TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting April 16, 2009 Page 11

Tulane University Staff Advisory Council Minutes of Thursday, April 16, 2009

ATTENDEES ATTENDEES

DOWNTOWN CAMPUS OFFICERS Susan Barrera, Chair Present Glenda Folse Present Rhonda Earles, Vice Chair Present Karen Hiller Excused Gwen Chavez, Election Coordinator Present Tami Jenniskens Excused Lisa Britton, Recording Secretary, Present Member at Large Roxanne Johnson Excused Cheryl Sterling, Corresp. Secretary Proxy Paula Lucas Excused Jered Bocage, Parliamentarian Excused Linda Miller Present Cindy Stewart Absent MEMBERS – AT – LARGE Shirley Tubre Absent Rob Platner Present Merisa Pasternak (proxy) Excused Yesenia Vasquez (proxy) Absent

UPTOWN CAMPUS INVITED GUESTS Marty Brantley Absent Cheryl Avera, WFMO Present Liz Davey Absent Jean Holtman, WFMO Present Shirley Dymond Present Cathy Tsagournos, WFMO Present Miriam Espinosa Present Cynthia Hayes, Immediate Present Past Chair Aaron Martin Present Lisa O’Dwyer Absent Judy Vitrano Present VISITORS Linda Wright Proxy Mike Griffith (proxy for Linda Wright) Present Argentina Acosta (proxy) Absent Wendy King (proxy for Cheryl Sterling) Present Jenny Daigle Benoit (proxy) Absent Laurie Orgeron (proxy) Present

NORTHSHORE Eileen deHaro Present Mary Little Present Robert Johnson (proxy) Absent

All Officers are serving the Staff Advisory Council term 2008 – 2009 TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting April 16, 2009 Page 2

Call to Order: Susan Barrera, SAC Chair, called the April 16, 2009 meeting of the Staff Advisory Council to order at 3:33 p.m. The meeting was held at the Lavin-Bernick Center, the Race Conference Room on the uptown campus.

I. Review and Approval of the Minutes

Chair Barrera called for a motion to approve the March 12, 2009 minutes, and the minutes were approved.

II. Report of the Chair, Susan Barrera

Chair Barrera does not have a report today but a few reminders:  Invite everyone to attend the Tulane baseball game tomorrow night. This game has been designated as a faculty and staff event. She has some tickets if anyone is planning to attend the game. In honor of Mary Little’s 40 years of service with Tulane, Mary has been asked to throw out the first pitch of the game. So please come out and cheer for Mary and the team.

 Susan will be meeting with Anne Banos to discuss a few pending issues and hope to have some information for us at our next meeting.

 Our next meeting has been moved to Tuesday May 12th to accommodate Scott Cowen schedule and will be uptown again here in LBC Race Room.

III. WFMO Liaison

Chair Barrera introduced our guest Cheryl Avera (Director, Compensation and Benefits), who was also joined by Jean Holtman (Associate Vice President, WFMO), and Cathy Tsagournos (Director, WFMO Strategy Planning and Implementation).

Cheryl Avera gave the following on the retirement plans with Fidelity and TIAA CREF: In response to SAC’s request to offer general meetings about the plans, WFMO targeted those employees that are just now becoming eligible to participate in the plan and those employees that are eligible but have not enrolled. A total of three sessions were scheduled with 120 people invited to attend and only a total of 11 people attended.

Going forward in May, both Fidelity and TIAA-CREF have scheduled another general meeting. Dates have not been firmed up for June yet and will need to re-evaluate if the general meetings are effective

Appears the individualized meetings are more favorably received. Those meetings are always booked. TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting April 16, 2009 Page 3

Question from floor: How can we help get these individuals to enroll? Is there something we as SAC members can do to assist? Unfortunately no, this is a role that has to be handled by WFMO to be responsible in supervising. WFMO cannot advise or recommend any particular information to an individual and that is why this needs to be handled by WFMO. WFMO can only recommend they enroll. Everyone needs to understand that this is a free benefit, and to participate in this benefit, they have to enroll.

