Joint senate meeting raises concerns over game day parking, employee benefits
Unclassified Professional Senate and Unclassified Staff Senate invited Faculty Senate met to discuss common problems amongst their constituents.
Senators at a joint meeting between Faculty Senate, Unclassified Professional Senate, and Unclassified Staff Senate expressed concerns over parking issues on campus, particularly on game days when university parking lots are blocked off and reserved for game attendees.
The meeting was called Wednesday, when Unclassified Professional Senate and Unclassified Staff Senate invited Faculty Senate to meet at Ahlberg Hall. Around 40 senators met to discuss common problems amongst their constituents.
One discussion centered on expanding university employee incentives and perks.
Randy Sessions, president of the Unclassified Staff Senate and tech support consultant with Wichita State police, addressed providing university employees with incentives instead of pay raises, “because we all know we’re not going to get those, probably,” Sessions said.
Sessions began the discussion on game day parking by referring to the issue as a “can of worms” that needed to be addressed.
“Please don’t get mad at us,” Sessions said. “They are $150 tickets.” That’s equivalent to the fine for parking in a red reserved parking spot on campus. Regular parking ticket fines are $25.
Carolyn Shaw, president of the faculty senate, said students can’t afford to pay a $150 fine.
“Is there any room to negotiate some of those tickets being slightly less ridiculous?” Shaw asked.
Michael Turenne, a sergeant with the WSU police, said people should understand not to park where they’re not allowed.
“We’ve tried to get as much communication out as humanly possible,” Turenne said.
“You can’t help somebody anymore. There’s also a large number of people who simply don’t care.”
Sessions said the university police won’t begin issuing citations immediately when the parking lots are blocked off. They begin about two hours before the game starts, he said.
“Don’t get mad at the police department, because they’re only doing their job,” Sessions said. “That structure was set by the administration.”
Kelly Eden, academic program specialist in the school of nursing, said students feel that athletics are taking precedence over academics.
“[Students] are required to purchase a parking pass to be on campus anyway for classes,” Eden said.
“They feel that academics should take precedence over games. That’s where a lot of the outrage is coming from.”
Jenna Farhat was the news editor of The Sunflower. Farhat majored in creative writing.
Real Shocker • Nov 13, 2017 at 9:49 pm
November 13, 2017
On October 27th I sent the following letter to members of the WSU Faculty Senate, WSU Unclassified Professional Senate, WSU University Support Staff Senate, Executive Team, Kansas Board of Regents, media, and others.
It would be great if those attending this joint Senate meeting would discuss the issues that some staff have encountered and how they can support them. The members of the Senates should have received the letter below.
I hope that individual who have encountered negative behavior feel supported in speaking out about what happened to them. I encourage individuals who want to tell their story and report sexual harassment/sexual misconduct they experienced to Jean Hayes at the Wichita Eagle and Chance Swaim at the Sunflower.
Tell your story and encourage and support others.
Sincerely,
Wade Robinson
***************************
October 26, 2017
To Members of the community:
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The time is always right to do what is right.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
National dialogue continues to take place regarding inappropriate behavior related to sexual harassment/misconduct/assault. Many people have come out in the news and regretted they did not say something sooner. I want to avoid any regret and share some experiences in the event it might help others.
On January 22, 2017 I was told that staff from Wichita State University (WSU) were made aware of an allegation of sexual harassment/sexual misconduct against Darron Boatright, WSU Athletic Director. I informed a staff member in the Human Resources Office at WSU of the allegation on February 21, 2017. On May 2, 2017 I made staff in the Human Resources Office, the Title IX Office and the EEO/AA Office at WSU aware of the details of the incident as I knew them. I also made the CEO, Blake Flanders, and General Counsel, Julene Miller, at the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) aware of the allegation.
On May 2, 2017 I also made the same staff at WSU and KBOR aware of another incident I witnessed in late Spring 2014 involving David Wright and President Bardo making offensive commentary regarding a female employee in the Information Technology department. This incident was about three months before
Jim Pulliam was hired at WSU. As some of you may know, Jim Pulliam filed a lawsuit against WSU alleging retaliation for opposing racially and sexually inappropriate comments made by David Wright. The lawsuit filed by Jim Pulliam against WSU was resolved earlier in 2017 and is believed to be subject to a
confidentiality and non-disparagement agreement (NDA).
I also notified the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) offices in Kansas City as well as the Kansas Human Rights Commission (KHRC) in Topeka about the incidents.
I was told that between January 22, 2017 and April 29, 2017 an investigation of the allegation involving Darron Boatright was conducted by staff in the Human Resources Office at WSU. I was contacted by staff from the OCR and EEOC Offices and interviewed about the details of the complaints I filed with them. I do not know the outcome of any investigation.
