Non-voting Members Present:

Ale Kennedy – Human Resources

Lee Little – Legal Office

 

 

Guest:
Deb Barshafsky- VP Decision Support
Rita Lovering- outgoing council chair
James Murray- outgoing representative for Administration

 

Introduction- All

All council members introduced themselves and the areas they represent.

Review of ground rules – Karen Yonce

• Start and end meetings on time
• Come prepared to all meetings
• Do not interrupt
• Respect one another
• Stick to the agenda
• Arrive on time
• Complete tasks
• Cell phones and pagers on vibrate only
• Respect meeting roles
• Reserve time for this meeting
• No side conversations or passing notes
• No put downs
• No egos or pulling rank
• Opinions and concerns are to be expressed during the meeting

 

Review meeting format – Rita Lovering

 

The 2005-2006 EAC members attended a Meeting Skills training session last fall that has helped structure the format for the EAC meetings.

Meeting roles are assigned voluntarily at the beginning of each meeting, unless several guests are attending (then the roles are assigned prior to the meeting).
Meetings begin with the Judge reading the ground rules.
The meeting leader is the EAC chairperson. The scribe is the HR non-voting representative.
Meetings follow the agenda prepared by the EAC members.

• Judge- To use a friendly, but assertive, approach to keep the group focused on the topics.

To tell the participants when the meeting is beginning to stray away from the agenda. Reads the ground rules.

• Gate Keeper- To prevent the group from “beating a dead horse.”

When off-agenda items come up during the meeting discussions, interrupt politely and suggest the item is a good candidate for the parking lot.  If others agree, write them on your parking lot sheet (preferably a flip chart where meeting participants can see how many items are accumulating).

• Recorder- To write on the flip chart or chalkboard during meeting discussions.

To write down exactly what people say and to write down all of the ideas.
As a rule, write down word for word what the person is saying; that is, do not interpret or  change the words.  If you think the item expressed is confusing, ask the meeting participants to try to express it in another way.

 

• Time Keeper- To use a friendly approach to keep the group on schedule.

To remind the group of the time remaining for tasks and for the meeting.
To help the participants get back from breaks on time.
To help manage the meeting agenda during the meetings.
If time has expired on an agenda topic that has not yet need resolved, ask the group if they want to end the discussion, or if they want to continue and thus “borrow” time from another Agenda topic (or a break).  Make sure to have the group (or the meeting leader) explicitly state how much time they want to borrow and where on the agenda the time will come from.

 

Update on Institutional Values- Deb Barshafsky

Deb presented the revised statement in the MCG Values.

PARTNERSHIP. As a campus community with shared goals, the Medical College of Georgia values partnership with our colleagues and constituents within the institution and beyond. Our faculty, staff, and students advance the mission with spirit of collegiality and embrace a strong commitment to collaboration in our administrative endeavors, our educational programs, our research, and our provision of patient and family centered care.

Deb also offered to provide information and communication from the president’s cabinet. Deb offered to present this information at the EAC quarterly meetings. EAC will therefore be informed on MCG’s planning process.

Decision Made: The EAC council agreed that it would be very beneficial for Deb to provide the EAC with information and communication at the EAC quarterly meetings. Libby Poteet will contact Deb of this decision, and inform Deb of the upcoming meetings.

 

 

EAC By-Laws – Rita Lovering

Being the first meeting for the newly elected council members, the EAC By-laws were reviewed.

 

 

 

EAC roles and responsibilities – Ale Kennedy

 

ARTICLE IV:  COUNCIL MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES
Members of the Staff Council will be responsible for the following:
A. Serving as a liaison between campus administration and staff on matters impacting campus staff.  Members will assist administration by serving as a communication vehicle to campus staff on matters brought before the Council.  Members will also serve as a resource for campus employees to bring forward issues that impact staff.

B.  Serving in advisory capacity to the Division of Human Resources on employment related issues such as recruitment and hiring processes, training and development programs, benefits, and policies affecting employment.

C. Serving as the Selection Committee for the annual Erie P. Blissit Award.

D. Providing input where appropriate on campus communications to staff.

E. Attending meetings regularly and representing employees.  A Council member who misses more than two (2) consecutive meetings may be subject to removal from the Council.

F. Serving in other roles as requested by the President’s Cabinet.

If you are unable to attend a scheduled meeting, contact Ale Kennedy or Libby Poteet.

The EAC should introduce themselves to employees within their respective areas, and inform them on how they can submit their agenda items. The key is to communicate.

Nominate and elect new chair -  Rita Lovering and Lee Little

 

As stated in the By-laws the Council will elect a chair at the first meeting of the fiscal year.  The Chair should be elected from those members who are beginning their second year of service on the council, with the exception of the first year of the Council’s inception. 
All the present voting members voted for the 2006-2007 EAC chair person. Libby Poteet had the majority of the votes.

                       

Identify key individuals to serve on the hearing panel- Ale Kennedy

                 
The EAC has been asked to identify key individuals to serve on the MCG hearing panel.

Decision made:
The EAC will submit names to Ale Kennedy by Wednesday, July 19.

 

Erie Blissit Nomination Meeting- Ale Kennedy

One of the key responsibilities of the EAC is to serve as the selection committee for the annual Erie P. Blissit Award. The nominations for the Erie Blissit Award will be turned in to HR on August 14.

Decision made: The EAC will meet on Wednesday, August 16 from 2:00-4:30pm in room 211 at the library to review the Erie Blissit candidates and select a winner.

 

 

Discuss future agenda development and submission- All

Ale will send out a reminder when agenda items are due prior to each scheduled meeting.
Agenda items are submitted to (akennedy@mcg.edu), and reviewed by Libby Poteet. EAC agenda’s are sent out at least 5 days prior to the scheduled meeting.

 

 Schedule next meeting- All

The next scheduled EAC meeting will be held Wednesday, October 11 at 10:00am.

 

Review of Action Items- Ale Kennedy

 

ACTION Items
Status	Action to be taken	Responsible	Due Date
Closed	Provide Meeting Skills power point slides to new council members.	Ale	7/14/06
Open	Submit names to Ale of individuals that you identify as good candidates for the hearing panel.	All EAC members	7/19/06
Closed	Reserve room for Erie Blissit selection meeting. Room 211 2-4:30pm	Ale	7/19/06
Open	4.   Add revised amendment on  vacancies to the By-laws.	Ale	8/1/06
Open	5.   Follow up with Susan Norton and Diane Wray on the proposed membership amendment.	Ale	8/1/06
Open	Reserve room for October 11 meeting. Reservation was requested, but the library does make reservations this far out.	Ale	8/1/06
Open	Invite Deb Barshafsky to the next quarterly EAC meeting	Libby Poteet	9/1/06

* Please let Ale know when you have completed your assigned action item.