Professional Development and Recognition Committee
Monthly Meeting: March 11, 2014
11:00am-12noon Memorial Union

Meeting Minutes
Members Present: Jeff Armstrong, Danielle Benden, Ralph Grunewald, Amy Hawley, John Klatt, Elisabeth McInnis Foster, Alison Rice, Curtis Ryals,

The meeting was called to order by Chair Ryals at 11:02am.  Minutes for the February 2014 PDRC meeting were approved without dissent.

PD subcommittee report-Benden and Hawley
Benden and Hawley reported on the PD Brown Bags.  Four people attended the March 4th PD brown bag and 25 people attended the March 5th brown bag. Ryals asked if the online system was working more smoothly than the previous round.  Benden said that she hadn’t heard of any concerns, although the Secretary’s Office agreed to field all questions about the online PD grant system. Hawley suggested that we provide the Secretary of the Academic Staff’s off a deadline to consider application completeness for all PD grants.  After some discussion, Hawley agreed to email the Secretary’s Office and request a deadline of 4/18/2014 for confirmation that applications are all complete.  Benden stated that she would be in touch with all PD sub-committee members regarding scheduling a meeting to select the awardees, and a timeline for reviewing applications.

After some discussion, it was decided that the PD sub-committee would further divide into sub-committees if there are more than 50 PD applications this round.

Awards report-McInnis Foster
McInnis Foster provided a summary of the 2014 awards.  She discussed the one issue with an award winner, who had a questionable appointment.  After having selected someone as an award winner, the Secretary’s Office had raised an issue about the person’s appointment.  In the end, the awardee’s appointment is fine.  Klatt stated that we should have a standard protocol for dealing with ineligibility issues for awards.  This led to a discussion amongst committee members about how we would handle a similar situation in the future.   The committee decided to ask the Secretary’s Office if they would make sure to double-check appointment status and nominee eligibility prior to the PDRC members’ review process.  It was decided that once a nominee has been selected as the winner, the decision is final.  If information about a nominee comes to light prior to a decision being made, the sub-committee(s) will consider the information accordingly.

McInnis Foster relayed that the Secretary’s Office will send emails out notifying non-winners this week.  Benden will follow up with the Secretary’s Office about suggesting if nominees should consider reapplying for the same or another award next year.

Klatt asked if the PDRC could review the letter that will go out to nominees who were not awarded this round.  There was also discussion about if a nominator resubmits an application and whether old letters of recommendations are acceptable or if we would request new materials.  Several committee members stated that reading year-old letters detracts from quality of an application.  Armstrong suggested that nominators should be made aware that applications are stronger when new data is supported. Ryals suggested that we add a caveat noting that new materials make for a stronger application. 

McInnis Foster also reported on a miscommunication that occurred regarding the awards and the Secretary’s Office.  Awardees were announced at the March 10th Academic Staff Assembly Meeting and there were apparently some members in the audience who had applied for an award but were not yet notified that they did not win.

Executive Education Report: Grunewald
Grunewald stated that the call for Executive Education Grants has gone out.  The PDRC can offer 5 Executive Education grants this round.  The deadline for submission is the end of March.  Ford and Grunewald will review applications and select winners.

Other Business
Ryals stated that the PDRC needs to elect a new Chair.  Benden nominated Armstrong and Klatt seconded.  All were in favor and Armstrong was elected the new Chair.

Ryals also stated that a search and screen committee is currently meeting to find a replacement for Mary’s Johansen’s position in Secretary of the Accademic Staff’s Office.  The hope is that the position will be filled sometime in the next month or two.

PDRC members reviewed the conflict of interest disclosures as well as the Conflict of Interest policy. 

Meeting was adjourned at 12:05pm.