LSA Exec - Minutes - April 29, 2026

LSA Exec Minutes
4/29/2026

 

Present: Rebecca Schroeder, Melissa Mayhew, Andy Poland, Grace Brazell, MC Mack, Sydney McFadden, Erin Pfannenstiel, Erika Earles, Molly Bauer, Victoria Williams, Owen Murphy, Sheila Orth, Angela Andres, Chris Bohling, Warren Lambert, Christen Caton, Jeromy Horkman, Marianne Reed, Jamie Young, April Friedl, Courtney Foat, Morgan Smith, Brian Moss, John Jones, Andrew Hansbrough, Andrew Allen, Laura Skarka, Sunita Gandhi, Daniel Sauerwein

Absent: N/A

Agenda:

Welcome

  1. Approve minutes from 3.26.26 meeting
  2. Review 4.7.26 staff conversation with the Dean
  3. Recruitment & elections discussion
  4. Student Appreciation week updates
  5. Remaining budget funds usage
  6. Reflect on this term's accomplishments, any loose threads?
  7. Looking forward: what do we want to accomplish before the end of this term?
  8. New business

Conclude

Notes:

  1. Approved 3.26.26 Minutes
  2. Review 4.7.26 staff conversation with the Dean
    1. Staff and Faculty Hiring
    2. Wages and cost of living
    3. Budget process clarity, such as 099 vs other funds
    4. Hybrid/recorded options for meetings like this conversation, All-Staffs, etc.
      1. Strongly preferred by those present, especially for desk staff who often can’t attend otherwise. Also useful for people with hearing issues, for people who want to review because they otherwise missed something, etc. 
      2. Call for more folks to express their support for these options
    5. Proposal to make this kind of staff conversation meeting an expectation for at least once a semester
      1. It’s a desired kind of talk, and it’s easier for everyone to prepare for if it’s a regular occurrence
    6. People have noticed that the value difference between staff and faculty is not acknowledged sufficiently by leadership
      1. Directly related to compensation, which is an aspect that is minimized
    7. There is desire for more understanding on how the budget process works
      1. Syd and Rebecca have been pushing for more transparency from leadership and for them to be more proactive in communicating about their decision-making process to reduce friction caused by differences in understanding
      2. Staff senate is also working on the issue of movement within pay-bands. 
        1. Lowball initial offers are under the Libraries’ purview
        2. There is a cycle of offers being kept low because longtime people started low and don’t get raises, which then leads to more people starting low and being unable to move up adequately, which keeps new offers low, and so on
    8. Staff senate committees will be recruiting soon – staff are encouraged to join the ones that appeal to them – several present already have served and recommend it
  3. Recruitment & elections discussion
    1. There will be competition in this election based on current nominations
    2. Current LSA members are interested in coordinating with the next set of elected folks so current initiatives continue
    3. Currently aiming to send out ballots after the FOLIO transition
  4. Student Appreciation week updates
    1. Bags will be sent out for finals week
      1. Syd can put bags together early for students who aren’t working on finals week
        1. Survey sent out to student supervisors to help guide purchases
    2. Can use $25 student funds for food (including meals)
      1. Get receipts, make sure purchases are tax exempt
      2. Endowment funded - not state funds, hence the ability to use on food
      3. Off-site meals are not restricted
      4. Can also use budget for small gifts for graduating students
      5. Finals appreciation bags are a separate fund from the $25 budget student supervisors have
    3. There is interest in more Annex tours
      1. And in making sure it is clear students can also attend, and that it counts as paid time
  5. Remaining budget funds usage
    1. Board-game get-together is in consideration - teambuilding
  6. Reflect on this term's accomplishments, any loose threads?
    1. Student-shadowing opportunities are still in development
  7. Looking forward: what do we want to accomplish before the end of this term?
    1. Prepare the transfer of initiatives to the next governance group
  8. New business
    1. Bus tour – information will (ideally) be sent out at the end of this week – waiting on final confirmations from outside parties
      1. First stop will be UMKC
      2. Lunch is included