Inside Iowa State

Sept. 22, 2006

P&S Council considers extended smoking ban

by Erin Rosacker

The Professional and Scientific (P&S) Council's policies and procedures committee has introduced a draft motion calling for the university to extend its smoke-free policy to within 25 feet of all ISU building entrances and exits. The council discussed the motion at its Sept. 7 meeting.

According to Dan Woodin, former council president and chair of the committee, the motion was developed in response to input he has received over the last two years.

"Employees are having difficulty getting into their workplace without walking through second-hand smoke," Woodin said.

Woodin cited a similar smoking ban recently implemented at the University of Iowa and referenced the move by student leadership at regents schools last spring to raise the state's cigarette tax to one dollar in an effort to reduce smoking.

The motion, which is nearly identical to Iowa's ban that went into effect Aug. 14, requests that informative signs be posted and all smoking receptacles moved outside of the 25-foot zone. It also asks President Gregory Geoffroy to make a list of resources on tobacco use prevention available to the campus community.

The motion will be voted on at the Oct. 5 P&S Council meeting.

In other council business:

• Associate vice president for human resource services Carla Espinoza announced that Mike Otis will begin as benefits manager Oct. 2. Otis is manager of retirement client services at Principal Financial in Dubuque.
• Espinoza also said interviews were being scheduled for four finalists vying for the P&S classification and compensation manager position.
• The council approved a motion to forward its budget model review and input document, as well as a request for P&S representation on all budget model advisory boards, to university administrators. Members were allowed input on the final draft until Sept. 15. The final document will be submitted by the Oct. 2 deadline.

Related story

Campus task force looking at smoking policy change.

Professional and Scientific Council members will vote on a motion to move smoking areas 25 feet from university buildings at the next meeting.

"Employees are having difficulty getting into their workplace without walking through second-hand smoke."

Dan Woodin, chair of P&S Council's policies and procedures committee