February 2023 Meeting Minutes

Date: Thursday, February 2, 2023
Time: 1:15 PM
Location: online via Zoom

Minutes

    1. Call to Order (1:16 pm)
    2. Guest Speaker: None
    3. Public Comment: None
    4. December 2022 Minutes Approved (moved by Eric Kurt, seconded by Lisa Bievenue)
    5. Chair’s Remarks
      • Hybrid going forward: in-person in Illini Union Room 210, and zoom.
      • CAP Statement to Elections and Credentials re: ST-83 from University Senates Conference regarding standardization of staff and academic professional definitions, as well as academic freedom for APs. Change in Article 1, section 2 has a ripple effect.
      • Motion approved (1 abstain) to send prepared letter to USSP chaired by Shawn Gilmore (Beth Meschewski moved, Lisa Merrifield seconded)
      • CAP Statement to Committee on Committees – regarding balanced membership of committees – CAP sent a letter to USSP concerned about these changes, as well as Committee on Elections and Procedures. Another letter originally sent to Committee on Committees should have been, and will be sent to USSP and possibly SEC.  The issue is that many committees do not deal with only faculty, but also staff and/or students and those committees are not balanced according to who they represent.  Our letter requests more slots on those committees for staff.  It is the University Senate…not Faculty Senate.  Faculty should not have primacy on all committees that are concerned with all groups.  Letter to be modified, shared and then approved by CAP before sending.  HR (Deb Stone) requested we share this letter with Shari Mickey-Boggs.
    6. Announcements
      • Elections are coming up.
      • Should CAP participate in All-staff Expo and collaborate on planning and organization of the expo – Rich Gegg and Lisa Bievenue volunteered to be on the committee.
    7. Illinois Human Resources Report: Deb Stone, Executive Director, Illinois Human Resources Policy, and Administration
      • Nominations for the Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Award is closed. 68 nominations of people who are eligible (members of selection committee ineligible). Committee will select 32 semi-finalists and then request letters of support, and select 16 finalists to present to Chancellor for review and approval (March 31).
      • Academic Professional Development Fund report: Since December 8 requests approved for $500 each, and one for $371 for a total of $4,371. One was withdrawn and one denied due to ineligibility.
      • All-staff Expo has not occurred since pre-COVID.  SAC (Staff Advisory Council) has communicated they are interested in re-engaging.  This has been a collaborative SAC and CAP effort, looking for CAP volunteers.
      • Retirement planning conference has not occurred since COVID, was typically scheduled in February (SURS and Benefits presentations). This year, plan a virtual event with intention of returning to in-person in 2024 (more information to come).
      • HR office will help to reschedule Chancellor visit, and reserve the Illini Union room for CAP meetings, every month.
      • Jobs.illinois.edu has been down; no one can apply currently; Cornerstone is working on the issue (also impacts other clients).
    8. Academic Senator Reports
      • No reports
    9. Academic Senate Committee Reports
      • Public Engagement and Outreach: Sarah Christensen, Lisa Bievenue
      • University will be gathering information to renew our Carnegie designation as an engaged university.
      • Engaged Unit Program has announced selected teams: https://blogs.illinois.edu/view/7559/1435635387
      • Chancellor’s office has started a program called iExplore to bring area K-12 students to visit campus.  If your unit is interested in participating, contact Michelle Gonzalez in the Chancellor’s office.
    10. CAP Committee Reports
      • Procedures and Elections Committee: Brandi Barnes, Lisa Bievenue, Terri Ciofalo
      • 16 open seats between CAP and Senate. Small group committee identified a concern that multiple elections would be confusing.  Propose to revise schedule, revise how we consider seats, and adjust the website to make districts and representatives easier to identify:
        • Propose to run one election for all open seats (instead of 3); requires a suspension or waiver of by-law regarding timing of election (CAP elections to be in April but Senate requires elections for Senators in March).
        • Propose nomination period Feb. 22-28 and election first week of March (March 1-7)
        • Motion approved to waive bylaws on elections for AY 2022-23 in order to hold all elections March 1-7 (moved by Lisa Bievenue, seconded by William Schlaack)
        • Motion approved to suspend By-Laws Article 3, section 2b, precluding two representatives from the same unit, for this academic year: (moved by Lisa Bievenue and seconded by Tina Rolfe)
      • Plans to update website table of district representatives to display the overarching unit(s) in each district in order to make it clearer which districts have open seats and which units are eligible in that district.
    11. New Business
      • Call for By-Laws committee for possible amendments
      • Rich Gegg interested
    12. Closed Session – We will NOT have a closed session.
    13. Adjournment

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

Date Location  Notes and Other Events
02/02/2023 Hybrid
03/02/2023 Provost Bill Bernhard
04/06/2023 Hybrid President Killeen (questions to be submitted by Monday, March 27)
05/04/2023 OAE

Attendance

 Representative  Attendance
District 1: Richard Gegg X
District 1: Unfilled
District 2: Elizabeth Gonzalez
District 2: Unfilled
District 3: Tasha Robles
District 3: Unfilled
District 4: Brandi Barnes X
District 4: Rashmi Tenneti X
District 5: Patrick Gavin (sick)
District 5: Suzana Palaska
District 6: Doug Gucker
District 6: Lisa Merrifield X
District 7: Mathew Buchi
District 7: Tina Rolfe X
District 8: Chaya Sandler X
District 8: Unfilled
District 8: Eric Kurt X
District 9: William Schlaack X
District 10: Julie Elzanati X
District 10: Lisa Bievenue X
District 11: Elizabeth Watts X
District 11: Beth Meschewski X