MSU-BOZEMAN FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES February 2, 2000 PRESENT: Sherwood, McDermott, Kommers, Peed, Neff, Leech, Benham, Howard, Duncan, Larsen, Jost, Harkin, Nehrir, Mooney, Weaver, Amend, Locke, Lansverk, Levy, Bogar, Bond, Jelinski, Francis, McKinsey, Lynch, Fisher, Prawdzienski, Butterfield, Scott, Griffith. ABSENT: Ag Econ, Hatfield, O'Neill, Burgess, Anderson, Carlstrom. The meeting was called to order at 4:10 PM by Chair John Amend. It was determined a quorum was present. The minutes of the January 26, 2000, meeting were approved as distributed. Chair's report - John Amend. - Deputy Commissioner of Higher Education Scott will not be able to attend the meeting today. - Jerry Coffey, interim Chair of the MSU Benefits Committee, will report on the last Interunit Benefits Committee meeting later in this meeting. - John and Chair Elect Ron Larsen met with interim President Roark this morning. - He views his work here in the short term as keeping the MSU system moving ahead on an even keel. If he remains here a year or more, he will take a more proactive roll. His contract lasts through June, 2001, if necessary, but it is hoped a new president will be hired before then. - There was brief discussion of the MSU President Search - The list of topics from the two UGC Steering Committee/ President's Executive Council retreats fall semester were given to the President. He would like to have a similar retreat within a month. - If Dr. Roark is here a short time (six months), he will not move forward with the workload/teaching load policy. If he is here an extended period of time, he will consider the policy. - President Roark is scheduled to attend Faculty Council on February 16. Report from the Interunit Benefits Committee - Jerry Coffey. - The Interunits Benefits Committee met in Helena February 26. Jerry, as past Chair, attended the meeting, because there currently is no permanent Chair of the MSU Benefits Committee. - In March, the benefits and premiums for the coming year (July 2000 - June 2001) will be decided. - The financial report for the year is not as good now as it was three months ago, because of three or four organ transplants. The balance above the required reserve at the end of the year is now projected to be $.5 million. - Medical inflation is currently running at 8%, pharmacy inflation is running at 17%. Although the state will be providing $10 more per month per employee for benefits, with inflation, $23 would be needed to maintain the status quo. Therefore, there probably will be an increase of about $10/month in premiums. - Use of HMOs, where practical, is being discussed. They are available in many cities in the state but not in Bozeman. - There has been a lawsuit filed for coverage of same sex domestic partners. The cost appears to be negligible. The issue has been passed on to the Commissioner of Higher Education for consideration. - An act has been passed to provide mental health parity (Mental health coverage can't be limited to less than other health coverage). The insurance plan will probably conform to the act. - The plan has an exclusion for sexual dysfunction. The committee will probably reaffirm that Viagra is not covered by the pharmacy plan. - The whole issue of screening may be discussed in the future. Some screens seem to be overused and some are not provided. Some additional screens may be covered this year (osteoporosis). - Wholesale vision exam preferred providers may be identified through bids. - Naturopathy is not covered. - There is cost transfer in the plan. About ? of the MSU employees have "single" coverage, and this covers the additional cost of spouses, early retirees, and Medicare-eligible retirees. - The medical savings plan is quite typical and must conform to IRS regulations. - Some issues have been discussed concerning the MSU Benefits Committee. - Should the Chair be a faculty member? The Chair probably should be. - The Interunit Benefits Committee now has 24 members, 12 union and 12 non-union. The union membership cuts across all employment lines on the unionized campuses. - The MSU Benefits Committee operates by consensus and there is rarely a vote. Continued broad representation on the local committee is important. - At the Interunits Benefits Committee level, the MSU Benefits Committee has four vote: Vicki Whitney (MPEA), Ken Emerson (President's appointee), Susan Alt (Employee Relations - Human Resources), and the Chair of the local committee. Proposed Changes for MSU Benefits Committee - further discussion. - Three changes are proposed: One of the two faculty on the committee may be retired, add the immediate past Chair of the MSU Benefits Committee as a nonvoting ex officio member, and add a statement that the Chair may be retired. Jack Jelinski moved the proposed changes be accepted and forwarded to the President and to the Vice President for Administration and Finance. The motion was seconded and carried. University Governance Council Nominating Committee report. - Jack Fisher moved that Sandra Osborne, Health and Human Development, be nominated to fill the position of Doug Young on the MSU Benefits Committee while he is on sabbatical and that Don Mathre, Emeritus Professor in Plant Sciences, be nominated as Chair of the Benefits Committee. The motion was seconded and carried. Faculty Affairs Committee report - Jack Jelinski. - The Sabbatical Committee provided the Provost's office with its report on January 4. Additional information was provided about January 12. At that time, the Provost's Office said it would be 2 or 3 weeks before sabbaticals were announced. Procedures used for President Search Committee Nominations. - A memo outlining the procedures used by University Governance Council Steering Committee to gather nominations and to forward them to Dr. Joyce Scott, Deputy Commissioner, was distributed (attached for members absent). Faculty Council members are encouraged to distribute the information to their departments. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:05 PM. Joann Amend, Secretary