May 13 2004 Minutes
Virginia Dare Room, Alumni House

Attending: Linda Anderson, Linda Bennett, Alan Bridge, Clarice Burns, Sarah Carrigan, Lenore Coleman, Pat Combs, Karen Core, Sarah Cottrell, Ralice Gertz, Trudy Hennings, Mike Johnson, Pat Joyner, Ronnette King, Sherri MacCheyne, Kathleen McGirty, Lee Odom, Rick Pegram, Chris Russell, Cheryl Sarratt, Angela Scott, Bob Snyder, Susan Taaffe, Kathy Watford, Bill Zahn.

Absent with notice: Gregory Barnette, Margo Flanagan, Kelly Hilliard, Mike Johnson (resigned), Lucy Robbins

Absent: Tim Barkley, Blondie Johnson, Lillie Russell, Erma Totten, Chuck Underwood

Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Ronnette King.

Roll Call
The roll was passed. There were 23 members and 4 visitors present.
Minutes of the April Meeting
The minutes of the April 8 meeting were approved without changes.

University Email Update
Jeanie Roberts-Wyatt and Tariq Mahmood from Information Technology and MIS presented information about the new University-wide email system that is to be implemented in stages beginning this summer. Last year, the University's Email Task Force defined requirements for a single email system to replace the array currently in place. Lotus Notes 6.51 has been selected as the most appropriate system for our campus, can eliminate spam, and will run on 5 servers. The name "eSpartan" has been chosen after a campus-wide naming contest. Migration will begin first in the Office of Information Technology later this month and continue in the following order: students, faculty/ staff, Student Affairs, Business Affairs, Academic Affairs, the professional schools, and College of Arts & Sciences.
There will be training sessions offered all summer beginning first with new students during SOAR. Check the following websites for additional information: http://newemail.uncg.edu and http://emailproject.uncg.edu.

University Logo Update
Debbie Shallock, Assistant Director of Marketing for University Relations, presented the most recent logo design groups selected after a 2 _ year process. She asked Staff Council members to rate the groups. The University hopes to launch the new images in August. Offices will gradually change over to the new images as the need for new stationary and printed materials arises.
Human Resource Update
Deb Carley reported that at least she had no bad news to bring to the group. The University Benefits Committee, a group of faculty, staff, and administrators appointed by the Chancellor, has been looking at different vendors and considering whether or not there are any new benefits that might be implemented for employees when funding becomes available. Due to lack of funding, nothing new has been implemented in the past 4-5 years.
Deb explained she needed feedback from Staff Council about two items being considered: a Prepaid Legal Plan, which could be useful for closing on a house, writing wills, divorce proceedings, and a Long-Term Care Plan. Legal premiums could be provided relatively inexpensively through the University and would be approximately $18-$20 per month. Long term care in North Carolina now averages $3,000 per month, so premiums for a Long Term Care Plan would be expensive. For a 60-year-old staff member, the cost would be $200 per month and the plan would operate like car insurance or term insurance with no payout of death benefits.
Several Staff Council representatives mentioned other areas of interest including pet insurance, payroll deduction for UNCG summer camps, and cancer insurance. Deb mentioned that the Flexible Benefits program will be adding a term life insurance plan and a cancer plan in the near future. Information about the new Flexible Benefits Convenience Card which will go into effect July 1 is in the mail to staff.

UNCG Athletics Marketing Update
Dee Mittman, Internal Relations Director of Marketing for Intercollegiate Athletics, distributed brochures and flyers about the University's athletic events. She encouraged Staff Council members to take advantage of opportunities to enjoy the events and support our teams. In addition, athletic camps ( phone: 334-5213) and athletic birthday parties (334-3252) may be of special interest to staff with children.

Chair Update
Ronnette reminded committee chairs that their annual reports are due to her by May 30. The Professional Development Committee has invited UNCG Alumna Vicki Honeycutt to be the guest speaker at our June 10 meeting. Honeycutt is employed by Rick Fuller Realtors and will discuss change in the workplace. The meeting is also our annual Staff Council Luncheon meeting to which new members and past chairs will be invited.
Ronnette also encouraged the group to check out the new Staff Council website and expressed thanks to the Web Committee for their time and efforts toward this undertaking.

Other Business
Cheryl Sarratt stated that results from last fall's Staff Council Survey had been tallied by Pat Joyner and would be distributed to members next week by email.

Committee Updates
Finance - L. Coleman - Lenore reported that she is working on the budget.
Nominations - Mike Byers - No report
Professional Development - Kathy Watford. No report, other than Ronnette's announcement about Vicky Honeycutt's planned visit next month.
Public Relations - Pat Joyner - No report, other than that the survey was ready to be distributed to members.
Liaison - Tim Barkley - Tim reported that Staff Excellence Awards had been presented to Chris Aaroe, a project manager with Physical Plant, and to Touger Vang, processing supervisor with the Financial Aid Office on May 5 at the University's Excellence Day awards ceremony. Lee Odom would be Staff Council Liaison chair next year.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 11:42 am.
Respectfully submitted by Cheryl Sarratt.
Next meeting: June 10, 2004 from 10:00 am - 12:00 noon in the Virginia Dare Room.
Agenda: Presentation by Guest Speaker Vicky Honeycutt on "Change". Recognition of retiring Staff Council members. Annual Staff Council Luncheon for old an new members.