Question from floor: Are they aware that they do not have to contribute any money to be eligible? It is clear in all communications they only have to enroll. All information is clearly listed on the instructions on when and where to go to enroll. Unfortunately some individuals have not found the time to enroll. These individuals receive phone calls, emails, letters, approximately five communications are sent out encouraging them to enroll in a plan. These employees have to be pro active and be responsible.

Question from the floor: Are these people on the lower end of the salary range? Could it be they do not understand the retirement process and enrolling? No, it is across the full spectrum, faculty and varied salaried background.

Jean Holtman gave the following summary on the recent Employee Milestone Anniversary event recently held.

Sessions were held at each of the campuses – uptown, downtown and the Primate Center to give a more personalized feeling. Each recipient was given a gift certificate to go online and choose their own gift. A 40 year honoree is here at our SAC meeting, Mary Little, and a 30 year honoree Glenda Folse. Both were applauded by members at this meeting.

Chair Barrera asked the WFMO panel if for future events, SAC would like to be invited to assist as greeters at the events to represent SAC.

Question from the floor to the WFMO panel: We were informed that drug and alcohol testing is starting as the Primate Center. Is this testing for the Primate Center only? The testing is starting at the Primate Center and will continue to all campuses.

IV. Officer Reports

A. University Senate Rhonda Earles gave the following report on the April 6, 2009 Senate meeting. (This report is almost a duplicate of the report given to the Board on March 19, 2009.)

President Cowen’s report centered on four items: signs of hope, challenges to overcome, current priorities and strategic questions. TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting April 16, 2009 Page 4

Signs of Hope. All indications are that the renewal plan is working. Student interest and quality are at an all-time high; the faculty and staff remain committed to the university and its mission; our civic engagement initiatives are garnering recognition and awards; our relationships with New Orleans and Louisiana governments are improved; national visibility has increased; the stimulus package offers strategic opportunities.

Challenges to Overcome. Katrina legacy issues (FEMA, insurance, legal disputes, financial recovery and perceptions of New Orleans), rebuilding areas/functions decimated by Katrina (i.e., development, clinical care mission), and the economic downturn. The university has seen: a decrease in its endowment value and payout, a decrease in major gift giving, a reduction in state support (primarily through the state’s capitation program), an increase in financial aid, a constrained ability to increase future tuition, and yield uncertainty.

Current Priorities. President Cowen’s chief priority is prudent fiscal management: maintain cash and liquidity, hiring and salary (>$35K) freezes, limit nonsalary expenses and capital investments, and increase revenue where possible. Revenue generation is not an issue; cost containment is the issue currently. Other priorities include: maintaining intellectual capital (furloughs and layoffs are not planned for now), maintaining our strategic strengths, increasing donor participation and unrestricted giving, leveraging stimulus package opportunities, and positioning the university for fast recovery as the recession ends. This last priority will include: conducting a higher education environmental scan, refining our strategy as needed, enhancing leadership/intellectual capital, and rebuilding the development platform.

Strategic Questions. 1) Are we at a tipping point in higher education where our traditional mission and /or modes of operation are no longer appropriate? The university must decide if it will return to standard operating procedures after the recession and, if not, what should change and what should be discontinued. The general consensus is that the university is doing too much and needs to re- establish its focus. 2) How can the School of Medicine fulfill its clinical care and GME missions in an uncertain healthcare environment? This needs to be answered with 24 months to 36 months. Should the university be in the business of clinical care and the hospital? 3) How can we advance our research and graduate education agendas in a severely constrained resource environment? Project 2020 has been recalled due to the economy. 4) Can we afford to keep the entering undergraduate class size at 1,400? If not, what are we sacrificing by increasing it. Admitting 1,600 students this fall will not be an issue regarding housing, but doing the same in 2010 will be problematic. The dorm rooms are not available to meet the requirement that freshmen and sophomores living on campus.

