claremont, ca 91711

Pitzer College Staff Council

1050 North Mills Avenue Claremont, CA 91711

Staff Council Meeting February 3, 2021

via Zoom

Attendees: Carlos Alvarez (Chair), Laurie Babcock, Melissa Burrows (Communications Chair), Chris Castaneda, Kirsten Carrier (Vice-Chair), Sara Clark (Treasurer), Jackie Contreras (Staff Advocacy Secretary), Viridiana Garcia, Maggie Hernandez, Dan Hirsch, Duanduan Hsieh, Kathy Kile, Brandon Kyle, Kamalei Lee, Jessica Levy, Anh Mejia, Todd Sasaki

I. Supporting Staff During Staffing Changes a. Staff Forum to suggest the functional side of why things are

happening/changing i. How can we support each other? How are changes to departments

going to support the College moving forward? How are goals/priorities changing?

ii. Updates from each area and what functions have shifted where/to whom so staff still knows how to navigate the college

b. Where do staff members go to ask questions they may have regarding changes?

i. Some staff members may not wish to have an announcement sent out regarding departure

II. Vacation Hours/Bereavement Leave in COVID-19 a. Can put a hold on expiration of vacation hours given the pandemic? b. How do we do a better job at finding coverage for staff who wish to take

vacation; may feel like they can’t due to current demands. c. Bereavement Leave | Can there be more flexibility with the policy given that

services can’t really be held given the pandemic? (i.e. may need three days, but also need time later to attend services when they are allowed to be held)

i. Has the Bereavement Leave policy been changed, or does it still only include immediate family members (i.e. parents, grandparents, siblings)?

ii. Law change effective January 1st; Those who are caring for a sibling, parent, child over the age of 18; California extended family leave to other family members during COVID-19

III. Governance Committee Support a. If you need assistance, please reach out to Carlos Alvarez at this time. b. What to do if you cannot get a mutual meeting time set?

i. Senate looking into possible common meeting time for committees. IV. Staff Forum Scheduling | Sometime between late February and early March V. Spring Staff Council Meetings | Looked at Doodle poll and determined Mondays at

3:30 p.m. for the next 2 meetings will be scheduled. VI. New Hires | Who are they? HR can possibly send out an email of new hires? VII. Staff Council Vacancy | Looking to fill in the next few weeks. VIII. Priorities for Spring 2021 | What can we do feasibly? Possibly assign 1-2 council

members to smaller projects. || Respectfully submitted by Melissa Burrows ||



Staff Council Meeting February 15, 2021

via Zoom


I. All-Staff Meeting a. Working with HR to move forward; Plan to invite people to update staff on

recent campus changes b. Plan for Spring Break (3/8-3/12)? Before? c. May work more like a Staff Forum given remote work environment (questions

etc.) II. Changes to Handbook

a. Statement on what Staff Council is versus outlining all the bylaws (like Student Senate); Bylaws don’t need to be in there; When we need to update bylaws, it’s an long process via shared governance

b. Removal of SCR acronym (not longer Staff Council of Representatives, just Staff Council)

c. Review of resolution document prepared by Kirsten; Working to get approved through Staff Council via email vote, then onto FEC/College Council (needs to be done by March or it won’t be voted on this year)

III. Staff Council Vacancies | Working on filling our open representative slot; Will be designating new APC representative

IV. Announcements/Updates a. COVD Task Force | Meeting bi-weekly; Primarily working on potential Fall

housing; TBD on SHS and vaccines b. AQMD Survey | Reporting survey on commute to work; Will be emailed out

soon; Fill it out like we did last time due to remote work environment c. On-Campus Screening/Testing

i. Updated campus screening form; Old form will re-route you to new form ii. Testing for employees who work on-campus being discussed

d. Campus Aesthetics Committee | Plan to work with Pitzer Art Galleries on distinction between public art vs. permanent collection works; Possible addition of non-voting member additions, representatives from Pitzer Art Galleries & Pitzer Archives; Working to address concerns regarding painting over of unapproved murals on Mead Hall

e. STPD Funding | We do have some funds available and Staff are welcome to apply through the normal process; Email [email protected] for the PDF request form

f. Office of Admissions | Working on admitting students for 2021-2022

|| Respectfully submitted by Melissa Burrows ||

mailto:[email protected]



