Commission on Public Service and Extension Minutes of Meeting on November 14, 1994, Room 400D Burruss Hall Members Present: Ralph Badinelli, Bill Mashburn, Deb Williams, Ted Settle, James Jones, Doug McAlister, Bob Martin, Terry Swecker, David Johnson, Fred Lamb, Connie Kratzer, Donna Dunay, Patricia Edwards, Fred Krimgold, Brenda Olafsen Alternate: Judith Jones for Bill Allen, Not represented: SGA, College of Business, Thomas Hohenshil, Heather Pert 1. The meeting was convened and chaired by Ralph Badinelli, who presented the agenda for approval. There being no requests for alterations, the agenda was adopted. 2. The minutes for the meeting on October 14, 1994 were approved. 3. Ted Settle reported on the progress of the Committee on Outreach Promotion and Awards. He recommends that the Committee act as a 'legislative arm' of the Provost's Task Force that is looking into the issue of faculty rewards for outreach activities. Several questions ensued. Bob Martin asked what the Committee and the Commission would do if the Provost disagrees with the recommendations of the Task Force. Fred Lamb asked what role the Committee and Commission would play if we disagree with the recommendations of the task force. Judith Jones asked for a clarification of who proposes legislation. Ted pointed out that the Task Force is co-chaired by John Randolph and Greg Brown. Its report should be available sometime during the Spring Semester. Ralph Badinelli attempted to clarify the role of the Commission as the body that proposes legislation in any event, whether or not that legislation is consonant with the recommendations of the Task Force or the opinions of the Provost. 4. Bill Mashburn, Chair of the Committee for the Implementation of the Academy of Public Service Excellence, presented an update of the progress of his Committee. Bill reported that Patrick Liverpool has put up $4000 for the awards, $1000 for each of four awards. Bill passed out drafts of the following documents: a) a cover letter to announce the award to the Virginia Tech Community b) a statement of the purpose of the award, the evaluation criteria and eligibility for the award c) nomination guidelines d) a list of winners of the alumni extension awards for the last three years Bill's report led to discussion that consumed the rest of the meeting time. The discussion revolved around five issues: When and how to present the awards, how many awards should be granted, what the selection criteria and eligibility should be, who should sit on the selection committee, what the nomination process should be. Most of the questions arising from these issues find answers in the by-laws of the Academy and in the history of the awards program. Bill Mashburn and Connie Kratzer provided information from the by-laws and Doug McAlister acted as the Commission's historian. According to the by-laws of the Academy of Public Service Excellence, the awards are to be presented at a meeting of the Academy held each spring, after the founder s day celebration. Doug McAlister responded by saying that the idea for this meeting dates back to the initiation of the idea for the awards six years ago, but the meeting, like the awards, has never occurred. He expressed the opinion that it would be better to 'mainstream' the awards by presenting them at the Founder"s Day ceremony. Even so, the Commission Chair should convene the spring meeting. The by-laws state that any Virginia Tech employee is eligible for the award. This fact led to a discussion of whether or not to set aside some of the awards for faculty and some for staff or whether or not to commit to granting all four awards. The by-laws include a clear statement of the purpose of the awards, eligibility and criteria. The Commission decided to include this wording in the awards announcement. The by-laws also specify the makeup of the selection committee. This committee is appointed by the Commission and must consist of from four to six members. Some previous winners of the award, who in the current year must be considered those who have won the alumni extension award, are to be on the committee. The Commission decided to create a selection committee consisting of three Commission members and two members who are previous award winners. Pat Edwards, Terry Swecker and Deb Williams were nominated by the Commission for service on this committee. The Commission decided to make the nomination process somewhat consistent with that of other University award programs. To wit, a simple nomination statement will be required from any Virginia Tech employee who wishes to nominate someone for an award. The selection committee will then contact those nominees as it chooses with a request for a dossier of information that would support the nominee s award application. Based on these submissions the committee will make a decision. The wording of the documents handed out by Bill were reviewed and edited by the Commission. Deb Williams was asked to update the documents and send them to the Commission for final approval via e-mail. The Commission intends to send out the award notice before the end of the fall semester. The deadline for nominations will be January 31, 1995 and the deadline for dossiers will be February 28, 1995. 5. The role of Extension offices As there was very little time left of the allotted meeting time, the Commission did not discuss this agenda item. Bob Martin, Chair of the Committee on the Coordination of Total Outreach Efforts, passed out a draft list of opportunities for expansion of the roles of Extension offices. The Committee and the Commission will discuss these options in future meetings The meeting adjourned at 5:00. The next meeting will be held on Monday, December 12, at 3:00 pm in 400D Burruss.