In response to a question regarding how other universities in New Orleans are faring since Katrina, President Cowen stated that 1) Dillard and UNO are not rebuilding their student headcounts as quickly as Tulane. 2) Dillard and Xavier did receive significant contributions following Katrina due to their HBCU TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting April 16, 2009 Page 5

(Historically Black Colleges and Universities) status. 3) UNO is also contending with the state cutbacks (a 15% decrease in its $125M budget). 4) Xavier’s issue regarding its pharmacy accreditation has been resolved. 5) Loyola’s losses totaled ~$5M, which is not nearly equivalent to the other universities in the GNO area; however, Loyola has experienced a large drop in enrollment. 6) SUNO is still not on its campus. 7) LSUHSC is experiencing a decline in La. students staying in the state. Its GME programs are hurting—residencies/fellowships are down and its research portfolio is relatively small.

President Cowen ended his presentation by asking “Who knows what the future holds? Katrina and the economic downturn have provided daunting challenges, uncertainty, anxiety and opportunities. Let’s focus on the opportunities while being fiscally prudent and as stable as possible.”

Other items: • Resolution regarding voting privileges for undergraduate student government council chairs – passed • Amendment to ASB Amendment Procedure, additional language regarding requesting omission of amendments – passed • The proposed student government representation changes – defeated • Reports were received from the following committees: athletics, library, educational policy, physical facilities, student affairs, and IT.

B. Board of Administrators Rhonda Earles gave the following report on the Board meeting held on March 19, 2009 for the General Session:

President Cowen’s report to the board centered on four items: signs of hope, challenges to overcome, current priorities and strategic questions.

Signs of Hope. All indications are that the renewal plan is working. Student interest and quality are at an all-time high; the faculty and staff remain committed to the university and its mission; our civic engagement initiatives are garnering recognition and awards; our relationships with New Orleans and Louisiana governments are improved; national visibility has increased; the stimulus package offers strategic opportunities.

Challenges to Overcome. Katrina legacy issues (FEMA, insurance, legal disputes, financial recovery and perceptions of New Orleans), rebuilding areas/functions decimated by Katrina (i.e., development, clinical care mission), and the economic downturn. The university has seen: a decrease in its endowment value and payout, a decrease in major gift giving, a reduction in state support (primarily through the state’s capitation program), an increase in financial aid, a constrained ability to increase future tuition, and yield uncertainty.

Current Priorities. President Cowen’s chief priority is prudent fiscal management: maintain cash and liquidity, hiring and salary (>$35K) freezes, limit nonsalary TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting April 16, 2009 Page 6

expenses and capital investments, and increase revenue where possible. Revenue generation is not an issue; cost containment is the issue currently. Other priorities include: maintaining intellectual capital (furloughs and layoffs are not planned for now), maintaining our strategic strengths, increasing donor participation and unrestricted giving, leveraging stimulus package opportunities, and positioning the university for fast recovery as the recession ends. This last priority will include: conducting a higher education environmental scan, refining our strategy as needed, enhancing leadership/intellectual capital, and rebuilding the development platform.

Strategic Questions. 1) Are we at a tipping point in higher education where our traditional mission and /or modes of operation are no longer appropriate? The university must decide if it will return to standard operating procedures after the recession and, if not, what should change and what should be discontinued. The general consensus is that the university is doing too much and needs to re- establish its focus. 2) How can the School of Medicine fulfill its clinical care and GME missions in an uncertain healthcare environment? This needs to be answered with 24 months to 36 months. Should the university be in the business of clinical care and the hospital? 3) How can we advance our research and graduate education agendas in a severely constrained resource environment? Project 2020 has been recalled due to the economy. 4) Can we afford to keep the entering undergraduate class size at 1,400? If not, what are we sacrificing by increasing it. Admitting 1,600 students this fall will not be an issue regarding housing, but doing the same in 2010 will be problematic. The dorm rooms are not available to meet the requirement that freshmen and sophomores living on campus.