Staff Council Meeting March 1, 2021

via Zoom

Attendees: Carlos Alvarez (Chair), Laurie Babcock, Melissa Burrows (Communications Chair), Chris Castaneda, Kirsten Carrier (Vice-Chair), Sara Clark (Treasurer), Jackie Contreras (Staff Advocacy Secretary), Viridiana Garcia, Maggie Hernandez, Dan Hirsch, Duanduan Hsieh, Kathy Kile, Brandon Kyle, Kamalei Lee, Jessica Levy, Anh Mejia, Todd Sasaki Guests: Deanna Cabellero (Human Resources), Marie Pinedo (Human Resources), Sandy Vasquez (Office of Student Affairs)

I. Introduction of Marie Pinedo, Director of Human Resources II. Committee Updates

a. Campus Aesthetics Committee (CAC) | Working on updating policies, procedures, and committee make-up

b. Teaching and Learning Committee (TLC) | Potential changes/merging of TLC and Campus Life Committee (CLC)

III. College Council Planning a. Currently this week’s meeting and May meeting scheduled; Potential addition of

another College Council in April to address the Code of Student Conduct revisions; Also opens up discussion of the test blind policy.

i. Any questions, feel free to reach out to Duanduan Hsieh in the Office of Admissions.

b. Changes to faculty handbook regarding content of Staff Council section; Carlos will send it out again to everyone for approval.

IV. All-Staff Meeting a. Going to invite members of Cabinet; Not sure if all cabinet members are going

to speak, but would like the majority to give some forward-thinking announcements.

b. Will ask staff to send questions in advance to the Staff Council suggestion box ahead of time in order to better facilitate them during the meeting.

c. Exec Board to come up with potential talking points d. Thinking about scheduling

V. Presentation of Student Code of Conduct Changes a. Student Code of Conduct review team put together in Fall 2017; Extended

team, adding student members to enhance student voice; Also members of faculty, Judicial Council and staff members

b. Looked at demand letters and student voice documents from as far back as 2015; Reached out to former Judicial Council chairs and Identity Board leadership; Looked at historical student conduct data analysis; Reviewed private/public, 5C and 7C policies and procedures to inform the work

c. Aimed to build student success; Positively redirect behaviors and engage them in ways that are restorative and educational

d. Enhanced organization of document for better access/readability; Provides quick resources to those who might need support in a given area/not buried in the text

e. Administrative review process revisions include: i. Student Conduct Review Board > Prev. “Judicial Council” ii. Student right to an advisor of their choice iii. New medical amnesty policy iv. Removed “special powers” references v. Focus on investigation and resolution options vi. Composition of the Student Conduct Review Board; Inclusive

representation; Considers members of TCCS vii. Student Conduct Review Board hearing procedure changes:

1. Prohibits harassment/retaliation of any participants 2. Written statements from character witnesses (prev. live character

witnesses) 3. Digital recordings are maintained confidentially, but this fact was

previously not included in the code 4. Prohibition of recording (audio or visual) of hearing

viii. Appeals procedures revised to align with resolutions f. Changes to sanctioning, including:

i. Inclusion of student groups and clubs/orgs to provide more transparency/accountability

ii. Clarification of disciplinary sanctions vs. educational sanctions iii. Supports educational student development iv. Educational Sanctions | Expanded to include those focusing on student

growth, development, restoration in community and success (i.e. Alcohol/Drug Sanctioning/Assessment, Counseling, Academic Coaching, Mentoring, Special Projects)

v. Additional Student Group or Clubs/Organizations Sanctions (i.e. Educational workshops, social function restrictions, etc.)

g. Revision of policies/community standards, including: i. Definition of Terms – More student-focused, Dean of Students can

appoint designee, Definition for administrative review hearing officers ii. Violations of Law – Clarifies right of Pitzer to impose sanctions on

state/federal law violations that impact health/safety of the community iii. Includes off-campus conduct; Aligns with Clery compliance iv. Student Standards of Conduct restructured so more easily accessible

h. Language and terminology changes i. Questions

i. What will this process look like should a hearing need to be remote/online (i.e. during a pandemic)?

