SOUTHWEST EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY ADVISORY COMMMITTEE
(EEOAC)

MEETING MINUTES

 August 3, 2005

Attendees: Jeremy Rusin, Jessica Kondel, Nancy Fisher, Jeff McLain, Rick Rogers, Rod Miller, Laura Tezer, and Advisor Maria Harris.  Rosemary Troian also participated in the call.

1. Jeremy called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m.

2. The Minutes from April, May, and July 2005 were approved.

3.  Officer’s Reports: Jeremy thanked everyone for the good response to his e-mail regarding the importance of attendance to meetings.

4. Subcommittee Reports:

   1. Program:  The committee did not meet and no date for meeting set yet, but plans to meet sometime in August.

   2. Administrative:  The committee met and discussed a new work plan for publicizing student intern contributions to the SWR by placing articles in the NOAA Diversity Newsletter, like the Sacramento office did last month. The committee felt it was a good idea, so Jessica will forward the plan to Rod for approval. The next meeting is scheduled for 8/25.

   3. Personnel:  Regarding the Listserver work plan, there is a block in communications to subscribers from WASC’s method of communication. Until that block is remedied, there is not sufficient data to know whether or not the Listserver has been effective. This issue and ideas for why and how the Listserver subscriber list should be updated and used will be discussed at the next subcommittee meeting. Regarding the Interview Question work plan, Nancy has not had time to contact Natalie Huff to clarify some of the committee’s questions. Once the questions have been answered, a copy of the final draft will be sent to HR at WASC for their review and input. If nothing has changed since the last presentation to the committee, the list of questions will be sent to anyone in the region that interviews prospective employees for their review and input. Each time there is a change, the updated version will be presented to the committee. Once all changes have been made and a final version is agreed upon by all parties, the plan will be presented to Rod for his approval. The next meeting is scheduled for 8/16.

5. Old Business:  Both items were covered in Subcommittee Reports.

6.  New Business: 

   1. This item was covered in Subcommittee Reports.

   2. No one was present to report on the IDP Training Follow-up, however, Jeremy   believes that this will be the first topic worked on by the Program subcommittee at the next meeting.

   3. Participation of management to EEOAC monthly meetings was presented on the manager’s call. Regional management was supportive, and Rod suggested a rotational assignment of ARA’s, the Deputy RA, and himself to sit in each month. When none of those managers are available, someone from a science center can fill in.  Bill Fox is also discussing Center management’s role in EEOAC meetings with Rod.  After a brief discussion, the committee decided that a proposal be presented to Rod with not only his suggestion, but also that managers from regional labs and offices also participate in the rotation, as well as welcoming any manager to any meeting voluntarily.

7. Announcements: Jessica announced that there is a site that offers federally employed women to various training through workshops and conferences and can be found at www.few.org. The committee held a short discussion on possibly adding participation in the EEOAC to be a part of their evaluation. There were pros and cons to the idea, and Jeremy had a previous discussion of this topic with Tim Price who left the decision up to him. Another short discussion was also held about giving recognition to participants of the EEOAC (as suggested by Natalie Huff) in order to recognize service given as well as help in the recruitment of new members. No decisions were made.

8. The next meting is set for 9/7/05.

9. The meeting was adjourned at 1:50 p.m.