P&S COUNCIL NEWS
Nov. 28, 2005

Feeling Disconnected in a Connected World? Michael Bugeja will Talk About the Interpersonal Divide at Noon on Dec. 1
Michael Bugeja, director of ISU's Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, is the guest speaker for the P&S open forum on Thursday, Dec. 1.

The forum is scheduled from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in the Gallery at the Memorial Union, and participants are invited to bring their lunch. Bugeja will discuss his new book, Interpersonal Divide: The Search for Community in a Technological Age.

Need to Know if You're in This Salary Situation
Do you supervise employees? Do any of them inappropriately earn a higher salary than you do? If so, we need your help. Supporting competitive and equitable compensation for professional and scientific staff at Iowa State is one of the P&S Council's top priorities for FY2006. One component of this priority is examining salary inequities between employee classes.

We have anecdotal evidence that there are situations across campus where a Merit employee's salary is higher than that of the individual's supervisor who is a P&S employee. There may also be instances where a P&S supervisor earns less than a P&S subordinate. Identifying individuals in this situation is very difficult due in part to the decentralized nature of the related records. We would like to present a recommendation to the administration to correct this situation, but to do so, we need to know the amount of funding needed.

If you are supervising a Merit or P&S employee whose salary is higher than your own, or if you believe this situation may apply to you, please respond to Council President Dan Woodin, mailto:dwoodin@iastate.edu, by Wednesday, December 7. Provide your name and department/administrative unit, your employee's name and employee class, and corresponding salaries, if known.

Benefits Open Enrollment Period Ends Dec. 5
Tim Ashley, benefits manager for the ISU Department of Human Resources, presented details of the 2006 ISU Benefits Plan for P&S employees at an open forum attended by about 60 P&S staff on Nov. 4. P&S staffers enrolled in the plan can make changes in their 2006 coverage until 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5. The benefits guidebook explaining the 2006 plan is available only online this year, linked from the following page:
http://www.hrs.iastate.edu/benefits/homepage.shtml

An open house to answer questions is planned at the Benefits Office, Room 3150 Beardshear, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29.

Education and Development Survey
Nearly 25 percent (597 of 2,379) of P&S staff responded to the recent needs assessment survey sponsored by the Provost Task Force on Education and Development. A subcommittee of P&S Council's compensation and benefits committee is working with the task force to analyze the survey results. Both groups intend to share a summary of the results with P&S staff in the near future. The Task Force will use the information in formulating its recommendations to the Provost on learning and development opportunities for staff. For more details on why the survey was conducted, see the Task Force report at http://www.pscouncil.iastate.edu/Survey05.html

P&S CYTation Award Nominations Due Dec. 1
Dec. 1 is the next nomination deadline for the P&S CYtation Awards. This award recognizes individuals who have performed above and beyond the call of duty, done something extraordinarily well, or acted in such a way as to make a very real difference at Iowa State University. Winners are honored at a reception with President Geoffroy and receive a one year membership to Reiman Gardens. For more information regarding nomination procedures, please see
http://www.pscouncil.iastate.edu/CYtation.html

January Council Meeting at Ames Lab/IPRT
The January meeting of the P&S Council has been moved to Room 205 TASF (Technical and Administrative Services Facility). Committee work will begin at 12 noon, followed by a Council holiday social gathering at 1 p.m., and the Council business meeting at 2 p.m. Council meetings are open to all P&S Staff.

P&S Mailing List Updates
P&S mailing lists used to distribute this newsletter have been updated to include new employees who have joined ISU since the last update. E-mail addresses and representation areas also have been updated. Due to job changes and reassignments, 252 staff members have moved to new representation areas since the last list was generated. Your representation area is indicated in the signature block at the end of this newsletter. Questions about the mailing lists can be directed to the Communications Committee at mailto:pands-c@iastate.edu.