In response to a question regarding how other universities in New Orleans are faring since Katrina, President Cowen stated that 1) Dillard and UNO are not rebuilding their student headcounts as quickly as Tulane. 2) Dillard and Xavier did receive significant contributions following Katrina due to their HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) status. 3) UNO is also contending with the state cutbacks (a 15% decrease in its $125M budget). 4) Xavier’s issue regarding its pharmacy accreditation has been resolved. 5) Loyola’s losses totaled ~$5M, which is not nearly equivalent to the other universities in the GNO area; however, Loyola has experienced a large drop in enrollment. 6) SUNO is still not on its campus. 7) LSUHSC is experiencing a decline in La. students staying in the state. Its GME programs are hurting—residencies/fellowships are down and its research portfolio is relatively small.

President Cowen ended his presentation by asking “Who knows what the future holds? Katrina and the economic downturn have provided daunting challenges, uncertainty, anxiety and opportunities. Let’s focus on the opportunities while being fiscally prudent and as stable as possible.”

He then turned the floor over to Provost Bernstein, who updated the board on the status of three key searches: director of the Murphy Institute, director of the TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting April 16, 2009 Page 7

Newcomb College Institute, and dean of the law school. All searches are on track, and the positions have generated a lot of interest.

WFMO. Anne Baños informed the board that the staff compensation study had been completed. The study did not include administrators; 838 titles were reviewed and the market range for those positions was established. Of the 838 titles reviewed, 200 were found not to be within 70 percent of the market range. The recommended adjustments are expected to cost $1.8M and take two years to implement. The adjustment is delayed due to the economic downturn.

Admissions. Earl Retif, vice president for enrollment management, provided a synopsis on the changing scene in admissions. Much of the admission office’s communication is done via e-mail, texting and twitter; snail mail and phoning are used much less than in the recent past. In 2007, less than half of the applications were completed by Jan. 1; in 2008 and 2009, more than 80 percent were completed by the same date. In addition, students are applying to more institutions; 28 percent (more than double the rate in recent years) plan to deposit at more than one institution. Both are in an effort to keep options open. Retif also compared 1998 to 2008:

1998 2008 Applications 8,012 34,125 Accepted 6,307 9,207 % Accepted 78.72% 26.98% Enrolled 1,476 1,560 Yield 23.40% 16.95% SAT Average 1257 1337

More than 50 percent of our students come from either the Northeast or Midwest; approx. 16 percent come from Louisiana. These states are projecting declines in the number of high school graduates between 2006-07 and 2016-17. This may significantly impact enrollment.

An examination of yield rates at peer institutions revealed the following.

Institution Yield Rate BYU 77% Princeton 68% Notre Dame 56% LSU 55% Georgetown 47% Duke 42% Vanderbilt 49% NYU 39% Washington Univ. 34% SMU 32% TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting April 16, 2009 Page 8

Emory 30% Carnegie Mellon 23% Boston Univ. 21% Tulane 17% American Univ. 15% 4-yr. Private College Avg. 31%

Tulane offers need- and academic merit-based financial aid. The program is designed to attract academically superior students from around the world without regard to their financial need or ability to pay. The growth in tuition and fees is rapidly outpacing family income in the U.S., which in turn increases the need for financial aid. Colleges and universities are facing six major issues in managing affordability: rising college costs, decreased purchasing power of federal aid, increasing discount rates, shifting demographics, increased family borrowing and declining yield rates.

Alumni Affairs. St. Paul Bourgeois of the Tulane Alumni Association stated the five initiatives for the association: connecting with alumni, building and rebuilding the TAA image, developing volunteer leadership, finding resource support and funding for programs, and connecting with students. The board was updated on several initiatives: the number of alumni clubs has increased from 26 (1999) to 70 (2009); the number of alumni on the listserv has increased from 25 (1999) to 34,465 (2009); since its inception in Dec. 2006, 8,118 alumni have registered at www.tulanecommunity.com. Alumni traits and wants include: individual attention, career and job-related services, increased diploma value, and opportunities to “give back.”

