The meeting of the Steering Committee of the MSU Faculty Association was called to order by the Chairman with the following members present: Nelson, Harper-Jones, Mather, Forsyth, Stone, Ferris, Kallen, Birdwell, Adams, Hollingworth, Gliozzo, Sparrow, Greenbaum, Fischer and Bader.
 
The Chair welcomed everyone and reviewed the schedule of meetings through July 2009.  The November 19th meeting will be a luncheon meeting held at Kellogg Center beginning at 11:30 a.m.  All other meetings will be 1:30-3:30 p.m. in room 209 Olds Hall. Other  dates are:  December 17, 2008; January 21, 2009; February 18, 2009; March 18, 2009; April 15, 2009; May 20, 2009; June 17, 2009 and July15, 2009. The Minutes were approved as corrected.   

1. ORAL HISTORY PROJECT:
   • There is interest in continuing with the pilot project; several Steering Committee members indicated a willingness to serve as interviewers.  Ferris will contact Professor Revitte to see if he will conduct a training session for interviewers.  The group developed a potential list of persons to be interviewed; there is concern that this pilot group represents diversity in its broadest sense. (See attached.)
2. LECTURE/SEMINAR SERIES:
   • Fischer reminded the group of the upcoming seminar on Thursday, October 30th, featuring Carl Liedholm.  Gliozzo recommended that the November speaker be David Firestein, Deputy Executive Director and Senior Advisor of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, who will be on campus the week of November 19th.  He would be asked to speak on “Important Questions to be Considered by the Incoming President” or some related topic of his choosing.   Gliozzo and Fischer will work on the possibility of having the seminar following the Steering Committee meeting on November 19th.  
   • Although the announcement about the October seminar indicated that those wishing to attend should follow a new response procedure, committee members were in agreement that this procedure was very cumbersome and difficult to follow and should not be required.  A return to the previous procedure was supported.
3. ON LINE JOURNAL:
   • Gliozzo reported that while there is considerable support for having such a journal and several people have indicated a willingness to serve as an author, referee and editorial board member, no one has indicated an interest in taking on editorial responsibilities. Liability concerns are as yet unanswered and will be the focus of an upcoming meeting with campus lawyers. The magazine collection project is currently underway and going well.  In the future it might include the collection of books.
4. COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE:
   • Birdwell indicated the need for more information before this committee can make further recommendations.  She will explore such issues with University Relations and the Alumni Association as:  which media outlets are appropriate for use by our association, how might we best interact with these outlets and with what kind of lead time?   The question of whether we should have a newsletter was raised.  We are free to submit materials to the newsletter published by the more broadly based Retiree Association.  
5. REPORTS FROM REPRESENTATIVES TO VARIOUS GROUPS:
   • Stone reported that the Health Care Task Force is gathering information on medical costs and continues to meet on a monthly basis.  Reports from the Academic and Faculty Councils can be found on line.  Forsyth indicated that the Retirees’ Association is considering the purchase of Liability Insurance for its board members.  There was a preliminary discussion about the need for the Steering Committee to consider a similar action.
6. OTHER:
   • Several members indicated that they had visited the new Credit Union facility, which has many energy efficient features as a “green” building.  Forsyth indicated an interest in discussing a possible Emeriti Survey as a future agenda item.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:35.

Maxine Ferris
Secretary