1. Have had hearings during remote learning/work; Will continue to be flexible based on student/community needs

VI. Staff is now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination; More information to come from the COVID Task Force





via Zoom


I. Delaying All-Staff Meeting a. Carlos met with Laura Troendle regarding all-staff meeting, spoke with Kirsten

and a revised speakers list is being considered. Focusing on vaccinations, testing, updates and forward thinking along with on-campus operations.

b. Carlos will also be meeting with President Oliver II. Staff Social Committee (SSC)

a. PZ mask consideration, some other type of item, collaborating with President's office and will there be a winter party? If there is budget for it, can it be combined for end of the academic year event? Kamalei and Carlos will follow up.

III. End-of-the-Year Luncheon a. Recognition for service years – video from supervisors, event on Zoom after

end of semester, have a meal, e-gift card or other award since we can’t have a meal in person together.

b. Distinguished Staff Awards - Recognizing how staff are keeping things running, not just two people for this year perhaps?

i. Do we still want only two winners or shift to focusing on more broad appreciation?

ii. IT staff, essential staff, facilities teams, caretakers and family situations, recognizing work while remote, how many staff are going above and beyond, thinking outside the box, managing home life and work.

c. Possible Recognition Titles i. "On-Site Super Star" ii. "Raving Remote Role Model" iii. "Zooming Zoomer" iv. "Essential Extraordinaire"

IV. Child-Care Committee a. Are they still active? Website is up, valuable to consider sharing resources

again. Have not met since last fall. Website page: https://www.pitzer.edu/dependent-care/

b. Recognize, what’s happening and can be shared and done to support staff and faculty parents.

c. Sara noted the Biden administration 14 weeks off federal benefit for school-based circumstances (previously only under 500 employee companies were eligible for this, we were over and could not offer to employees. Now expanded and available, Human Resources available for questions).

https://www.pitzer.edu/dependent-care/

d. Proof child’s school is still closed may be needed or individual circumstance. e. It was expressed that a statement is needed of the continued expectation of

flexibility and continuing to support our staff with their individual circumstances. f. Parents should not feel required to send kids back to school. g. Keep an eye out for additional vaccination opportunities.

|| Respectfully submitted by Carlos Alvarez & Melissa Burrows ||




via Zoom


I. Vote on Legislation for Staff Council Bylaws Removal from Faculty Handbook a. Will also include official name change to “Staff Council” b. Vote | Yes: 10, No: 0, Abstain: 0; Vote Passes

II. Meeting with President Oliver (Carlos) a. Wants to save budget so we can have bigger/more celebratory event for

returning for campus. b. Carlos shared recent concerns from staff; Encouragement for the Fall

III. All-Staff Meeting | Friday, April 2, 2021 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. a. Not as many cabinet members as we originally intended; Instead, focusing on

relevant items (in no certain order): i. Laura Troendle - Strategic planning for fall, task force, dining awareness

for fall and other updates as appropriate. ii. River Santee - Testing and on campus experience so far, progress of

initiatives and vaccine notices. iii. Mark Crawbuck - On campus operations for the spring and updates for

summer or fall as appropriate. iv. Elisa Alban- SIS implementation updates, Prism software and its

consideration for data warehouse integration. v. Sandy Vasquez - OSA initiatives for students this spring and brief

summer and fall considerations. vi. Jessica Levy - Healthy Pitzer and tech-based initiatives for safety. vii. Staff Council and SSC updates if time allows.

b. Will pre-allocate time in order to ensure everything fits. c. Will plan on recording for those who cannot make it.

IV. Committee Updates a. APC | Meeting regularly; Faculty searches b. TLC | Still in discussion with CLC on merging two committee together c. SSC | March Wellness Challenge coming to an end – Going well; Will move

forward with awards




Staff Council Meeting April 26, 2021 | 3:30 p.m.

via Zoom

Attendees: Carlos Alvarez (Chair), Laurie Babcock, Melissa Burrows (Communications Chair), Chris Castaneda, Kirsten Carrier (Vice-Chair), Jackie Contreras (Staff Advocacy Secretary), Viridiana Garcia, Maggie Hernandez, Dan Hirsch, Duanduan Hsieh, Kathy Kile, Brandon Kyle, Kamalei Lee, Jessica Levy, Todd Sasaki Meeting called to order at 3:36 p.m.

