Retirees Rights and Benefits FY2017


Committee Details:

Committee: Retirees Rights and Benefits
Committee Category: Standing Committees of the University Senate
Fiscal Year: 2017

Committee Description

Retirees Rights and BenefitsThis committee works to promote communication with retirees, support their participation in the life of the university, inform retirees of their rights, and otherwise improve the experience of retirees both as an acknowledgment of valued service and as an important asset for the university.

The Committee on Retirees Rights and Benefits shall be composed of two active faculty members, one of whom shall serve as chair; one retired faculty member; one active and one retired unclassified professional staff member; and one active and one retired university support staff member. All of the aforementioned shall serve three-year staggered terms. The committee shall also include the President of the Endacott Society or designate, and an ex-officio, non-voting member from the office of the Provost.

 

Members

Chair: Mark Ferrell, Music (2019)
Faculty: Elspeth Healey, Libraries (2019)
Doug Houston, Emeritus Faculty, dhouston@ku.edu, (2019)
Unclassified Staff: Ruth Hatfield, EDU Social & Bio-behavioral SSC, (2018)
Retired Unclassified Staff: Barbara Menke, (2018)
University Support Staff: Amy Big Eagle, Watkins (2019)
Retired University Support Staff: Betty Colbert (2019)
Tom McCoy, President of Endacott Society, thomasmccoy@ku.edu (or designee)  
Ex officio, non-voting: Mary Lee Hummert, Vice Provost, Faculty Development

Charges

Approved by SenEx: May 31, 2016
Approved by University Senate: September 8, 2016

  • For further information or to schedule a meeting with SenEx to discuss charges or the committee’s work, contact SenEx Chair Joe Harrington jharring@ku.edu   
  • Minutes of each meeting should be e-mailed to the Governance Office (govern@ku.edu) as they are approved.  The minutes will be posted to the Governance web site
  • If the committee is recommending a change to university policy or rules, SenEx must officially receive that recommendation by March 14, 2017 in order to meet timeline requirements for full review by Governance.
  • Please send a report of the committee’s actions on each of the charges, as well as any recommendations the committee wishes to make concerning charges or membership for the following academic year, to University Governance, at govern@ku.edu, and submit the final report by April 14, 2017.

Standing charges:

  1. Promote all appropriate means of communication with retirees, with special emphasis on seeking information from them about their needs and concerns. 
  2. Consult with SenEx about views and concerns related to retirees.
  3. Seek feedback from retirees and University offices about the Retirees Handbook and work with staff to ensure that it remains current. (ongoing)
  4. Maintain an open line of communication with both the Endacott Society and the provost’s office whose representatives are members of the committee, with representatives of the committee offering to meet at least once each semester with the Endacott Society.

Specific charges:

  1. Consider specific steps that the University can take to make KU more “retiree friendly,” particularly those steps that have low financial costs.
  2. Work with HR to develop additional current information about the process of retiring, about post-retirement health plans, etc.
  3. Review and, if necessary, update the Committee’s standing charges.

Meeting Minutes

n/a

Final Reports and Outcomes

FY2017 Final Report (PDF)


Retirees Rights and Benefits FY2017