Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Nov. 11, 2002, edition 1 / Page 3
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
(tlir Daily aar Hrrl BOT Must Respect All OfUNC UNC-Chapel Hill’s faculty and staff are pretty much the Rodney Dangerfield of the University, at least when it comes to how the Board of Trustees treats the two groups. At its September meeting, the BOT - the highest governing body on the University campus - effectively shot down a proposal asking to give the Faculty Council and the Employee Forum each a nonvoting seat on the BOT. The proposal would have allowed a faculty member and a staff member to make sure that decisions rang ing from tuition increases to cam pus parking are made with the faculty and staff KAREY WUTKOWSKI UNIVERSITY COLUMNIST voice heard -a privilege already extended to students in 1972 through the creation of a seat for the student body president. But with litde discussion and no dis senting votes, the full BOT decided that privilege did not also need to be extended to faculty or staff members, with board members saying that they “don’t think this is the appropriate way to increase access” and that, “Once you start down that road, we could have a committee twice the size it is now.” Poor excuses to avoid adding two seats to a 13-member board that would make the body more representative of the university it is designed to serve. Despite the clear and unanimous message that the BOT sent out at its September meeting, the Employee Forum is coming back for more abuse. The forum passed a resolution last week asking for approval to go before the trustees at an upcoming meeting during which a representative would argue for employee representation cn the BOT. While this likely will be a futile act in terms of achieving that nonvoting seat, at least the employees are telling the administration that the lack of respect is unacceptable. Tommy Griffin, chairman of the Employee Forum and a mechanic with UNC Facilities Services, said the BOT’s rejection sent out a big message that the board doesn’t care about the University staff or the faculty. “I wasn’t mad, I wasn’t upset, I was just hurt,” Griffin said. “But we’ll just have to keep on trying.” Griffin said he won’t give up with proposals and entreaties to the BOT until it sees the worth of having direct employee representation on the board. “I’ve been here 30 years, and I’m not going anywhere,” Griffin said. One can hope the BOT will break down soon and see the worth of the direct representation for faculty and staff and the worth of showing respect toward the two sizeable groups. Especially because UNC-CH is behind other schools in the UNC sys tem. At Appalachian State University, the faculty chairman holds an ex offi cio position on the school’s governing board, as does the employee forum chairman at N.C. State University, according to Griffin and Sue Estroff, Faculty Council chairwoman. Although UNC-CH holds itself up as progressive, the BOT’s lack of desire to extend representation to these groups while other schools have done so shows a backward mind-set that is ' resistant to change and protective of maintaining the board’s status quo. The other schools’ willingness to add representation also pokes holes in the BOT’s argument that additional members would disrupt the balance and makeup of the board, which is set by the state legislature. The state’s statute prohibits state employees from holding voting seats on a school’s governing body. “Our subcommittee agreed with what the legislature did because of the separation of powers,” Trustee Jim Hynes said. “The general trend is to have outsiders serve on the board, not insiders.” But the general trend now seems to be that universities in the system are recognizing the overriding need to consider the faculty and staff voice when making crucial decisions regard ing the University. UNC-CH’s trustees, however, are instead actively turning down the Faculty Council and Employee Forum’s persuasive arguments as to why they deserve to be in on decisions that affect their careers and daily lives. So UNC-CH’s faculty and staff best break out their cigars and bad jokes because, in the words of Dangerfield, they “don’t get no respect.” Karey Wutkowski can be reached at karey@email.unc.edu. ASG Cuts Administrative VP Post . DTH/BETH FLOYD ASG President Jonathan Ducote speaks to the UNC-system BOG. 1 iHRHBi MM PfTr ijiLaJJIMMMIiiILI ■ ; .. ■■ IftJaL fs£j9 - • -- .jj'* I DTH/DAVID UN Chancellor James Moeser thanks employees of the University on Friday at a Staff Appreciation Day reception for their hard work. The day's theme was "Standing on the Shoulders" in recognition of employees' long history of support for the University. UNC Gives Thanks to Employees Reception showed appreciation for services and support to the University By Kate Harrington Staff Writer University staff and faculty gathered under a blue autumn sky Friday to be recognized for their longtime service and support. Employees from maintenance workers to