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University of the Virgin Islands Senate Meeting Minutes February 18, 2011 Present: Senator Ardrina Scott Elliott, Chair Senator Gillian Royes Senator Nancy Morgan Senator Alexander Randall Senator Patricia Harkins-Pierre Senator Lyle Gumbs Senator Raquel Santiago-Silver Senator Dayle Barry Excused: Senator Daniella Henry Senator Leslyn Tonge Absent: Senator Maria Fleming Cabinet Members Present: Senator David Hall (Teleconference) Senator Henry Smith Senator Vincent Samuel Senator Karl Wright Senator Dianne Piper Senator Claude Steele Senator Haldane Davies Senator Noreen Michael Absent Cabinet Members: Senator Tina Koopmans (excused absence) Senator Dionne Jackson Senator Judith Edwin In attendance: Judith Rogers (for Tina Koopmans) UVI Senate ~ Minutes of February 18, 2011 2 CALL TO ORDER by: Senator Ardrina Scott-Elliott ROLL CALL by: Senator Ardrina Scott-Elliott Presentation of Minutes for the September 17, 2010 UVI Senate Meeting Senator Scott Elliott indicated that the approval of Minutes for November 19, 2010 and January 21, 2011 will be deferred until the next Senate meeting set for March 18, 2011. Matters Arising: There were no matters arising from the Minutes. AGENDA ITEMS Consultancy and Business Interest Policy A motion to reaffirm the support of the Senate for the Consultancy and Business Interest Policy was presented by Senator Randall and seconded by Senator Harkins-Pierre. It was unanimously approved. It was also agreed that the language in the policy applicable to times when University personnel would reasonable be expected to be engaged in University work will be made consistent in both summary and policy documents. Shared Governance Matrix Clarification was given to the ABCD Sections of the Matrix as follows: A – Decisions reserved to Board of Trustees B – Administrative Matters C – Personnel Matters D – Curricular Matters Sexual Harassment Complaint Process The Sexual Harassment Complaint Process was revised and posted on the UVI Website upon advice from Legal Counsel. However, the Sexual Harassment Policy which is currently being revised will be presented to Cabinet at its next meeting and thereafter submitted to the shared governance processes for consideration by the University community and the Senate. The Human Resources Department will schedule sexual harassment training for University personnel beginning in the month of March 2011. UVI Senate ~ Minutes of February 18, 2011 3 Public Access to Information Policy The issue related to this policy is whether or not the University should accede to the request of the Press (The Daily News, in particular) to release the names and salaries of all of its employees for publication in the media. The position of legal counsel is that the law regarding the release of such information applies to the Central Government and not to the semi-autonomous agencies. The Board of Trustees has agreed that the positions and salaries could be released without the names, and that in this manner, the University is actually meeting its disclosure commitment to the public. Senators were in general agreement with the policy of the University to disclose the positions and salary of University personnel without the names. University Updates The University Budget Committee (UBC) presented its recommendations to the President and made a public presentation to the University community. President Hall presented a response to the University community regarding his position on the modified recommendations and indicated that a revised budget would go before the Finance and Budget Committee of the Board as well as the Executive Committee of the Board on February 28 and March 1, 2011 respectively. The UBC also presented its Phase II Report to the President. As required, the UBC will make a presentation to the University community on its recommendations and the President will also respond to the UVI community with hos reactions to the recommendations. The present fiscal situation of the territory is something of which we should be mindful in light of further anticipated budget reductions. The President expressed thanks and appreciation for the University’s support of the man Up Conference. Approximately 3,300 young men attended on both campuses. Reports indicate that it was well received and the Committee is in the process of putting forward some next steps regarding the future of the Man Up Conference and the Male Initiative. A “First Week” Task Force which will be Co-Chaired by Dr. Robin Sterns and Dr. Judith is in the process of being established. The primary responsibility of this group is to review the beginning of semester activities and recommend improvements regarding registration, classroom and faculty readiness, and other related activities, as required. Recommendations from this Task Force will be shared with the Senate following receipt of the report. The St. John Center is moving forward on target. It will be opened sometime in March 2011. The Female Initiative has had at least two meetings to date under the leadership of an executive committee on both campuses. The initiative will be officially launched at the Alfred Heath lecture on April 20 and 21, 2011 on the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses, respectively. UVI Senate ~ Minutes of February 18, 2011 4 Searches for the following positions are currently in progress: • Executive Director for the Center for Student Success (Chair – Dean McKayle) • Vice President, Administration and Finance (Chair – Provost Wright) • Special Assistant to the President / Executive Director, Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment (Chair – Frank Mills) • Director, Institutional Research and Planning (Chair – Frank Mills) The positions of Director, Student Activities and Director, Environmental Health and Safety for the STT campus have been filled. The UVI Goes Green Initiative Environmental Sustainability Policy Statement was approved by the Board of Trustees on February 11, 2011. The program behind the initiative was also welcomed and embraced. The UVI Goes Green Initiative will be officially launched at Afternoon on the Green on March 13, 2011 and Charter Day on March 16, 2011 on the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses respectively. The Compensation Study Process was approved, with one modification, by the Finance and Budget Committee of the Board. The process is currently on going. The 50th Anniversary Honorary Committee, comprised primarily of former presidents and members of the Board of Trustees, has been formed. A 50th Anniversary Operations Committee that will work closely with the Honorary Committee to plan and execute activities will be announced shortly. Work is continuing on the establishment of the Center for the Study of Spirituality and Professionalism. An Advisory Board is presently being established and the Center will be launched on April 17 and 18, 2011. The Honorary Degree Proposal was approved by the ARSA Committee and the Board of Trustees. Two nominations were received but did not receive approval from ARSA. Approval was granted for the Commencement Speaker to receive an honorary degree. The Connection of Salary Increases to Merit and its link to Employee Evaluation Senator Hall spoke of a question raised by the Staff Council regarding employee evaluations and merit increases. The Staff Council is concerned about the present evaluation system as some employees do not have goals against which evaluations may be conducted. The President has written to all managers asking them to complete evaluations for all direct reports by March 1, 2011. After much discussion, it was decided that the evaluations must be completed and that the distribution of the funds will be based on a merit system. The deadline for completion of evaluations may be extended to a date as determined by the President. UVI Senate ~ Minutes of February 18, 2011 5 Other Matters No other matters. Motion for adjournment Senator Morgan, Senator Harkins-Pierre Second. Meeting adjourned at 2:40 p.m. Respectfully Submitted by: Office of the President