University Staff Senate 

March 24, 2026 | 3:30pm-5:00pm | Woolsey Hall 135

Senators in Attendance – In Person

Krissy Archambeau, Angela Blackerby, Zachary Brown, Anne Marie Brown, Aaron Coffey, Kevin Duffy, Gabriel Fonseca, Courtney Henry, Nathan Johnson, John Keckeisen, Christopher Leonard, Angie Linder, Daniel Ludlow, Jacob Mendez, Kendra Nguyen, Chukwunenye Nweke, Jessica Pierpoint, Margaret Rees, Sadi Roberts

Senators in Attendance – Virtual

Lyndsay Pletcher, Susan McCoy, Preston Schroeder, Sara Mata, Whitney Crager, Sarah Mathews, Corby Redington

Senators Not In Attendance

Stacy Salters, Monica Bergkamp, Trang Bui, Kimberly Gutierrez, Kennedy Rogers, Kelley Smetak

Guests

Kathrine Johns, Matt Claxton, Courtney McHenry, Lizzie Butler, Lee Ann Birdwell, Abigail Burgess, Melanie Tidball, Mackenzie Baxter

  1. Call to Order
    1. Approval of Minutes – Electronic
      1. Motion to approve Daniel Ludlow, Gabriel Fonseca seconded. Motion passed.
    2. Announcements
      1. Clay Stoldt and Kevin Saal will be attending next senate meeting in April.
        1. Update on student attendance and budget.
        2. Any questions, send them to Jacob.
      2. Kansas State Science Olympiad needs Volunteers for the State event on April 4
        1. The Kansas State Science Olympiad will be held on campus on April 4. Volunteers are needed to assist with events in various areas, such as Boomleiver, Bungee drop, Helicopter, Hovercraft, Machines, Chemistry, Forensics, and Experimental design. High school and Middle school students will be competing in 46 different events as teams for the opportunity to attend the National Science Olympiad held at the University of Southern California in May.
        2. If you want to volunteer, scan QR code or contact Susan McCoy at susan.mccoy@wichita.edu.
        3. If you are unable on Saturday, will need any set-up help on Friday.
      3. Angie Linder’s last Staff Senate – thank you for all your wisdom and support, Congratulations!
  2. New Business

    1. Library Appeals Committee

      1. They wanted to open this up to senators first and then seek volunteers from there. I took one of the spots for my full-time position to help out and would align with my daily work.

      2. The University Library Appeals Committee meets once each semester (fall, spring, and summer) to review student appeals for lost item charges and overdue fines. The committee includes faculty, staff, and students from across campus. This semester’s hearing is especially important, as it will be the first since the new library policies on lost-item fees were implemented.

      3. Let me know your thoughts, should we add this to a standing role of the senate?

        1. Should we have this more formalized to have 2 senators designated to the committee.

        2. Senate discussed that it would be good idea to formalize like we do with parking appeals committee.

        3. Especially with new policies, would be good to have senators on committee.

      4. Jacob Mendez & Courtney Henry volunteered.

      5. Jacob will have some updating wording and have to present to full senate next meeting.

    2. Open / As Arises
  3. Old Business

    1. Listening Session Overview (thus far)

      1. Themes:

        1. Concerns with supervision from department chairs

        2. Concerns about lack of succession planning

      2. We’ve held 3 so far, the highest attendance was the one with HR.

      3. Minutes from the listening sessions are out in the Teams shared folder.

      4. Discussion about what senators have heard during these sessions.

      5. We have two more sessions and the President would like to see these themes. Jacob plans on sending them once the last session is complete.

      6. Question – Are there any plans or things that Staff Senate should be doing once these sessions are completed?

        1. Is there something we’d like to do and take these themes that have come up and do something besides just sending it up to admin, do we create/pass resolutions? Are we able to pass resolutions?

        2. What authority does Staff Senate have?

          1. Faculty Senate & SGA has a lot of authority to weigh in on policies, how can Staff Senate also some input on our end besides providing recommendations.

          2. Discussion that as a staff senate we are not a policy initiator, we are oftentimes a policy reviewer.

            1. If we want to step into more of an advocacy role, we will also need to create the structure in staff senate to support that type of work.

          3. WSU Formal Policy Process: https://www.wichita.edu/about/policy/policy.php

      7. Discussion on how institutionally we do not have a good onboarding process.

        1. Comment on standardization of onboarding must take into account the trade-off of freedom vs prescribed.

        2. It may be more of a fact that departments aren’t utilizing the resources that are available from HR.

          1. Potentially could we have a workshop from HR on a regular basis to prepare for onboarding/succession planning.

    2. SB 244 Policy Constituent Concern

      1. Statement from General Counsel: We ask that employees use their judgment in determining what actions may be reasonable based on the circumstances of each situation. SB 244 does provide a right for individuals to file a formal written complaint against other individuals for using a multiple occupancy private space designated for members of the opposite sex. Unlike Title IX or the Clery Act, individuals are not required to make a formal complaint under SB 244.   It is within the discretion of each individual whether to exercise the right under SB 244.

