Student Affairs Staff Council
Meeting Minutes 04/20/2016
Council Members Present: Julie (Housing & Dining), Megan (Student Money Management Center), Kacey (VCSA Office), Amy (Nebraska Unions & Student Involvement), Linda (Center for Civic Engagement), Kerra (OASIS), Jon (Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life), Gary (Campus Recreation)
· “Franco Fridays” Coffee Social- Kacey & Dr. Franco
o Dr. Franco asked for the Council’s thoughts on the 2nd Franco Friday which was held on April 8th
§ Kacey said about 50 people attended the first Franco Friday and about 45 people attended the second one, and she thought there were different people that came to each one
o Dr. Franco said the next one will be in the early fall and that he would like to have two per semester
o Linda asked when the new dining hall would be open
§ Julie said she thought fall of 2017
o Dr. Franco asked the Council where the next Franco Friday should be held
§ Julie suggested east campus rec
§ Kacey asked if people would actually go out to east campus for a Franco Friday
§ Megan suggested doing it at 8 am or 4 pm so people wouldn’t have to go back and forth between east campus and their office
§ An east campus location was suggested for a Franco Friday next spring
§ Linda suggested doing a fall one at a housing building
§ Julie suggested the lounge by Abel
o Kacey asked the Council if we would want to have the next Franco Friday before or after fall celebration
§ Dr. Franco suggested after fall celebration since the first few weeks of school are always really busy for everyone
· Dr. Franco’s Report
o President Bounds laid out 4 priorities at his investiture, including making Nebraska the best place to be for a student, research, working with the community, and investing in people
o Chancellor-elect Green wants to fill the two positions he is currently occupying, so he will name interims soon, and then national searches will begin
o There are four final candidates for the position of Director of the Gaughan Center. Staff will have time to meet with all of the candidates
o Candidates are currently being interviewed for the position of Dean of the College of Architecture
o Candidates are currently being interviewed for the position of Associate Vice Chancellor for International Engagement and Global Strategies
o The Nebraska Board of Regents toured UNL last Friday and saw the City Union, the new Adele Hall Learning Commons in Love Library, the East Union, and the East Campus Recreation & Wellness Center
o The East Campus library will eventually be renovated
o Honors Convocation is coming up
o Franco’s List & service learning awards celebration is tonight
o Lavender Graduation is tomorrow
o Julie asked Dr. Franco if there was any new news on the status of summer graduation
§ Dr. Franco said there will be no formal change to summer graduation as of now
· Fall Celebration- Kacey
o The theme will be “UNL in Transition”
o Kerra suggested using legos or old pictures of buildings
o Megan suggested that each table could have a different building or department featured
o Julie suggested finding an old picture of Dr. Franco
o Kacey asked the Council if we should scrap the transformers idea?
§ The Council agreed to get rid of that idea
o Linda suggested featuring the different mascots over the years
o Jon mentioned that he has some old maps of UNL
o Linda said that there are probably lots of old pictures of campus rec available
o Julie suggested putting the pictures on the slideshow instead of printing them
o Kerra suggested asking questions about the old pictures as an activity
o Megan suggested linking the prizes to the question answers
o Linda suggested hanging some of the pictures outside in the hall when people are walking in
o Jon said we could show the transition of UNL’s logos
o Kacey said we will tentatively have the Fall Celebration on September 30th
· New Employee Welcome- Kacey
o Julie suggested doing the napkins in fall colors
§ Kacey said the theme will probably be Red & White
o Linda asked if the day for this event has been set yet
§ Kacey said no and asked the Council if it should be before or after Fall Celebration?
Ø Amy suggested before Fall Celebration
§ Jon and Kacey suggested Friday, September 16th
o Linda asked what the agenda will look like for this event
§ Kacey said CSAD (Council of Student Affairs Directors) will be there, there will be ice breakers, and they will go through the employee handbook
§ Linda suggested maybe we could get Chancellor-elect Green to come
§ Kacey said directors will introduce themselves and tell the new employees about their department
o Julie asked if there is an organizational chart of the division
§ Megan and Kacey said that there is already one in the employee handbook
o Julie said that some people from Residence Life came to one of her department’s events and did ice breakers and suggested we ask them to come
o Linda suggested asking Kris Baack for ice breaker ideas
o Jon suggested telling the new employees about events that happen every year
o Linda suggested communicating campus traditions to the new employees
o Linda said that maybe we should add a calendar of events
o Amy suggested making a calendar and contact card to give out to the new employees
o Linda suggested also giving them a list of higher ed. terms
o Megan suggested explaining to them some of the Student Affairs acronyms that are often used
· Department Updates
o Linda- Center for Civic Engagement
§ Annual Center for Civic Engagement celebration this afternoon
§ Franco’s List awards
§ 8 students will receive a certificate of civic engagement
§ Working on compiling an annual assessment report
o Kerra- OASIS (Office of Academic Success and Intercultural Services)
§ Currently interviewing for two new program coordinators
§ Last diversity event will be tonight for Asian Heritage Month
§ Starting to get ready for NSE (New Student Enrollment)
o Gary- Campus Recreation
§ Annual shutdown week will be the first week after graduation, May 8-15, which corresponds with the steam outage. East Campus Rec & Wellness center will still be open during this time. This gives campus rec a chance to do some deep cleaning
o Jon- Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life
§ Prepping for NSE
§ Recruitment begins in May
o Julie- Dining Services & Housing
§ Biggest summer conference year ever
§ Dining centers will all be closed the week of May 8th
§ Selleck will be host for NSE students and parents
§ Selleck will be open for all summer holidays
o Amy- Nebraska Unions & Student Involvement
§ Construction will be happening on the South side of the union
§ Conference rooms will be updated
§ There are some open positions in Student Involvement
§ There will be fixed media in Centennial and the Ballroom
§ The Georgian Suite will be re-done
o Megan- Student Money Management
§ Next week is Money Smart Week. Will be having a booth with Union Bank in front of their branch with identity theft tips, chips, and the plinko game
§ This month is Financial Literacy Month
The next meeting will be Wednesday, May 18th