July 8, 2020 Staff Senate General Body Meeting Recap.

by | Jul 10, 2020 | Meeting, Updates

The WCU Staff Senate kicked off its 2021 fiscal year on Wednesday, July 8, 2020.

Chancellor Kelli R. Brown provided a report to the Senate which included:

  • Steps the University is taking to prepare for a return to in person classes in August.
  • Celebration for WCU Police Chief Steve Lillard who was recognized by a national campus safety organization for his work.
  • Gratitude that the NC General Assembly and Gov. Roy Cooper approved a mini-budget which allocates funding for WCU’s steam plant.  Learn more about the legislation here.
  • A message of thanks to the Staff Senate for their work on the recent campus forum and for the work being done on the upcoming campus forum which will address topics of equity, racism, and justice.  Check out the recap of the June 26 forum here.

WCU’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Dr. Cory Causby offered updates related to paid administrative leave (PAL) and highlighted the new shared leave bank which is available to any leave earning employee. This may prove helpful for staff members in the wake of the reduction in the amount of available PAL. Employees who would like to donate to the leave bank can access the form with this link.  Dr. Causby also noted that there is an application process in place for those employees who are in high risk categories (or have a household member who meets these criteria) and for which onsite work could place them further at risk may request assistance through the University’s formal request process.

Newly elected SGA President Dawson Spencer provided an update on the coming year for student government and reminded everyone how seriously SGA is taking its responsibility to model the way and ensure that students were taking proper precautions.

Committee reports were provided by the Senate’s four committees: Governance, Human Resources, Public Relations, and Scholarship and Professional Development.  These committees are also starting their new year.  New Senators will be asked to choose their committee before the next full Senate meeting.

Finally, Chancellor Brown noted that Dr. Peter Hans, current President of the UNC Community College System has been named President-elect of the UNC System.  Read the full article here.

The next meeting of the Staff Senate will take place via ZOOM on Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at 8:30a.m.  You may access the meeting via the this link.