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SAC Meeting Minutes March 21, 2019

LaPenta Student Union Building – End Zone – 2 p.m.

Present: Tim Albrecht, Andrew Albrecht, Patti Besen, Jennifer Connolly, Casey DelliCarpini, Danielle Demorin, Lewis Derenzis, Mary Grant, Patricia Idelowitz, Carol Ann Kenny, Anthony LoPresti, Anthony Mastantuoni, Bing Morris, Carl Procario-Foley, Michele Sampson-Nelson, Antonio Scaccia, Lisa Tufariello

Guests: Br. Jason Ford, Maureen Bock
Excused: Donna Crisp, Sam DeRosa, Courtney Ferrick, George Franco, Charlotte Wray

I. SAC meeting called to order. Attendance taken by Anthony Scaccia.

II. Maureen Bock thanked SAC for bringing the request for July 5, 2019 as a holiday for the College Community forward to the HR&C. The request was granted.

III. College Council Standing Committee updates or reports:

(Please see complete minutes for each of the standing committees on line)

  • College Council
    • Meeting on March 7
    • Dr. H. Ben Chen introduced as the new Grants Administrator
    • The Strategic Planning process is moving forward, shifting from goals to strategic aims
    • The College met with faculty and administrators from Westchester Community College to review program plans and move to complete an articulation agreement to assist associate degree completers with transfer to Iona
    • This year’s Trustee Scholarship Gala will honor Ronald DeCicco ’70 and Dr. Thomas A. Davenport ’88
    • During the summer the Hynes Institute will offer the full suite of courses (5) for its newly advanced certificate program.
    • The Hynes Institute will offer two immersive 1-week Summer Pre-College courses from 7/15-19 and 7/22-26
    • The Senate is continuing its review and work on revising the Faculty Handbook
    • The Presidential Search Committee was seated and had their 1st meeting on 3/4. The three Governance bodies met with representatives of StorbeckPimental on 3/12. The consultants also held a Town Hall meeting with the College community.
  • Committee on Academic Affairs
    • Dr. Stackhouse began the meeting with announcement of an attempt to standardize policy throughout the college with respect to minutes. Chairs will request that a member of the committee undertake the task of taking minutes, leaving the Chair better able to conduct the meeting. Minutes will be produced and distributed in as timely a manner as possible. Members will be sent draft minutes for approval. Suggested changes must be sent back within 3 days. If no suggestions are made within that time period, the minutes will be taken as approved.
    • A question was raised about procedure concerning grievance petitions. A petition has been received by the Chair of the Committee, and the question was whether the petition should be discussed by the full committee before being forwarded to the voting faculty on the committee.
  • Committee on Athletics
    • Meeting on Feb. 26
    • Jamie Fogarty reported that the fall student-athlete GPA was 3.27, which was .07 below spring 2018.
    • In Community Service, Glovaski reported that service hours for all teams totaled nearly 4,000 hours for the fall, and several activities continue, including a partnership with Gullotta House.
    • Glovaski reported on new branding projects, such as the stadium wrap, hallways and stairwells in Hynes East and West, which will recognize Iona’s championships and athletic achievements.
    • Three new Hall of Fame inductees – Tim Bayley (track and field), Emily Chelanga (cross country) and Norman Scott (men’s soccer) -- will be recognized at the 2019 Hall of Fame Dinner.
    • Former rugby player Pat Quinn, who has battled ALS since 2012, will be presented with new courage award named in his honor.
    • Ron Mohr will receive the Donald E. Walsh Award for exceptional volunteerism.
  • Committee on the Budget
  • Committee on Diversity
    • Main goal is to recruit diverse faculty and staff
  • Committee on Human Resources & Compensation
    • HR&C met with an HSA provider where the funds saved for medical expenses would roll over from year to year. FSA funds must be spent in the year in which they are saved. The College would need to offer an insurance plan with a very high deductible in order to introduce an HAS plan.
  • Committee on Institutional Advancement
    • Building a framework that encourages employee giving – new gifts officer
    • Stress on participation rather than the amount. It is a good marketing tool to have a large percentage of employees donating to the Annual Fund
  • Committee on Libraries and Information Technology
    • The Full Outage at the College was postponed until a more convenient time
  • Committee on Student Life
  • Committee on Enrollment Management – no meeting
  • Committee on Environmental Sustainability
    • Applying for grants to offset the cost of new programming
    • Looking to revise the minor and major environmental studies programs

IV. Strategic Planning – Update from Br. Ford

  • Please refer to the online portal for a comprehensive summary.
  • Br. Ford requested SAC members to review the notes carefully and contact him with any comments.

V. Compensation Workgroup – (Mary Grant, Lewis Derenzis, Br. Ford, Tracey Wilmot, AM Schettini-Lynch and ME Callaghan)

  • A draft of the compensation plan has just about been completed. It will be sent to SAC for review and comments in April.
  • Focusing on talent, justice, equality, sustainability and transparency
  • Salary Structure
    • More regular review of the marketplace
    • Benchmarks for job grades
    • Look at changes in position – upward, downward and lateral
    •  
    • Annual Salary increases – pay raises, stipends-supplemental income
  • The Compensation Plan needs to be ready for the Board of Trustees retreat in June 2019. The last policy was established in 1996. SAC would like to have a week to review it.

VI. Elections

  • E-mails to nominees went out on March 20th. The survey for voting will be sent when the nominees have been finalized.

VII. Ad Hoc Committee on Staff Resignations

  • 135 participants – about a 30% rate
  • Half of the responses were from people who have been here less than five years
  • Half said that they were interested in joining SAC
  • Top two reasons for not joining SAC were work and/or personal time commitments
  • Looking to promote SAC and SAC participation at the new employee orientation.
  • Consider creating a newsletter with personal updates about employees. Perhaps 1-2 times per year with input from the various governing bodies

VIII. Br. Bray awards – Committee – Carl Procario-Foley, Carol Ann Kenny, Michele Nelson, Pat Idelowitz Survey was sent out, but not everyone received it. Will resend and assess the response.

IX. New Business

  • Revised Performance Management Review – will be distributed in the beginning of April so that managers can received new training from HR. Covers the period of July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019.
  • Pulse of the College
    • Some concern expressed regarding the timeline for finding a new President – seems very quick
    • SAC was not consulted on the Search Committees for the Dean of Arts and Science or the President.

Meeting adjourned at 3 p.m.
Next meetings:
Thursday – April - LaPenta End Zone
Thursday, May 7, 2019 – LaPenta End Zone