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17 March 2020

Staff Advisory Council Meeting 

Tuesday, March 17, 2020 

Listening to and lifting staff voices to build an informed community

Calendar 

  • Tuesday, Mar 17 SAC meeting, Zoom Call, 9-10:00 am
  • Tuesday, April 21 SAC meeting, Zoom Call 
  • Tuesday, May 19 SAC meeting, Zoom Call
  • June Val Smith to meet with SAC for a report out (tentative)

Attendees 

Susan Eagar, Lynn Grady, Oliver H, Pam Harris, Mel Leeds, Diane Fritz, Trish T, Nabil K., Molly, Felicite Gibson, Jean Nilan, Pam Borkowski-Valentin

SAC Member News, Jenna Rose is moving to new employment.

9:30 AM Guest:  Robin Shores, Director of Institutional Research

Comments/Questions/Suggestions  (10 min. each):

  • Coronavirus
    • https://www.swarthmore.edu/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-information
    • Center for Disease Control : CDC FAQ
      • Susan to check in with Onecard about the four different Essential designations for employees and Onecard Access.
        • Question:  Do all staff currently have access to all buildings throughout campus as they normally do?
        • OneCard response:  Yes, general faculty and staff access is still in place with the exception of the Matchbox.
      • Dining is working on these designations now: students on campus are allowed to swipe into dining. They are served breakfast at Essie’s Snack Bar; lunch and dinner at the Dining Hall
      • Are Staff, required to be on campus, receiving Hazard Pay for working during a Pandemic? Not as of today.
  • Cross-campus staff committees  (5 min)
    We are creating a list of cross-campus committees. SAC can serve as advocates for inclusive committee building. 
    • Committee Survey seeking interest and nominations has been sent. 
    • We received a fair number of responses.
    • At a future meeting, review the list of committees, discuss responses to survey, and consider best practices [review inclusive committee formation].
    • The note below mentions best practices for inclusive committee formation:

      “Thank you for recently sharing the SAC survey on committees with the College community. It was great to see this swift action that resulted from the joint SAC/AAC meeting.  As you may recall from last month's discussion, one of the working groups from the 2019 Racial Equity Institute hosted by Shá Duncan Smith focused on recommendations for ensuring more diverse committee representation.

      Please find attached a summary of those meetings, which I hope will inform the planning for this burgeoning initiative. Additionally, I'd like to share Vanderbilt's best practices for inclusive committee formation as a model of guiding principles that the College could consider adopting as well as some relevant campus climate survey data (see highlighted text).

      Shá offered that Lynne Schofield would be a good contact for learning about the recent restructuring of COFP and how it might inform our process on the staff side. She also lifted up SGO as having a "seamless" appointment and application process.  Nate Miller graciously offered to be a liaison to SGO if needed.”
  • Question: I have one quick question or concern for you.  How is the College addressing the issue of plastic bag recycling?  I hate to discard plastic bags or bubble wrap, however, the College does not provide recycling amenities for items like these.  Do you know of plans to accept plastic bags and bubble wrap for recycling?
    • Answer: Pam Harris will contact Aurora Winslade, Director of Sustainability, at a future time.