I. Staff Council Elections Update

a. Need to fill 11 representative spots. b. Trying to get a head start (earlier than previous years) in order to get new staff

members integrated prior to July 1st given the anticipated busy Summer moving into Fall (due to return to campus).

II. Distinguished Staff Awards Update a. Nominations are being collected currently; SC will look at nominations on May 10th –

Deadline for nominations is May 7th III. Staff Identity and Advocacy Group

a. Resolution to support formation of a SC sub-committee; Similar to Identity Board for Student Senate; Advocates for Staff

b. Focus on campus climate improvements/success; community building and dialogue, Pitzer staff of color advocacy and retention, professional development in diversity, equality and inclusion, and events related to culture/identity

i. Suggestion that we make the specificity of charges a little broad for consideration of future SC member groups

c. Budget concerns addressed; Considerations of potential push back d. Suggestion that these goals may be better addressed with a SC Executive Board

position (vs. addition of a formal sub-committee and elected members); Unique needs that differ from just Staff Advocacy. This would promote voluntary participation and one SC executive board member for accountability and collaboration with others in the community.

IV. Updates and Announcements a. SC bylaws proposal was reviewed at last College Council and will be voted on at the

next College Council on May 6th. b. Staff Appreciation Awards (SSC/Kamalei)

i. May 18th 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.; Committee to send out zoom informations/graphics/communications

ii. Videos are being collected for those staff members that are being recognized; Will also receive a gift and card in the mail

c. Student Leadership Recognition Week i. Taking place this week; All the information can be found at

https://www.pitzer.edu/student-leadership Meeting Adjourned at 4:11 p.m.


https://www.pitzer.edu/student-leadership



Staff Council Meeting May 10, 2021

via Zoom

Attendees: Carlos Alvarez (Chair), Laurie Babcock, Melissa Burrows (Communications Chair), Chris Castaneda, Kirsten Carrier (Vice-Chair), Jackie Contreras (Staff Advocacy Secretary), Viridiana Garcia, Maggie Hernandez, Dan Hirsch, Duanduan Hsieh, Kathy Kile, Brandon Kyle, Kamalei Lee, Jessica Levy, Todd Sasaki

I. Resolution and Bylaws Review a. Resolution will be on hold until after bylaws forum discussions; Bylaws change

considerations include changes to subcommittee structure, Executive board responsibility adjustments, and DEI group consideration.

II. College Council Updates a. Bylaws removal from faculty handbook passed at College Council. b. SAIP and BIC items discussions were greatly discussed – how can we address the

staff and faculty disconnects, if at all? c. The disconnect and lack of earlier dialog leads to items being presented that impact

staff. How do we prevent and determine potential dissatisfaction – cum laude grading consideration, Registrar office impact, SAIP items, test-blind policy for Admissions staff as examples

d. Concern expressed regarding voting procedures. Chair takes responsibility though communication can be done earlier and when an item is being introduced. Staff Council member noted it needs to be specified what the voting parameters as early as possible – if an item is voted on by faculty and students that negatively impacts staff most there needs to be earlier conversations. Staff planning and intentionality for a goal can also be disrupted if an item is not approved that staff led and worked toward.

e. Guidance for SC chair- college council agenda planning must have greater intentionality and awareness with communication immediately to Staff Council.

f. Outcome is key and awareness - the Strategic Plan is important to future advocacy and review of governance review and process adjustments if any.

III. Updates and Announcements a. Staff Social Committee (SSC) | Note on addressing the conversation of when five

years counts (quasi-sixth year and being recognized for fifth) - impacts are present for this delay in identifying years of service.

b. COVID-19 Taskforce | Guidelines and return to campus phased process being discussed, feedback and ways to get involved.

c. Distinguished Staff Awards | Due to those nominated from Staff Council and low attendance, a voting poll will be done for Staff Council members. Aiming to verify supervisory and non-supervisory roles.

IV. Staff Council Bylaws Forum | Carlos will remind folks to attend the Staff Council Bylaws forum – potential changes and seeking staff community feedback.

