Minutes of the Meeting of Tuesday, October 12, 1999

Minutes of the Meeting of Tuesday, October 12, 1999, 2:00 p.m., Octavia II

PRESENT:

Al Alcazar
Michelle Andrews
Jay Calamia
Bob Gross
Charlotte Harris
Gail Howard
Dave Huffman
Avia Morgan
Robert Reed
Paula Ruiz-Saurage
Karen Shields
Jay Sonier
Arthur Stern

ABSENT:

Catherine Comiskey
Debbie Diliberto
Germayne Turner

PROXIES:

Tim Albert for Germayne Turner

I. Arthur Stern called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m.

II. Approval and/or correction of the Minutes of the September 14, 1999 meeting

MOTION was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the September 14, 1999 meeting. MOTION passed.

III. Old Business

Jay Calamia wanted to revisit the parking proposal letter sent to Dr. Eiseman. Even though the Express Card/Parking Services office was dissolved, he thought we should pursue a response for improvements in parking. There are still problems that need to be addressed and the Vice President of Student Affairs is the appropriate person to answer these concerns. All senators were in agreement that the parking proposal issue be continued. Mr. Stern will draft a reminder memo and submit it with a copy of the original letter to Dr. Eiseman. Al Alcazar suggested that we also mention that an answer is needed before our next meeting. Mr. Stern will send a draft to the Executive Committee by the end of the week.

IV. New Business

A. Mr. Stern welcomed Al Alcazar as the new senator for the Division of Academic Affairs. His term will expire in June of 2000. Billie Baladouni is the new alternate for that Division.

B. Committee Reports:

1. Rec Sports & Athletics - R. Reed - Jerry Hernandez was named Full-Time Athletic Director; an assistant is being hired. There is a new policy in place to increase attendance at home games. Admission is free to everyone with a Loyola ID. A new Wolfpack logo has been approved.

2. Parking - R. Reed - The committee has met twice. In the absence of the three former employees of Parking Services, a University Police officer has been attending the meetings and learning about the Parking Committee. The next meeting will be held on Monday, October 18.

3. Fringe Benefits - J. Sonier - There has been no meeting since last month because the consultants are waiting for more results of the health insurance survey.

4. Jesuit/Catholic Identity - D. Huffman - At the last meeting, Joseph Mansfield was the main speaker. He gave details about Institutional Advancement’s ties with Jesuit and Catholic Identity. Mr. Huffman thought that the staff should be exposed to our Jesuit Identity at orientation. He met with Donna Goforth, Employee Coordinator, to discuss the inclusion of a Jesuit Identity presentation at the time of hire. A clear definition of Jesuit Identity has not been finalized.

5. UPT - A. Stern - At the September meeting, Fr. Knoth spoke on goals and said that the strategic goal of the university was revised to reflect that, "As a Catholic, Jesuit university, Loyola University New Orleans seeks to be one of the leading comprehensive universities in the nation…" Dr. Voigt formed several small committees to work toward the UPT goals. Institutional Objective #5 concerning staff will be discussed in February. Mr. Stern is chairing the committee that deals with the staff objective. He said that beginning next month we must begin discussing the objective and collaborating with the sub-committee. There was also a full report by Debbie Stieffel on admissions. Mr. Reed added that there was a discussion on the number of students the campus facilities could support because there were some concerns about another large freshman class coming in next year.

V. Guest - Fr. Bernard P. Knoth, S.J., University President

Fr. Knoth began by mentioning that the freshman class of 809 students was wonderful and that we had a good start to the school year. There has been some slippage in retention of upper level students. Most revenue comes from upper classmen because the freshman class is the most heavily discounted. It is important to keep the mix balanced and not just look at head count numbers.

Some fall activities include the recent Loyola at the Met night presented by the College of Music, which was very well attended. Alumni weekend is coming up, and the Lindy Boggs Center is scheduled to have its grand opening on October 22. He also said the Board of Trustees approved new goals for fund-raising, ($39.5 million).

There have been two meetings of the Steering Committee of the University Budget Committee, but the full committee has not yet met. Only preliminary discussions have begun on tuition increases and on raises in salaries for the upcoming budget year.

He answered a question on his opinion of staff morale. He responded that he realizes it is mixed; some areas are problematic. He said that the principal focus of the university is education, with a commitment to the community and to social justice. He also stated that, outside of the medical business, he thinks that Loyola employees get the best fringe benefits on medical insurance. Ms. Harris added that the results of a recent survey support the claim that our employees pay very little for health insurance and also have the best coverage.

He answered other questions concerning future changes, our Jesuit Identity, City College and Law School numbers, renovations to Biever and Cabra Halls and the Danna Center, and his perception of student morale.

IV. New Business (cont.)

C. September 17 Board of Trustees Meeting

At the last meeting, there were several closed executive sessions. New board members were introduced and there were reports from the subcommittees.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:31 p.m.