men tors to librarians enjoyed refreshments, listened to music and conversed with friends, content to be away from desks and dirty residence hall rooms for a few hours. As the crowd setded, Chancellorjames Moeser addressed faculty and staff, thanking the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund, Bull’s Head Bookshop and the North Carolina Collection for helping to make the event possible. Moeser tagged the theme for the day’s events, which were held in the brick courtyard next to the new Union, as “Standing on the Shoulders” in recognition of the fact that without one’s predeces sors, what people do today would not be possible. “The University has a proud 209-year history because the people who have labored here have SHS Gets High Marks on Preliminary Survey By Rob Leichner Staff Writer The ambulatory care facilities at Student Health Service received a score of 97 out of 100 on a preliminary survey conducted Oct. 29 and Oct. 30 by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, SHS offi cials said Friday. “We’re ecstatic at the preliminary sur vey findings report,” said Bob Wirag, director of Student Health. JCAHO assigned to SHS a score of one, meaning “substantial compliance,” for all except one of its standards. Student Health received a five, meaning “non compliance,” for not posting enough pub lic notice about the review so community members could meet with the evaluators. Wirag said Student Health officials thought that they were complying with the public notice requirement, as they took the same measures they have taken in successful reviews since 1986. “We had the notice posted all over A full-time employee will fill the position By Jennifer Samuels Assistant State & National Editor A subgroup of the UNC-system Association of Student Governments voted unanimously Saturday to elimi nate the position of vice president of administration for the 2002-03 school year. The Council of Student Body Presidents, which also acts as the ASG board of directors, came to the conclu sion that the position is unnecessary, said council Chairman Ryan Eller, a stu dent at Appalachian State University. “The council has voted to withdraw that search for this year,” he said. “We believed in the institution and what it represents,” he said. Tommy Griffin, Employee Forum chairman, spoke with admiration of the first student, the first professor and the first steward to come to the University. Griffin reminded employees that they are invaluable. “Employees are worth so much more than we could ever pay them,” Griffin said. “Take pride in who you are and where you work.” Moeser emphasized his appreciation of the staff and informed them that their lack of adequate pay had not gone unnoticed. Sue Estroff, Faculty Council chairwoman, reminded the faculty and staff present that none of them had come to the University to get rich. “We just want what we deserve,” she said. “We don’t want to leave the University so we can afford to send our children here.” But while many employees think they are not paid what they deserve for their services, there certainly was no shortage of love for the University on Friday. Student Health, but we failed to put it in (The Daily Tar Heel),” Wirag said. “Our interpretation was that if it was posted more than 30 days in advance, people that wanted to make appointments (with surveyors) would.” The final accreditation will not occur for 12 to 16 weeks while JCAHO ana lysts study the results of the survey, said JCAHO spokeswoman Charlene Hill. But Wirag said he is confident the final results will be similar to those in the preliminary survey. Hill commended SHS for inviting surveyors. “The fact that this organizar tion voluntarily invited an independent team of evaluators to examine the orga nization from top to bottom speaks loudly to their credibility,” he said. Hill said only two other Chapel Hill facilities are accredited by JCAHO - Chapel Hill Surgical Center and Piedmont Health Services. She added that accreditation for ambulatory care centers is especially important because they give short-term treatment and News don’t need it. The funding can be used in a different way.” The decision does not need to be approved by the full ASG. The position originally was to be filled by a student who then would have hired a full-time administrator, said ASG President Jonathan Ducote, who also sits on the UNC-system Board of Governors as a nonvoting member. The UNC-system General Administration will take over the search for a full-time administrator - who will serve as a full-time office manager and administrative assistant - because of a change in hiring policy, Ducote said. The administrator now will be classi- patients often are sent away with unsat isfactory results. “When you think about ambulatory care, you don’t stay overnight at the facility,” Hill said. “You go in, you get treated, and you go home.” At its last review, in November 1999, JCAHO surveyors told Student Health that it needed to improve its medication use, its strategic