies and pursues opportunities for education, reconciliation, restoration, and cultural transformation with regard to bias and discrimination against any group or people.
    5. Q&A
      1. “What is the organizational structure of the new office, and which specific areas are involved?”
        1. Existing efforts from ODEA, Legal, and HR to review and ensure compliance with campus policies will continue.
        2. Community development efforts will be expanded.
        3. New efforts to engage with underrepresented students from Pre K to 12th grade will be added to help build a pipeline for a more diverse student body.
      2. “Is there a place with more information about this?”
        1. Yes, a website with full information on upcoming efforts will be launched after the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has its first retreat.
  • “Is your office looking at how to help search committees have better visibility on making sure candidate pool is diverse?”
    1. Yes, advertising positions online isn’t enough. This office is working on this with HR to help broaden and increase the diversity of applicant pools.
  1. “I’m chairing an ad hoc committee looking at harassment and bullying. Is this something the review has touched?”
    1. Many of these issues fall under existing Title IX enforcement.
    2. There will be a Critical Conversation on Workplace Harassment and Bullying in the near future.
    3. Efforts to address harassment and bullying need to be proactive, not just reactive in handling issues once they escalate.
  2. Public Comment
    1. No public comments.
  3. Review and Approval Previous Month’s Minutes
    1. Carl Baker moved to approved; Betoel Escobar seconds. Approved unanimously by voice.
  4. Chair’s Remarks
    1. The Chancellor has cancelled his September visit, but we are now rescheduling this.
    2. We have a few elections during closed session at this meeting.
    3. We all need to sign the new confidentiality agreement for grievances. This is on the agenda for the August meeting.
  5. Announcements
    1. No announcements.
  6. Committee Reports
    1. CAPE Awards Committee
      1. No report.
    2. University Professional Personnel Advisory Committee
      1. UPPAC had its annual meeting at the President’s House in June. Current and incoming members are invited. There was a fair amount of discussion regarding the Civil Service procedures, but nothing was especially new or revelatory compared to the conversations that CAP already had with the HR professionals.
      2. Other campuses reported on their professional development activities.
  • Updates were provided on the current legislative activities that mirrored conversations CAP has had dating back to earlier meetings in Spring 2018.
  1. Some discussion was held on the development of a Statewide Council of Councils across all the state schools, where the UPPAC councils at each university system would come together.
  2. As by tradition, the chair rotates around the three universities in the system. Amy will chair, as it is UIUC’s turn in the rotation.
  1. Academic Professional Senators
    1. No report.
  2. Senate, Campus, and University Committees
    1. No report.
  3. Procedures and Elections Committee
    1. There was one self-nomination for District V’s open seat, which was reviewed during closed session.
    2. Self-nominations for committee seats were discussed during closed session.
  • Electronic ballots will go out for Faculty Senate positions in Districts 4, 7, and 10 on July 9th and be open through July 16th.
  1. Communications Committee
    1. Once the Communications Committee is full, a meeting will be scheduled to discuss plans to increase the profile of CAP moving forward as well as other communications efforts.
    2. The committee is currently working on a protocol to get minutes routinely posted.
  2. Grievance Officer
    1. No official report.
    2. Mindy Spencer offered a brief reminder to CAP, especially new representative, that Chantelle Thompson is an excellent resource to work with should we receiver complaints or concerns from people in our districts.
  3. Ad Hoc Committee on Senate Representation
    1. A final report was distributed to CAP, summarizing the process the committee went through as well as the results.
    2. Jeff Stein, chair of the committee, recommended that CAP accept this report and dissolve the ad hoc committee.
  • Randall Sandone moved to approve report; Carl Baker seconded; motion carried unanimously.
  1. Ad Hoc Committee on Harassment
    1. No report.
  2. Academic Human Resources Report Associate Provost for Human Resources
    1. Very brief update on exemption procedures
    2. As of the week of June 25, the campus online job board show all positions (faculty, AP, administrative support, and research) instead of breaking them down by position. The relevant listservs have also been combined.
    3. HR is currently meeting with administrators and deans in each college to discuss the coming change for many positions from AP to Civil Service. They have also been meeting with groups like Staff Advisory Committee, CAP, and so on to brief on the changes. They will begin to meet with the employees at large starting in August.
    4. FAQs about the change are available on a website, and there is an email box for questions from individuals.
    5. Q&A
      1. A number of questions have been coming in regarding Janus v. AFSCE from civil service staff paying “full share” but who are not a member of the union.
        1. Termination of the fair share payments will be effective immediately for individuals getting deductions for fair share dues. If people have questions, they should call Labor and Employee Relations regarding the Union Dues Deduction. They can also contact their union.
      2. One college’s HR area has been pushing staff to go on FMLA, even if they’re only out for a few days only for a few days. People feel like it’s coming from a threatening place – is this use of FMLA normal?
        1. “If people have a question about how things are happening, they can contact Labor and Employment Relations about it. There are a number of reasons why an employee might want to go on FMLA, and it gives people more options.”
  • Many internal candidates are concerned that if they take a new position at the University and that position is converted to Civil Service, they’ll lose seniority and be at risk for layoff.
    1. “Certainly, seniority provides protection for staff. While it’s a fair concern, terminating professional-level positions requires strong justification and significant paperwork, and the likelihood of an adverse effect from loss of seniority is unlikely.”
  1. Is the decision to switch positions from AP to Civil Service irreversible?
    1. Essentially, yes. This is a compromise with SUCSS and failure to comply with the new rules could mean the end of campus’s ability to independently determine exempt positions altogether.
  2. Unfinished Business
    1. Call for Committees
      1. The Communication Committee is seeking new members.
        1. At a basic level, this committee works on emails and the website. One thing that was discussed in the past is finding ways to communicate what CAP can do for APs. The other main priority for this semester is providing information for APs about the conversion of some positions to Civil Service.
        2. Members interesting in joining should reach out to Mindy.
      2. There are still vacancies on the CAPE Awards committee for those interested. Please reach out to Amy if interested.
    2. New Business
      1. Anyone interested in serving on the All Employee Expo Committee should reach out to Amy.
    3. Closed Session
      1. Elections for District 5 Representative and AP Senate Committees
        1. Council went into closed session for the purposes of these elections.
      2. Adjournment
        1. Jeff Stein moved to adjourn, Brian seconded. Approved unanimously.

 

Dates and Locations of CAP Monthly Meetings and CAP-Sponsored Events

Date Location Notes and Other Events
August 2, 2018 314A Illini Union
September 6, 2018 314A Illini Union
October 4, 2018 314A Illini Union
November 1, 2018 314A Illini Union
December 6, 2018 314A Illini Union
January 3, 2019 314A Illini Union