V. Staff Forum | Staff forum under consideration for mid-June after guidelines and information could be available.

|| Respectfully submitted by Carlos Alvarez and Melissa Burrows ||



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Staff Council Meeting May 24, 2021

via Zoom

Attendees: Carlos Alvarez (Chair), Laurie Babcock, Melissa Burrows (Communications Chair), Chris Castaneda, Kirsten Carrier (Vice-Chair), Jackie Contreras (Staff Advocacy Secretary), Viridiana Garcia, Maggie Hernandez, Dan Hirsch, Duanduan Hsieh, Kathy Kile, Brandon Kyle, Kamalei Lee, Jessica Levy, Todd Sasaki Meeting was called to order at 3:36 p.m.

I. Discussed Feedback on Resolution R20-01 Staff Advocacy for DEI Committee from Last Week’s Forum

a. Went over changes and updates to document; Discussed interest by folks in the actual implementation.

b. Council members encouraged to discuss this initiative with their offices so that we can expand these initiatives outside of SC and the Office of Student Affairs; Want to assist in getting folks more comfortable in having these types of conversations.

c. **VOTE** 9 council members voted YES unanimously. i. Carlos will electronically sign the resolution and distributing to various groups

on-campus (i.e. President’s Office, Diversity Committee, Identity Board) II. Staff Council Bylaws Change

a. Adjustments to quorum (needs to be 9 based on number of council members – 17), realignment of SC Executive Board roles and better defining duties, flexibility in handling council member vacancies, merging staff engagement & communications subcommittees, STPD funds can be used for on-campus trainings (now defined in bylaws)

b. **VOTE** 9 council members voted YES unanimously. i. Will move forward with including these changes in Staff Council elections.

III. 2021-22 Staff Council Election a. 7 non-supervisory positions & 2 at-large positions open b. Carlos and Laurie will be serving as the elections committee. c. Looking to expand the 2-day voting period to 4 days; We are starting earlier this year in

order to get the council set for the Fall. d. Adding call for Staff Social Committee (SSC) interest on both the nomination form AND

the ballot IV. Petition by Andrea Scott

a. Involves expanding use of travel and research funds in consideration of dependent/family care expenses needed for pursing certain opportunities.

b. Feedback | STPD should lay out some principles; Perhaps a college policy change highlighting what funds can be used for; Conversation should continue on and feedback from other groups is needed.

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c. Carlos will reach out to Andrea to relay that SC collectively supports this petition based on this discussion.

V. HR Diversity Online Trainings a. EVERFI is an accessible resource we have available for these trainings; We currently

use them for several trainings on the HR and OSA domains b. Carlos, Kirsten and Brandon are taking a look at the course offerings; Possibility of

planning an after-training live discussion in order to round out the training and its effectiveness (currently module trainings are just videos, questions, scenarios, but now after-conversation)

i. EVERFI does provide a facilitation guide for post-training conversations. c. For SC members who are interested in reviewing trainings, email Carlos & Kirsten –

they will meet with Marie from EVERFI next week to go over thoughts/concerns/feedback.

VI. Returning to Campus Updates a. Phased approach – not everyone coming back all at once. b. Supervisors have been contacted to work with their teams to determine who would be

interested in working on-campus between now and July 31st; There will be another phase like this for the Fall return to campus.

i. Assuming for Summer, most people will be working off-campus; Collecting information on who needs to be on-campus and what resources from IT & Facilities are needed.

ii. Fall – Assuming most people will be on-campus but will have forms for those who will be working remotely/on-campus.

c. Town halls scheduled to get everyone in a discussion around the Fall process (First one is scheduled for June 4th).

d. If you need something complex/hard to come by for your office (i.e. Plexi glass), you should get that ball started now by speaking with your supervisor and/or filling out the form so that the appropriate divisions can plan for it.

i. If you are not going to be on-campus of if you do not need any resources, you do not need to fill out the form.

e. If you feel that you are not getting enough information regarding returning to campus, please feel free to speak up so the committee can adjust their communications.

VII. Faculty Perspective on Police Presence On-Campus a. Triggered by having a police training on-campus at CMC; Faculty would like more

information-sharing on Campus Safety’s part to make sure the community is well-informed prior to the presence of uniforms on-campus.

VIII. Announcements a. Commencement ceremony went very well. b. Summer hours being today (May 24th); Staff are permitted to clock-out at 4:30 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:33 p.m.


claremont, ca 91711

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