planning and its leader’s role in improving the ambulatory center’s performance to achieve full accreditation, according to the JCAHO Web site. By May 2000, improvement was seen in all of these areas, and Student Health was awarded a score of 95 out of 100. Wirag said he is confident this review will yield positive results, which he said was a main reason he invited the sur veyors back. “It’s something that we choose to do every three years because it’s like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval,” Wirag said. “We want to be part of that pool that is accredited.” The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. fied as an employee who must follow the guidelines of the State Employee Act, he said. Prior to the change, the administrator fell into a category that exempted him from the regulations. Ducote said the change in classifica tion means the hiring now falls under the responsibility of the General Administration. He added that the hiring responsibil ity also placed an undue burden on him and his staff. The new office manager likely will be in place by 2003. Ducote said the vice president posi tion was eliminated because ASG offi cials are getting smarter in the way they See ASG, Page 4 Employees expressed their appreciation for the reception, saying every little bit helps. Connie McPherson, who works for the Department of Public Safety, has been with the University for 27 years. “We feel so unappreciated that any efforts the administration makes to show appreciation is a positive,” she said. Shamiika Queen graduated from UNC in 1998, later returning to work in Davis Library. She expressed similar sentiments about the University. “This is very important, because I feel at times that we are the backbone, doing behind-the-scenes work,” she said. The reception ended with a raffle that gave employees the opportunity to rack up on UNC gear like umbrellas and hats. As raffle tickets were drawn, Griffin made one last request. “Make it a point to thank all the people who work here and express appreciation to one anoth er.” The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. SEAC CLEANS UP KENAN w jg.v. ,5 ‘ DTH/JON KIRBY Senior Valerie Bruchon, a member of Student Environmental Action Coalition, picks up trash after the football game Saturday. SEAC came to Kenan Stadium to collect the recyclable items left behind. Coalition members have said they are unhappy with the stadium's recycling efforts, although there are recycling bins at Kenan's major gates. Monday, November 11, 2002 S5 Closes Early for Phase II Ramshead project begins construction By Arman Tolentino Staff Writer Starting today, students who normal ly park in the S5 lot will have to move to the Sll lot to make way for con struction on the new Ramshead parking deck. The $65 million facility, to be locat ed between Kenan Field House and the George Watts Hill Alumni Center, will have a 700-space, three-level parking deck topped with a two-story campus recreation building and a two-story stu dent dining facility. The Department of Public Safety sent an e-mail to S5 permit holders Wednesday stating that, “S5 permits, were issued for this lot effective through Dec. 15 in hopes that construction would not start until the fall semester ended.” But because construction began ear lier than expected, students with S5 per mits must either park in the Sll lot or join the Commuter Alternative Program and use Chapel Hill Transit services from one of the park-and-ride lots. Students opting for the CAP can turn in their parking permits for a refund, which will be prorated every week. Some students are upset about the change. See RAMSHEAD, Page 4 Campus to Continue Conserving Every Drop Counts program will go on By Alex Granados Staff Writer The faucets might be flowing freely in Chapel Hill because of the lifting of water restrictions, but campus conser vation efforts will continue. Carolyn Elfland, vice chancellor for campus services, said that although there no longer will be restrictions oh personal use, the conservation program will continue. “We are not going to be doing things like telling people not to flush their toilets,” she said. “We are still going to continue to look for sustainable ways of conserving water.” The program that brought multiple water conservation efforts under one banner was Every Drop Counts. The University sought to spread awareness of the drought and to reduce campus consumption of water by 25 percent. Ray Dußose, UNC’s director of energy services, said conservation methods including water-free urinals, stills to make distilled water from recy cled water and publicity to spread awareness of the program were among steps taken to make it a success. But conserving water is also a job for students. Rick Bradley, assistant direc tor of housing services, said conserva tion was a success, even in campus res- See RESTRICTIONS, Page 4 3
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 11, 2002, edition 1
3
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75