Commission on Public Service and Extension Minutes of Meeting on January 23, 1995 Room 400D Burruss Hall Members Present: Ralph Badinelli, Deb Williams, Ted Settle, Doug McAlister, Bob Martin, Terry Swecker, Connie Kratzer, Thomas Hohenshil, Gregory Brown, David Johnson, Donna Dunay, Fred Krimgold, Bill Allen Alternate: Jack Muench for Fred Lamb Not represented: SGA, College of Business, James Jones, Bill Mashburn, Brenda Olafsen, Heather Pert, Patrick Liverpool, Patricia Edwards 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 December 12, 1994 were approved. 3. The Chair announced the schedule of meetings for the rest of the year as follows: February 13, 3 - 5pm March 21, 10 - noon April 11, 10 - noon May 2, 10 - noon All meetings are in room 400D Burruss Hall. 4. The Commission discussed the progress of the Selection Committee for the University Public Service Excellence Awards. Terry Swecker reported that the Committee elected Pat Edwards as its chair. Terry expressed concern over the distribution of the awards notice. Ralph Badinelli reported that the notices were sent out to Deans, Directors and Department Heads on January 3, 1995. Deb Williams notified the Commission that classified staff had not received a copy of this notice and that she had distributed electronically to all staff senators and their alternates a transcript of Patrick Liverpool's letter. Jack Muench indicated that extension personnel had received the notice. Ralph Badinelli said that he would find out from Patrick Liverpools secretary what mailing list was used for the distribution of the awards notice. Bill Allen noted that the best way to distribute information to extension personnel is to send it to the distribution center. He also cautioned the Commission against using e-mail for communicating with extension offices as this generates long- distance telephone charges. Terry wondered about the making of a plaque or certificate for each award winner. Ralph Badinelli said that he would look into this. Ideas for improving the awards selection process were discussed. The Commission agreed that in future years the process should start earlier with notices being distributed in early fall. Terry Swecker mentioned that some departments have awards committees that review all University award programs each year with the objective of nominating members of the department to any awards for which they appear to be qualified. He said that we should distribute the award notices early in the fall in order to accommodate the efforts of these committees. The Commission Chair clarified the charge that he made to the Selection Committee by stating that they will report to the Commission in March their choice(s) of winners. The Commission will not review these choices or be empowered to approve or disapprove the decisions of the Committee. In addition to reporting their decisions, the Committee is asked to report any problems with the awards selection process and to suggest ideas for inproving this process in future years. Terry Swecker discussed selection criteria saying that the Committee would consider either job performance beyond the requirements of a persons position or exceptional work within the requirements of a persons position. He also expressed concern over the possibility of someone winning both the Public Service Excellenc Award and another award such as the Alumni Extension Award. The Commission agreed that the Selection Committee needs to coordinate its efforts with selection committees of other awards to make sure that someone does not win two awards for the same performance. Deb Williams asked the Commission to consider accepting late nominations as the next meeting of the Selection Committee is on February 10, 1995 and the deadline for nominations is January 31, 1995. The Chair said that he would be willing to allow an extension of the deadline as long as notice of the extension was distributed to everyone. 5. Ted Settle indicated that position papers on the offering of credit courses through the Division of Continuing Education may be forthcoming. This issue could be an agenda item for the Commission after March. 6. The rest of the meeting was devoted to Bill Allen's report on the budget reductions for VCE recommended by the Governor. Using rough figures he commented that VCE had sustained approximately a 25% reduction in support since 1989. So far, these reduction have been distributed fairly evenly across programs with a few exceptions such as the loss of volunteer programs in the Division of Public Service. The suggestion of the Governor on December 19, 1994 for a massive budget cut to VCE came as a surprise. In fact, VCE was, at that time, hoping for restoration of the $600,000 budget cut that had been scheduled for the next fiscal year. Bill estimated that the new budget reductions, if they are approved, will cause closure of 1/3 to 1/2 of extension stations, a precipitous drop in 4H enrollment and the loss of approximately 250 extension positions. The Colleges of Agriculture and Life Science and Forestry and Wildlife Resources would be affected more than other colleges. Numerous educational efforts by supporters are underway in an attempt to restore these budget cuts. Greg Brown reported that a subcommittee of CFA is looking into establishing a reduction-in-force policy for the case of financial exigency as a policy currently does not exist. The Chair said that the Commission would stay on top of the funding situation and look into any ideas that would help VCE adjust and make the best of any changes in its status. The meeting adjourned at 4:45.