Because the issues related to sexual harassment and sexual misconduct are major topics of discussion in our society today, I feel it is important to speak out. I believe I have waited an appropriate amount of time for investigations to take place.
According to a June 14, 2017 article in the Lawrence Journal-World, President Bardo received a 2% salary increase from the Board of Regents this year. Only two presidents of KBOR Regent institutions received salary increases this year according to the LJW story for what the Regents described as related to market rates and performance. President Bardo’s salary went from $357,178 to $364,322 according to the LJW article. However, that is not reflected in the WSU FY 2018 Operating Budget Book in the WSU Library. It is also interesting to note that the “KanView – Transparency in Government” web site will list President Bardo’s 2017-2018 salary as $370,915 for the current year when it is updated in the very near future according to information they shared with me. That would be a $13,737 (3.84%) increase from last year. The KanView web link is at: http://kanview.ks.gov/
According to the University Budget Book for FY 2018, Darron Boatright received a $7,400 (3.84%) salary increase that was part of his contract from August 25, 2016. According to the Budget Book his salary went from $192,600 to $200,000. The KanView web site will list Darron Boatright’s salary for this year at $200,007 which is a $7,407 (3.84%) increase from last year according to information they shared with me.
According to the University Budget Book for FY 2018, David Wright’s salary is $171,257 which is the same as listed last year. However, the KanView web site will list David Wright’s salary for the current year at $177,843 which is a $6,586 (3.84%) increase according to information they shared with me.
On June 15, 2017 the Wichita Eagle reported that several WSU staff members were paid various amounts as part of separation agreements. Information regarding the Jim Pulliam lawsuit resolution is listed in that article. The article states Jim Pulliam was paid $100,000 to “forego litigation of the dispute” of the lawsuit he filed saying he was fired in retaliation for objecting to racially and sexually explicit language used by David Wright. The Eagle article is at the following web link: http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article156439794.html
In a recent CNN story titled Money, Power & Sexual Harassment that featured six women in the technology field who shared their stories of sexual harassment from venture capitalists, entrepreneur Bea Arthur said, “People at the top stay at the top, and they understand each other. They have vouched, and more importantly, covered for each other.” I found the story and that quote to be very powerful. The web link is: http://money.cnn.com/technology/sexual-harassment-tech/
On October 22, 2017 CNN had another story with an interview with Gretchen Carlson that talks about settlements and silence. I found the story relevant in today’s environment. The web link is:
http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/22/media/gretchen-carlson-bill-oreilly/index.html
I have learned much over the past few years about what resources are available to students, faculty, and staff who experience negative behavior. It is hard to know who to report to and to know the deadlines to report this behavior.
I encourage those who have information to report to share the information with the WSU Office of Human Resources, the WSU Title IX Office, the WSU EEO/AA Office, and the Kansas Board of Regents Office. I believe it is important to report immediately. However, do not stop there. The following resources are available as well.
Kansas Whistleblower Act
Kansas Statute 75-2973 is known as the Kansas Whistleblower Act. Copies are
available online or in the Human Resources Office.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Kansas City Area Office
Gateway Tower II
400 State Ave., Suite 905
Kansas City, KS 66101
800-669-4000
United States Department of Education
Office of Civil Rights – Region VII
One Petticoat Lane
1010 Walnut Street, Suite 320
Kansas City, MO 64106-2106
816-268-0563
Kansas Human Rights Commission
900 SW Jackson, Suite 568-S
Topeka, KS 66612-1258
785-296-3206
Sincerely,
Wade Robinson, Ph.D.
Former WSU Vice President for Student Affairs
Real Shocker • Nov 13, 2017 at 9:30 pm
I am somewhat confused about the comment that staff probably won’t get raises.
This year John Bardo got about a $13,000 raise, David Wright got about a $6,500 raise, Darron Boatright over a $7,000 or so raise, Zach Gearhart a $20,000 raise, Ty Masterson about a $84,000 raise, and Andy Schlapp received a several thousand dollar raise.
The source for this is the FY 2018 Operating Budget Book in the Library and the KanView web page.
Aren’t the faculty and straff getting these same raises as well? Enrollment was up about 4% and Bardo, Boatright, Wright, and Schlapp got a 3.84% raise. Gearhart and Masterson was certainly more than that.
Eric Maki • Nov 14, 2017 at 8:43 pm
Ah, let’s keep in mind Dr. Teri Hall, VP of Student Affairs, also received a raise though only at Wichita State University for 6 months.
6 months…
Real Shocker • Nov 15, 2017 at 7:42 am
The WSU Budget Book in the Library shows Teri’s salary was $169,000 when she was hired in January and is $173,225 now. That is a $4,225 (2.5%) increase after six months and some offices in Student Affairs were moved to other areas. Did new faculty or staff hired in January get the equivalent raise?