November minutes
Staff Advisory Council Meeting Location: Human Resources Conference Room
Wednesday, November 12, 2014 Time: 11:00 – 12:00 p.m.

In Attendance: Martha Tetrault, ex officio, Kevin Thomas, ex officio, Colleen Bethoney, ex officio, Tom Aliberti, Kim Altiere, Miguel Gutierrez, Rachel Louis, Jessie Nairn, Doug Rydell, Donna Richardson, Tony Sinico, Helena Warburg
Absent: Bonnie Bresett

Guest: Jim Kolesar, Vice President for Public Affairs

Minutes

1. Jim Kolesar met with the group to give an overview of and asked for input on the search for the new VP for Institutional Diversity and Equity position. Jim and members of the search committee will be holding open forums as well as meeting with specific groups for input about this important search. Witt/Kieffer is the search firm supporting us in the search. Jim spoke to the timeline with the hopes of filling the position by July 1. He highlighted some the following areas:
• Equal opportunity – ways to affirmatively act
• Maximize the value of diversity & equity on campus
• ADA compliance
• Will work closely with Deans Office and HR
Some important areas which the committee felt should be addressed in this new position were:
• Socioeconomic diversity
• Education for the community
• What it means to thrive at Williams

2. Open Enrollment 2015 –
Martha briefly recapped open enrollment. Our Medical renewal is almost entirely based on our claims experience. The premium increase for 2015 will be 8%. There will be no increases to Dental, Life premiums and due to a vendor change, there is a new program. The open enrollment period for making any changes is November 13 – December 10.

3. Departmental operations on January 2, 2015 –
The college will reopen after winter break on Friday, January 2, 2015. It will be up to individual department heads in conjunction with their Sr. Staff on how they staff their operations on that day.

4. Martha reviewed the Udder News history of how it evolved and changed over the years. We walked the group through the website showing those who may not be familiar with it where to find The Udder News & Announcements http://hr.williams.edu/category/announcements/

Next scheduled meeting: Wednesday, December 10, 2014, Human Resource Conference Room, 11:00 a.m.
Please submit any agenda items to Martha prior to the next scheduled meeting

Reported by C. Bethoney