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SAC Meeting Minutes February 21, 2019

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

Present: Tim Albrecht, Andrew Albrecht, Patti Besen, Jennifer Connolly, Donna Crisp, Danielle Demorin, Lewis Derenzis, Sam DeRosa, Courtney Ferrick, Jorge Franco, Mary Grant, Patricia Idelowitz, Carol Ann Kenny, Anthony LoPresti, Anthony Mastantuoni, Bing Morris, Carl Procario-Foley, Michele Sampson-Nelson, Antonio Scaccia, Lisa Tufariello, Charlotte Wray
Guests: Br. Jason Ford
Excused: Domingo Gonzalez

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

II. College Council Standing Committee updates or reports:

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

  • College Council
    • Lewis attended for Anthony Mastantuoni
    • Dr. Nyre announced his Resignation. He will be working through June 30, 2019.
    • Most Standing Committees were off for the holidays.
  • Committee on Academic Affairs
    • The minus grade will take the place of the i and n grades currently used
    • Sports Entertainment Certificate will be suspended due to low interest by students.
    • Long-Term Care Certificate will be suspended due to low interest by students.
    • Marketing Department will launch a new graduate course in Brand Management.
    • The proposed online MBA program was unanimously approved by the committee.
    • The business minor structure will be changed to make it easier for non-business majors to pursue a minor in business.
  • Committee on Athletics
    • Meeting on Jan. 29, 2019
    • Todd Plourde, a former Yale assistant, has been hired as women’s soccer coach
    • Jamie Fogarty stated that the fall student-athlete GPA and probation reports would be presented at the next meeting. The department is working on streamlining of student-athlete notification of academic probations and suspensions for compliance purposes.
  • Committee on the Budget – no meeting
  • Committee on Diversity
    • Voting on a speaker for campus – no decision yet
  • Committee on Human Resources & Compensation
    • The Performance Review Tool changes were presented by HR
    • Faculty working on their plan – haven’t formed a committee
    • Asked to have July 5 off – under consideration
    • Very minimal increase in the cost of medical and dental coverage
    • Receiving the Medical Plan “holiday” this June – premium payments in June
  • Committee on Institutional Advancement – no meeting
  • Committee on Libraries and Information Technology
    • Tracking inter-library loans requests to see if they can be managed
    • Blackboard and 25 Live successfully moved to the Cloud
  • Committee on Student Life - Meeting was held, but SAC rep was unable to attend. Please see the Iona website for the minutes.
  • Committee on Enrollment Management – no meeting
  • Committee on Environmental Sustainability
    • New website with Sustainability initiatives
    • Working with Strategic Planning committee on new coursework
    • Applying for grants to cover the salary of an Environmental Officer for the College
    • IC Green is planning Earth Day events for the third week in April

III. Strategic Planning – Update from Br. Ford

  • Continuing with the three sub-groups: Student Success/Retention; Talent and Academic Excellence.
  • The last strategic plan was very tactical and specific, while the new one has broader goals
  • Can give feedback at the Town Hall – all are encouraged to attend and via the portal
  • Want the Plan to be finished by march 12 – three goals with 3-5 strategic themes for each goal.
  • New Strategic Plan should be in place in September and needs to be implemented – not waiting for a new President

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

  • Postponed because of the snow.
  • Reviewing other institutional handbooks (faculty and employee) and policies. Do we need an update? Do we want a detailed handbook or something more general? Have not had an update in many years.

V. Elections

  • Report by Anthony Scaccia.
    • Election requests are going out next week – encourage people to run
    • 233 Administrators can vote and 152 are eligible to run (need to be at the College for at least a year)
    • 206 Staff members can vote and 128 are eligible to run – of the 128, 75 are in Facilities or Campus Safety and may not be able to serve because of shift work or shift change. May need to hold SAC meetings at a different time so that Campus Safety can be included – right now the meeting is during their shift change.

VI. Ad Hoc Committee on Staff Resignations – Anne Marie Schettini-Lynch expressed her thanks to the Committee for putting together the survey – looking to see how people feel about the state of the College

VII. New Business

  • Br. Bray awards – Committee – Carl Procario-Foley, Carol Ann Kenny, Michele Nelson, Pat Idelowitz - waiting for list from Louella Steverson. Brian George will prepare survey and send to employees.
  • Revised Performance Management Review
    • Biggest complaint is the Excel format – locked down format – nothing that IT can do to make it easier to complete.
    • Training session for the tool was more about team building than it was about using the tool
    • Can’t use spell check because the columns are “locked”
    • Some offices have still not had reviews
    • Received handout at SAC regarding the Performance Tool – need to review and vote on changes
    • Compensation/Increases based on the review process has not yet been set. Looking at three bands – i.e. 4-5 ranking, 3-4 ranking and 0-3 ranking. There might be a percentage increase based on the ranking. Need documentation and proof for the various rankings – very dependent upon the department and the number of people in the department.
    • HR&C is still grappling with the specifics on the bands, increases and the performance tool.
  • Pulse of the College
    • Search Committee has been established for a new President

Meeting adjourned at 3 p.m.
Next meetings:
Thursday, March 21, 2019 – 2 p.m. – LaPenta End Zone
Thursday – To Be Determined - LaPenta End Zone
Thursday, May 7, 2019 – LaPenta End Zone