Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

INSIDE IOWA STATE
March 9, 2001

Administrators continue family leave discussions

by Anne Krapfl
Preliminary discussions on changes to leave policies at Iowa State are continuing this spring. Assistant provost Ellen Rasmussen reported to the Professional and Scientific Council March 1 that she, human resource services director Carla Espinoza and associate provost Faye Whitaker have focused their efforts on a family leave policy. They're working on general concepts for making changes. Once university administrators approve those parameters, work on specific proposals can begin, she said.

"We're trying to build a fence around the issue we think will help us in this process," Rasmussen said. "There are a lot of unknowns about what's doable, what's advisable."

And while the work of developing specific policies will include input from campus representative groups, such as P&S Council, Faculty Senate and the University Committee on Women, Rasmussen said opinions and ideas on what family leave should or should not offer are welcome now. Employees may send their suggestions to any of the three women.

In the meantime, a procedure for using federally mandated family medical leave at Iowa State is available online from the Human Resource Services Web site (go to "employee relations" and then to "electronic processes.")

March elections
The council is holding elections through March 30. Online voting, through AccessPlus, is encouraged. P&S staff who don't have access to AccessPlus or prefer a hard copy may request a paper ballot from Judy Strand, 4-0211. Seats are open this spring in all six areas of representation (extension, external affairs, business and finance, academic and research, Ames Lab/IPRT and student affairs).

The council will meet at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, in the Memorial Union Pioneer Room. A noon forum will feature a presentation by staff from the Center for Creative Justice.