Faculty Economic Welfare and Retirement Committee

Members present: Ed Brook, Rakesh Gupta, Walt Loveland, Jane Nichols, Steve Ortiz, Bruce Sorte, Mary Thompson

The committee discussed a draft resolution for the Faculty Senate concerning Family and Child Care resources (original draft copied below). Minor changes to wording and structure were proposed, and Bruce Sorte agreed to distributed a revised version, incorporating some additional information from Amy Luhn, Director of Childcare and Family Resources in the Office of Student Life. 

E. Brook will, in the mean time, contact the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and request to discuss the resolution and the possibility of bringing it to the Faculty Senate for approval.

Committee members present also discussed several other issues:

• Concerns about possible changes in PERS during this legislative session. E. Brook agreed to make contact with Jock Mills to attempt to be more informed about legislative actions (email to Jock on January 13, 2017, awaiting reply). 
• Concerns about salary equity with peer institutions, merit review process and raises, and related issues. Committee members present agreed to devote next meeting to preparing for a meeting with Susan Capalbo and Sherm Bloomer about these issues. (Note, doodle poll distributed on January 12, 2017)
• Concerns about general understanding of retirement plans and planning by faculty. There was a brief discussion about these issues with a suggestion that this needs further attention.

DRAFT

Oregon State University Family and Child Resources and Programs Resolution

OSU Faculty Senate

**,**,2017

Whereas the Faculty Senate strongly supports accessible, high quality, affordable and also living wage based family and child resources and programs for faculty, staff and students, and

Whereas **% of all faculty and **% of newly hired faculty need or will likely need these family and child resources, and

Whereas the ability of faculty to obtain these resources directly affects these faculty members’ welfare or quality of life, creativity and productivity as well as those colleagues with whom they collaborate, and

Whereas OSU for many years had a child care committee and the 2015 Task Force on Children, Youth and Family developed a set of recommendations, appended hereto, that the Faculty Senate wholeheartedly supports,

Whereas Article II, Sec.2, (b) of the Faculty Senate bylaws states the Faculty Senate shall: (b) study and prepare recommendations to the President of Oregon State University concerning the welfare of the Faculty;

Be it resolved that the Faculty Senate requests:

1. a broadly representative and permanent OSU Children, Youth and Family Committee be appointed by the OSU President in consultation with faculty, staff and student representative organizations, and 
2. a plan and commitment be developed to provide stable or multi-year funding from OSU, which can be combined with user fees and ASOSU support and is in addition to current facility and administrative support, to steadily increase the breadth and quality of children, youth and family resources available to the OSU campus community,
3. OSU carry this message of the importance of educational institutions providing these resources for children, youth and families beyond OSU to the broader higher education community and culture,

May it also be resolved that the Faculty Senate requests at least annual updates on the progress of these initiatives from the Faculty Economic Welfare and Retirement Committee.