Go to TTU Home PageTennessee Technological
University
Staff Advisory Committee to the President
March 4, 2004
Members Present: Faye Bussell, Wanda Carpenter, Benny Davis, Carol Holley, Mike Magdalena, Sheila McNeal, Gina Padgett, David Walker, Debra Walker (presiding), Rochelle Wassom
Others Present: President Robert Bell, Sue Pogue, Landon Vick, Terri Watson
Chairperson Walker opened the meeting at 1:30 p.m.
President Bell’s Comments
The Tennessee Board of Regents will hold its summer
quarterly meeting on the Tech campus June 10 and 11. Attendees will begin arriving in Cookeville on Wednesday
evening, June 9. The meetings will
take place in the Bryan Fine Arts Building.
Tech looks forward to having this group on campus, and plans are to
showcase the University during this event.
We want our constituents to leave TTU and know they have been on a
beautiful and caring campus that offers a superb education to its students.
The preparation for the TBR meeting will be a concerted effort from a
large number of employees, and everyone’s contributions to these endeavors
will be appreciated.
Congratulations to Professor R. Winston Morris who was named our 2003 Donald Caplenor Faculty Research Award winner.
Window on the World
Window on the World (WOW), an annual international festival
which celebrates global cultures, is scheduled for Saturday, April 17, in the
Roaden University Center. The
festivities begin at 11:30 a.m. and end at 6:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend.
Stonecipher Symposium
The seventh annual Stonecipher Symposium on Technology,
Communication and Culture will be held on campus March 29 and 30.
All events are free and open to the public.
There will be a number of distinguished speakers who will be
participating in this event, with keynote addresses to be given by Historian
Judith Sealander on Monday, March 29, at 7:00 p.m. in Derryberry Hall Auditorium
and Rosie Mauk, AmeriCorps director on Tuesday, March 30, at 7:00 p.m. in
Derryberry Hall Auditorium. More information may be obtained by calling 372-3507, or by visiting www.tntech.edu/stonecipher for a list of all of the scheduled events.
Ambassadors
Congratulations to the following Tech ambassadors:
December, 2003 – Jeff Arney, Facilities and Business Services
January, 2004 – Julie Galloway, Basic Business
February, 2004 – Adriane King, Financial Aid
Appreciation and congratulations were expressed to those individuals who have retired or announced their retirement from the University.
Susan Buchanan, Nursing, February, 2004
Bill Hall, Food Services, February, 2004
James Manier, University Police, January, 2004
Charles Maxwell, Biology, January, 2004
Bobby Scantland, Facilities and Business Services, February, 2004
Juanita Shettlesworth, Foreign Languages, December, 2003
Wilburn Taylor, Facilities and Business Services, January, 2004
Ed Vail, Public Affairs, February, 2004
Master Plan
Tennessee Tech’s Master Plan was approved at the Quarterly Meeting of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission held in February.
School of
Nursing and Challenger Center
Included in
Tennessee Tech’s master plan is the addition of two new buildings to campus.
A new building for the School of Nursing is planned for the south end of
the main quadrangle. The cost of the project is $17 million, and construction is
expected to begin in January of 2005 or 2006, following the demolition of the
Smith/Quad Dormitory. The Governor
extended a $2 for $1 matching
offer for all capital projects. As
a result, the University is responsible for raising $5.8 million of the $17
million total.
The Challenger
Center will be a learning center for fifth graders in the surrounding area.
The center will give fifth graders the opportunity to participate in a
simulated flight into outer space. The
mission of the Challenger Center is to cultivate an interest in math and science
among adolescents, encouraging them to pursue further learning throughout high
school and college. The cost of the
Challenger Center is $9 million, and it will be funded by private contributions.
Of 100 seventh graders in Tennessee today, 55 will graduate from high
school and only 14 of those will graduate from college.
These statistics magnify the need for projects such as the Challenger
Center.
In 15 to 20
years the college of Arts and Sciences is scheduled to receive a new building,
which will be located on the main quadrangle where Bartoo Hall and Memorial Gym
currently stand. The estimated cost
for the building is $70 million.
Proposed
Salary Increases
The
Governor’s proposed budget for 2004-2005 includes a permanent 2% salary
increase for higher education. Campuses
bear the responsibility of funding the 2%, but the state will fund a one-time 1%
bonus, with implementation yet to be outlined.
Sue Pogue updated the committee on changes taking place in the Office of Human Resources. The faculty, staff, and graduate assistants in the university have responded well to the implementation of direct deposit with eighty percent voluntarily signing up for the service. A specialized web for university faculty and staff is expected to be up soon. This web will allow Human Resources to direct important information to employees more efficiently. Time entry over the web for Tech employees is expected in the near future, and other recommendations for improved service are encouraged.
Benefit statements have been distributed, and Ms. Pogue
encourages review of these statements. The
Tennessee Board of Regents is directing all schools to provide detailed
information covering the benefits being paid for each employee.
The Tennessee Board of Regents requires background checks for all new hires. The use of background checks at Tech recently uncovered several discrepancies among claims made by university applicants. The process has proven to be worthwhile for hiring purposes at Tennessee Tech and other Tennessee Board of Regents institutions.
The meeting adjourned at 2:15 p.m.
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