CEPAC (Classified Employees Personnel Advisory Committee)

    Room B, Hannon Hall

    P.O Box 171865

    Bozeman, MT  59717-1865

               

    Phone:                   (406) 994-6895

    www.montana.edu/staffsenate                                    

 

 

 

May 11, 2005

 

Commissioner Sheila Stearns

Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education

2500 Broadway

Helena, MT 59620

 

 

Dear Commissioner Stearns,

 

CEPAC would like to thank you, once again, for the time and enthusiasm you invested in visiting the Bozeman campus last month.  CEPAC was delighted to arrange the series of meetings with contributing organizations, introducing the varying view points into shared governance.  Those participating in the day’s busy itinerary have keenly described the worth of their interactions with you.

 

With respect to the classified aspects of the day’s agenda, CEPAC would first like to convey the Hannon Hall staff’s appreciation of your interest in meeting with them.  We regret having had to hasten the discussion, and hope a future itinerary would allow more thorough conversation.

 

Likewise, CEPAC members valued the opportunity of asking your opinion and advice on various priority topics.  CEPAC is proud to represent and promote the classified perspective in the ownership of our campus, and endeavors to address broad-reaching governance matters, as well as more select, classified issues.  As such, we were particularly interested in your plans for increasing the State contribution to pay plan funding, as well as in the details of your five to ten-year vision for the MUS.  We were also gratified by your comment that your visit had offered you meaningful information which you felt appropriate to report to the Regents.

 

CEPAC is pleased to follow-up on the progress of supervisor training programming at MSU-Bozeman.  The results of the Professional Council MAP supervisor survey are now available, and in line with classified staff input regarding supervisor training.  CEPAC meets with Susan Alt tomorrow, and we understand that planning discussions are being held within various other appropriate organizations.

 

We were grateful to receive your description of the background for the draft compensation and philosophy objectives for Board of Regents contracts.  As you know, CEPAC was invited to provide input (by both Kathy Crego and Regent Hamilton) and we are doing so appropriately.

 

Finally, the period for constituent participation in CEPAC’s voluntary 360 review has closed and we are analyzing the feedback.  From the data seen so far, we anticipate this process will prove invaluable to CEPAC’s activities planning and service enhancement, both locally and across the MUS.  We look forward to sharing a report of the review’s findings in the near future.

 

In conclusion, your visit was very beneficial to MSU-Bozeman, and CEPAC hopes to offer a similar invitation next year.  Meanwhile, please do not hesitate to request whatever follow-up would be useful to the Regents, or yourself. 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Robert O’Driscoll

CEPAC Chair

 

Signed by Bob O’Driscoll, CEPAC Chair, on behalf of the Committee:

Eileen Baker                                                    Matthew Blazicevich

Genevieve Burmeister, Vice Chair                  Ray Byerly (for Robert Lack)

Sara France, Admin Assoc                              Rick Holland

Daniel McGuire                                               Sheron McIlhattan

Clara Sprague                                                  Bonnie White