Minutes
THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
STAFF SENATE
(NORMAN CAMPUS)
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
DRAFT
Chair Crystal Ary called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.
Officers present – Crystal Ary, Chair; Kristi Wright, Chair-Elect; Rhonda Hill, Immediate Past Chair; Robert Kelly, Communications Officer; Ann Seely, Recording Secretary
Staff present – Melissa Lane, Administrative Coordinator
Senators present – Kelsey Martyn-Farewell, Cynthia De La Rosa, Jessica Rossman, Jonathan Still, Ross Mehl, Meghan Warren, Sage Mauldin, Christa Seedorf, Sarah Moran, Amanda Warren Marshall, Rachel Jones-Summan, Jenny Lang, Sara Myers-Compton, Keiana Cross, Quinn Floch, Jennie Clary, Tomika Cox, Stuart Simpson, Twila Winkler, Catherine Chesbro, Allison Richardson, Cody Moore, Elaine Bradshaw, and April Meadows
Senators absent — Suzie Brewer and Kyle Brunsmann
SPEAKERS
Randy Hewes, Interim Dean, Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences
Shundiin Bohan, Pre-College Programs Coordinator, Office of Admissions & Recruitment
ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES of September 18, 2024
The minutes of the September 18, 2024, Staff Senate meeting was approved by an email majority vote.
CHAIR’S COMMUNICATIONS
Good Afternoon! Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to attend this meeting. I also want to start by saying, Thank you!
- Thank you to each of you for your dedication to the university.
- Thank you for all your efforts you’ve put into your daily jobs.
- We’ve had huge events on campus such as transitioning into the SEC, College Game Day, home football games. It has been noticed that the campus is still beautiful even after having more than 100’s of 1000’s of people on campus.
- Staff being here earlier than the crack of dawn and staying into the darkest of nights, thank you!
Since we last met, I’ve attended a few events hosted by the Office of Access and Opportunity. Kristi, Melissa, and I met with President Harroz on September 25th, we had a great conversation. I specifically asked for his approval to host a staff appreciation lunch in January and what his expectations were from the staff. We did get approval to host a lunch, details to come on that. President Harroz expects the continued partnerships we’ve built between the administration and staff senate, he also expects the continued open communication from staff.
Yesterday, October 14th, I attended the Faculty Senate meeting where Lee Camargo-Quinn, Director of Benefits provided them with the new benefits presentation.
Also, just a reminder, Open Enrollment for benefits is now open. Please visit the HR self-service portal to review and enroll in benefits for 2025.
REPORTS FROM SPECIAL COMMITTEES
Committee on Committees: Chair Kristi Wright reported they did not meet.
Merit Award Selection Committee: Chair Kristi Wright reported they did not meet.
Policy Review Committee: Chair Kristi Wright reported they did not meet. However, I would like everyone to be aware of an update to the fraud prevention, reporting, and whistleblower policy which was approved in September. This update was needed to bring the policy in compliance with current federal and state law. The purpose of this policy is to define fraud, identify reporting responsibilities, provide information about fraud investigations, and designate authority for Internal Audit and other assigned departments, as needed, to address reports of fraud. The policy can be accessed on the Policy Tech website https://www.ou.edu/policy.
Community Outreach Committee: By email, Chair Tanya Miller-Eager reported that didn’t meet in September, but we’re having an in-person introductory meeting next week on October 24th. However, the committee has a few things going on behind the scenes. We registered to volunteer at The Little Event the end of the month. Also, we’re working on a fundraiser for Bridges which will launch next week and run until the beginning of November. Stay tuned for the big announcement!
Ad Hoc Committee: Currently there are none.
REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES
Awards Committee: Ann Seely reported the committee did not meet.
Communications Committee: Co-Chair Sarah Moran reported they met on the morning of October 8th via Zoom to discuss progress on the upcoming "Meet the Senators" newsletter and discuss progress and ideas for other projects. Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 12th.
Staff Initiatives Committee: Chair Kelsey Martyn-Farewell reported they met on October 15, 2024. Discussion points included the start of a Red Rover event to encourage staff to learn about areas of campus that may be unfamiliar to them. The first event will be hosted in November – more details to come. We also talked about the Sooner Works program, as dependents of staff in that program do not qualify for tuition waivers. However, other scholarship resources are available to Sooner Works students and our recommendation would be to add that information on their website. In our next meeting, we will host staff from Financial Services to discuss training and support for the financial PeopleSoft system
Staff Week Committee: By email, Chair Jessica Rossman reported they met on 10/2. We got an update on the current vendor count for the Winter Craft and Hobby Fair on Dec 3. Then we discussed staff t-shirts and did a vote via email on design.
REPORTS FROM UNIVERSITY COUNCILS, COMMITTEES, AND BOARDS
Employee Benefits Committee: Crystal Ary reported they met on September 19th. Ashley Langley started the meeting since we were taking nominations and voting on the chair and vice chair positions. Nominated and elected for the chair position is Dr. David Howard, Associate Professor of Music. Nominated and elected for the vice chair position is Nancy Geiger, who is with the Nursing Academic Programs at OUHSC.
Aon provided a medical plan update, the highlights through July 2024 are
- 2023 actual costs were 14.8% above budgeted amounts
- 2024 actual costs are 14.4% above budgeted amounts
- Total costs in July were 9.1% above budget, or $900K above expected costs
Lee Camargo-Quinn also provided the 2025 benefits presentation.
Lindsay provided a September Livewell OU update, there are 6834 registered users using the LiveWell OU Portal. Also, there are quite a few trainings, workshops, and webinars to attend. You can access the portal at livewellou.com.
OTHER REPORTS
The following reports were linked to the October agenda:
Staff Senate Foundation account reports $1,285.30
Minutes of the Employment Benefits Committee meeting for April 2024
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
None
ANNOUNCEMENTS
ADJOURNMENT
As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:40 p.m.
NEXT REGULAR MEETING: November 20, 2024, at 1:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Melissa Lane
Administrative Manager
Ann Seely
Recording Secretary