V. University Senate Committee Reports

1. Benefits No meeting.

2. Budget Review

No meeting. Next meeting is scheduled for May 12th.

3. Information Technology

No Report.

4. Equal Opportunity

No Report. TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting April 16, 2009 Page 9

5. Physical Facilities

No Report.

6. Social Issues

No Report.

VI. SAC Sub-Committees

1. Election Committee

Committee Chair Gwen Chavez reported that she will be sending out a letter to all staff requesting names for nominations. Linda Wright and Mike Griffith will do set up the online election balloting. Gwen will also prepare paper ballots once all names are submitted. Everyone is encouraged to nominate others as we need to fill some slots.

Gwen will be contacting people at all three campus to coordinate the collection of paper ballots for anyone not able to vote online.

2. Electronic Technology and Information

No report.

3. Staff Appreciation

Committee Co-Chair Rob Platner gave the following report.  Was discussion of having the fun walk to inside of the zoo but is not financially feasible. We want to have the run between 10 am to 12 noon so anyone participating can still attend the Tulane football game at 2 pm.

 We are still in the having a fun run/walk. Have medical students to offer some health screening; student athletics to have some games for the kids; have a remote for Tulane radio station. Also link on with the Wellness group to get some help from them.

 Until we are able to secure a location for the November 7th (date that Scott Cowen will be available to attend) we will get back to everyone. Until we have a date and location set, we cannot move forward with any planning.

 Chair Barrera will be meeting with Anne Banos prior to our next May meeting to get some guideline and some contacts that she will give us to help plan.

4. Staff Issues

No meeting however, Chair Barrera did receive one issue. Question is regarding the closing of McAlister and there is concern available parking is primarily for faculty. For TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting April 16, 2009 Page 10 example, there are a lot of spaces in front of the library but are reserved for faculty only. The question is to see if some parking spots can be for both faculty and staff.

Chair Barrera will send a request for Tony Lorino asking for information to the parking plan. There is also a concern about people coming to attend performances at the McAlister Auditorium and where are those people to park.

Suggested documenting how many parking spaces are available in front of the library at various times of the day. With this information to present to Tony Lorino, he may be able to assist in expanding the parking spaces to both staff and faculty. Also suggested allowing staff be allowed to park in the faculty areas during the summer and school breaks.

5. Health and Wellness

Committee Chair Judy Vitrano gave the following report. Continuing to be a very active committee. UnitedHealth is continuing with the “health assessment campaign”. You have to be a member of UnitedHealthcare to fill out the health assessment questionnaire. By participating you are eligible for a gift certificate to some online stores.

The walking program still going on. April 26 is the end of the first program with $30 gift cards going out to 150 of the people who participated and logged in the step numbers. Also July 26th, end of the next program. If you reach 1 million steps, they will be giving out a $100 gift certificate to five people.

The Lose & Win program is ending next week and participation has been very good at all campus locations. Everyone shares a lot of information and has been helpful. They are getting participants to document their personal changes and what worked for them. Once this information is collected, the information will be sent out to everyone as an encouragement for everyone to made small changes to help improve their health.

UnitedHealth offers free seminars so the members of the committee have been attending the different seminars. UnitedHealthcare will be scheduling the seminars at the various campuses throughout the year for anyone to attend.

6. Community Service

No report

VII. Old Business

VIII. New Business TU Staff Advisory Council Meeting April 16, 2009 Page 11

Next Meeting: The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at the Lavin- Bernick Center for University Life in the Race Conference Room at 3:30 pm.

IX. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4:33 pm.

Respectfully submitted, Lisa M. Britton Recording Secretary