February 2022
Identify a staff governance structure similar to the Faculty Senate. And the Staff-Work-Life Committee needs to communicate more.
- With the full support of the President and the Cabinet, shared governance is actively being discussed. Members of the Faculty Senate, Administrative Council, Staff Work Life Committee and the Undergraduate Association have begun the process of defining how we all work together in support of Nazareth students.
- The process of establishing a system of shared governance at Nazareth will take time, however the work has begun with research, looking at examples of other institutions that have shared governance across the three groups; faculty, staff and students. We encourage staff who are interested in helping with this work to reach out to either their Administrative Council representative or members of the Staff Work Life Committee.
- Also, please know that both the Administrative Council and the Staff Work Life Committee meet monthly. Meeting minutes of the Staff Work Life Committee are available to the community.
- As a committee, we will continue to strive to communicate with our staff colleagues often.
Staff should be given an annual day off between New Years and Memorial Day. The most beneficial time for an extra day off would be either the Monday Spring Break starts or the Friday of Spring Break Week since there will be no students on campus.
- Staff are allotted two floating holidays per-year, in addition to their vacation time and the College holidays. Staff are encouraged to take time away from work when it will be most beneficial to them.
Reserve Faculty/Staff parking should be added to the parking lot behind Peckham Hall.
- At this time there are no plans to add reserved parking in campus parking lots.
November 2021
I would like to suggest that any increase in health care premiums be tiered in connection with each individual’s salary, perhaps on a percentage basis as pay rises are.
- Nazareth Open Enrollment was November 5 to 9, 2021. Health care premiums were not raised, though this suggestion was discussed and the College has employed the tactic of offering more choice of health care plans in order for an individual to control their own costs.
Is the percentage that one has deducted for retirement set on base pay or is it adjusted on hourly employees to reflect overtime?
How can the Staff Work Life Committee assist with so many staff positions vacant here at Nazareth? Can there be a town hall with college staff and the committee members? SWL is the main group right now that can assist since HR has a lot on their plate.
- President Paul had “Coffee and Conversation” meetings on various dates and times with faculty and staff.
Salary range question: If our minimum wage is going to be $15/hour, shouldn't the supervisors of any student workers be making more than that, enough to make a difference? I know someone who has been at the college for 25 years, and is only making $18/hour. Current salaries matter too.
- Patrick Richey announced that the College will be engaging in total Compensation Benchmarking Review in 2022. This will take time as it is an involved process.
I think the staff morale is pretty low, with all the staff leaving, and the remaining staff doing multiple jobs. Many of us are considered "essential" enough not to be able to work from home as others could over the past year, and feelings are down.
- Work plans that include some flexibility and hybridity defined intentionally to support the work and effectiveness of each area in fulfilling our mission are being discussed at the Cabinet level. Please see 10/21/21 meeting minutes #2 “Breathing Room.”
Have someone come in and do a Medicare Workshop
- We hosted our first Medicare workshop in February 2020.
Place for people to post non work related items ~ recipes, requests for recommendations, selling tickets, looking for a ride, etc.
Have a shared sick bank for staff to donate their time for others who need it.
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Sick time is provided to staff employees for short-term medical leave. As a college funded benefit that is awarded annually, sick time is not transferable to other staff employees. The value of a sick day differs between employees. Transfer of days from one employee to another creates equity challenges, among other issues. In the event of a qualified medical leave, employees are eligible to receive New York State Disability benefits, which is in place to supplement pay. Besides sick time and NY disability, full time/full year employees receive paid time off benefits in the form of vacation and personal days that also can be used to supplement any medical leave. For eligible employees who require a medically related short-term leave, the College provides different options for leave of absences and continuation of benefits while on approved leave.
