Lisa McCarthy, director of Alumni Affairs, spoke at the Staff Senate meeting last Wednesday on behalf of the Alcohol Commission about their research. She spoke of a meeting with Beth DeRicco, who works on a national level speaking with college administrators on alcohol policy, to potentially revise the alcohol policy at the College. "The final report will be completed by December," McCarthy said.
Staff Senate President Joe Hadge, alcohol and drug counselor, opened the meeting with a statement regarding the victims of the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech.
The senate discussed the College's budget and how state funds should be dispersed. Nino Scarpati, assistant dean of Nursing and next year's senate president, offered a list of the financial priorities of the College, which included health and safety, academic programs and institutional integrity.
There was much deliberation in the senate about what the College should change in its employment policy, which is currently not cutting any jobs but rather relocating workers to other areas. The senate noted that the new positions taken on by staff members are often not well-suited to their skills and are only having a negative impact on employee morale. The senate voted to hold an open forum on these matters on an undecided date.
The final exam policy, which had not been under review for 15 years, was under review by the senate. The newer policy varies from the old in wording and in a new clause which says students should not make end-of-semester travel plans prior to the publication of the final exam schedule. This clause was debated on by the senate and it was agreed that it should be reviewed more, if not completely removed. The meeting was concluded with a reminder of the election process for the next senate.