        1. Question – will the university be placing any signage regarding SB 244? Unaware of that at this time. We will follow-up to confirm.

        2. Question – what is the actual process to file a report? Assumption that there is more communication that will be coming out at some point. We can follow-up to confirm.

          1. Note that if a student asks and would like to report, you as a staff person can share with the student on how to report.

    3. Open/As Arises
  4. Senate Committee Updates
    1. Awards and Recognition

      1. Staff Senate Awards winners will be announced on Friday at STRIVE Conference

      2. Winners of the distinguished awards will be announced through WSU Today.

    2. Communications and Website

      1. Stacy & Kendra met and added feedback to the Docking Survey.

      2. Trang continues to submit Senator Spotlights.

      3. The Scholarship announcement was created & submitted to WSU Today & updated on the website.

      4. Stacy has spent a significant amount of time on the website remediating PDFs. The largest impact has been on the Docking Survey documents & the meeting minutes/agenda. For the Docking Surveys, Stacy has posted summaries & a request for the full PDF to be emailed. We're still working on the meeting minutes/agendas to come up with the best, efficient, & sustainable solution.

    3. Elections 

      1. Elections are open and voting is live through April 6th.

      2. We have 27 non exempt, 26 exempt nominations.

      3. Thanks to Election Committee for all their hard work. Shout out to Corby, Jacob, & Kendra for assisting.

    4. Policy Review 
      1. No updates.
    5. Professional Development and Service 

      1. Excited to presenting at the STRIVE Conference over “Staff Empowerment”.

      2. Working on scheduling a walk in late April, more details to come.

    6. STRIVE Conference 

      1. STRIVE: Working on the conference this Friday! Around 200 registered.

      2. Krissy sent a message out in Teams to ask for volunteer moderators.

      3. Thank you to all that have agreed to present and are helping in all the various ways!

      4. Senators please wear your staff senator tshirt.

        1. Question will senators need to meet ahead for instructions. Information will be available at check-in.

    7. Scholarships

      1. 4 Winners have been notified.

    8. Chair Policy and Procedures Ad Hoc Committee 
      1. Cleaning up language currently, hope to present in the fall. 
  5. Campus/University Business Updates & Discussions
    1. Advisory Budget Committee 

      1. No update, budget advisory meeting is occurring on April 2nd, but will be closer to the deadline by the legislature being done for the year.

    2. Human Resources (Joint with Faculty Senate)

      1. I believe the policy you’re thinking of is 6.04 / Appointment Statuses (for staff) and 4.01 / Faculty Appointments (for faculty). These two policies outline the notice period for each appointment type. Please let me know if this isn’t what you need and I’ll happy to discuss further or send additional information over.

      2. H-1B Status - We have not heard additional updates regarding H-1B status since the campus email that was shared with Staff Senators. The latest communication was sent out on 2/25/26 and included Senate President’s.

      3. Faculty Senate working to align the Post Tenure Review and Workload policies with KBOR policies.

      4. Campus Communication Question: some senators asked whether the university plans to formally communicate about voluntary separations for tenured faculty, even though it does not apply to staff. No, there are no plans to communicate broadly about this program. All communications were targeted to those that are eligible and their leadership (Deans & Chairs). The reason is a broad communication would create confusion for the majority of employees, since it is a very narrowly focused program.

      5. Some staff shared they were waiting for information about voluntary separation, as faculty in their departments assumed staff might also receive an offer. The program is only available to Tenured Faculty who are age 60+ and who have 10+ years of service at WSU or the State of Kansas by the date of retirement (6/20/26).

    3. Legislative Update + KBOR Briefing 

      1. Did not act on tenure

      2. 3.5% budget reduction (2.5% SGF, cut student success =1% cut)

      3. Tuition cap lifted

      4. Bill passed to find university efficiencies around procurement, contracts and leasing

      5. They did not cut need-based aid

      6. Zach to discuss DEI

      7. 1% pay pool

    4. Parking Appeals + Traffic Appeals 

      1. Parking is operating as it was before the software update. No new updates. 

    5. President’s Meetings

      1. I had to cancel the last one due to Spring Break. Another one is coming soon.

      2. Had semester provost meeting and main concern discussed was potential budget cuts and focused heavily on need for department chairs to be held accountable for actions/supervision.

    6. RSC Board of Directors 
      1. No updates.
    7. Admins Coming Together 

      1. Anne Marie Brown will be taking on leading the group.  

    8. UPS/USS Presidents Council (KBOR)

      1. No updates

      2. Conversations with other institutions is that WSU is pretty unique in having consistent meetings with administrators.

  6. Adjourn/Upcoming Meetings and Events/Shoutouts

    1. April Senate Meeting: Tuesday, April 21, 2026 | 3:30pm-5:00pm | RSC 142
    2. Check the Events Calendar for upcoming events on campus