AP Assembly
Minutes
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Reitz Union, Room 282, 3:30-5:00PM
Call to Order —Allan Preston, President (3:35 pm)
APA President's Report —Allan Preston reported that the meeting was being videotaped and will be available on the APA Web site (www.apassembly.ufl.edu) in an effort to increase member participation.
Allan Preston reported that the APA's Summer Seminars were successful, and included the following topics: Bullying in The Workplace, Purchasing, Suicide Awareness, and QPR Gatekeeper. The APA's next event is a discussion panel on budget and fiscal issues, cosponsored with the Association for Academic Women (AAW). It is scheduled for Tuesday, November 27th in the Reitz Union ballroom.
Allan Preston announced that the only active APA committee currently is the HR Committee, and encouraged members to get involved and support the other committees. The Survey committee will become active later in the year when they do the next survey of the APA membership.
A new Bylaw Committee will be formed and facilitated by President Elect Christine Schoaff. The purpose of this committee will be to revise the APA bylaws by removing the references to the representative nature of the organization, as well as clarifying officer duties and responsibilities. Anyone interested in serving on this committee should contact Christine Schoaff.
Allan Preston announced that Senior Vice President of Administration and APA Executive Sponsor Kyle Cavanaugh requested the assistance of the APA to collect cost- cutting ideas. Alicia Turner has created an online survey to solicit input from APA member on cost-cutting without cutting services, as well as ideas to generate revenue for the university. The survey will be distributed via email within the next week.
HR Committee Report—Wendy Thornton reported that beginning in October the HR Committee will return to their monthly meeting schedule on the last Thursday before the APA Business Meeting. The next meeting will be at 2:00 p.m. in the Reitz Union, Room 346. The current projects of the committee include a survey of training opportunities available around campus. The survey is available online on myufl.com or at training.ufl.edu. The committee is still exploring ideas to expand the coverage of the employee tuition program to include thesis and dissertation hours. The committee is also still looking at the flextime policy.
Program—Dr. Marc Hoit, Interim Chief Information Officer gave a presentation entitled "IT Enhancements and Opportunities." Dr. Hoit began the presentation with an update on the IT issues since his visit to the APA last year. Dr. Hoit's PowerPoint slides covered the following topics: Issue Affecting IT at UF; IT Service Providers; Central Service IT Goals; Current Central Services; Central IT Strategies; Funding Strategies; and Status of Strategies. The recurring theme of the program was the need for coordination, collaboration, and cost efficiency. Dr. Hoit agreed to post the entire PowerPoint presentation on the APA website at a later date.
Adjournment—Allan Preston, President (4:35 p.m.)