[asapmembers] Arecibo Science Advocacy Partnership August 2011 Newsletter

[ASAP Secretary]

Dear ASAP Member,
The NAIC management transition has now been underway since June 1.
Director Bob Kerr has taken up residence at Arecibo and, together with
other
members of the management team, Arecibo Managing Partners (AMP), have
been working hard to insure that it goes as well as possible.  The ASAP
Board
has been following the transition closely through visits, opportunities to
meet
AO staff and regular communication with Bob Kerr.  Clearly, this remains an
uncertain time for the AO staff despite efforts by the new administration to
be
proactive and transparent.

Excellent news is that NAIC Director Bob Kerr remains committed to fully
staffing AO when the AMP partners take over at the end of September.  In
words
of two syllables this means that there will be no layoffs.  Kerr writes as
follows:
 *AMP members [myself (SRI), Zaven Arzoumanian (USRA), and Joi-Ling *
* **Portuguese (UMET)] met with every AO staff member ...  These interviews
*
* **averaged 15 minutes ... and each staff member was asked if they would *
* **please [continue] their efforts with AMP, beginning October 1.  We
also asked*
* ** **for current salary information, birthdates, years of service, and
for any special *
* **circumstances.  We communicated that, with exceptions related
to special *
* **circumstances, we intended to produce offer letters conveying current
salary *
* **levels less the July 1 raise.  Each employee was made aware of their
expected *
* **payroll, SRI, USRA, or UMET.  We also tried to convey a general
description *
* **of benefits packages.  Special circumstances of interest included
current tuition *
* **remission support, childcare cost support, etc.  While AMP will not be
able to *
* **perfectly match these benefits, we can compensate, in some cases,
through *
* **salaries.  Included in our offers were current temporary employees in
maintenance *
* **(about 6), in the cafeteria (1), and in housekeeping (1).  These latter
two are *
* **on-site for REU student support, but we will be offering them full-time
posts.  *

*During these interviews we learned of 1 retirement effective Sept. 30, and
three *
* **others that are intended early in calendar year 2012.  We learned of
just 1 *
* **"attrition" —an employee preferring to move on rather than work with the
new *
* **management.  No retiree indicated that the management change motivated *
* **their intentions.  I am exceedingly happy to report, users can expect
full staff *
* **support in FY 2012 — presuming that remains affordable.*

A major issue has been the benefit package that would be offered to the AO
staff.  Great effort has gone into matching the current Cornell University
benefit
package as closely as possible and making sure that the benefits being
offered
by each of the managing organizations, SRI, USRA and UMET, are identical or
very nearly so.  This has taken longer than anticipated, and while details
are still
being worked out by the lawyers on all sides, Bob Kerr now seems confident
that
the final package will be fully acceptable to most current staff.

In mid-August Bob Kerr had just returned from a large meeting at NSF (25
people!) to review every aspect of the management transition to date.  He
writes:
 *Big crowd.  NSF performed an exhaustive query of our schedule for
virtually *
* **every aspect of the transition, including staffing, property transition,
contracts *
* **transition, business systems transition, IT systems transition,
Telescope observing *
* **schedule and proposal review transition, Stakeholder communication,
transition *
* **of papers & pencils, [etc].  SRI provided a detailed time line of each
transition *
* **activity, and was ultimately asked to identify staff responsible for
each aspect.  *
* **There are now something like 50 folks involved in Menlo Park in these
activities. *

 *The question really is, when will these resources physically arrive at AO
for the *
* **roll-up-the-sleeves work.  To be sure, we have been wrapped around the
axel *
* **of staffing and HR transition, largely, to this point, and are behind
schedule on *
* **other aspects.  ... We have learned that the current "KRONOS" time
chartering *
* **system (time clocks) for non-exempt staff at AO are compatible with the
current *
* **system at UMET.  Computerized business systems for accounts
receivable/payable, *
* **purchasing, and inventory tracking are also to be installed, tested, and
trained in *
* **the coming 2-3 weeks.  [A] survey of IT software and operating system
licenses *
* **is to be performed very soon, and we expect to proceed with license
transfers *
* **through mid-September.  In parallel, we move this week to begin
assembling an *
* **exhaustive list of documents, from real property through large equipment
owners' *
* **manuals.  A large, thorough inventory will in fact begin with joint
teams from SRI, *
* **UMET, and NSF next week.  Every room on site must be photographed, with
all *
* **available building permit records assembled, and all items valued more
that $5k *
* **will be "spotted" and cataloged.  I will also be contacting prospective
Science & *
* **Management Advisory Committee (SMAC) members over the next few days,  *
* **along **with current AUSAC membership — to establish committee
participation.*

Good news also is that the Observatory and surrounding areas including the

city of Arecibo suffered very little damage from Hurricane Irene when it
thrashed the
island on August 22nd.

The ASAP Board has written to NSF AST Director Jim Ulvestad expressing
ASAP's
support for AST's upcoming Portfolio Review and underscoring the strength of
AO's
excellent current science.  The Board offered ASAP's assistance in
carrying it out.
The ASAP Board is also in the process of contacting to NSF AGS Director
Michael
Morgan along the same lines and proposing a conversation with Board members

about Arecibo's scientific work and future potential.

Apropos of the ASAP structural changes described in the June *Newsletter*,
we are pleased to report that an interim Executive Committee has been
elected
by the Board, comprised of Amy Lovell, John Mathews and Joanna Rankin.
 Joel
Weisberg was confirmed as Treasurer and several other appointments are also
under consideration.

Importantly, the Board also takes this opportunity to make an official call
for
nominations to the ASAP Board.  Please recall that the Board took the
decision
to phase in an elected ASAP Board with overlapping three-year terms.  The
first
such election will take place in the early Fall.  The Board then requests
that ASAP
nominees for four Board positions be communicated as soon as possible, and
by the first week of September at the latest.  ASAP members are encouraged
both
to self-nominate or to nominate others.  Nominees could either be current
ASAP
members or colleagues expressing a desire to join ASAP and work to achieve
its stated goals and purposes.

 ASAP membership has grown significantly over the last year, despite ASAP's
silence during the management recompetition.  At this critical and very
challenging
point for the Observatory, however, ASAP needs to increase its membership to
about
250 colleagues to support its work.  We expect that building this new
membership will
now be much easier, because ASAP membership is now completely open to those
interested in AO science—that is, theorists, users or appreciators.  The
Board has taken
the position that renewed financial support will not be reqeusted from
existing members
at this time, although such contributions are always welcome.  However, the
support of
*new* members remains an essential source of funding for ASAP operation.  *
Please* then
assist us in *building the **ASAP membership* by approaching your own
colleagues—
especially those outside the immediate community of AO users—using the
brochure <http://www.areciboscience.org/Membership_brochure.pdf> as
needed.  If the current members were to bring in but one new member,
ASAP would
more than meet this crucial goal easily.

     Finally, the Board wants to take this opportunity to encourage members
to email <%20board at areciboscience.org> with
suggestions, help build the membership or assist with ASAP's work in
future.  For instance,
you may be an expert on aspects of AO's scientific excellence and uniqueness
that are not
now well described on the ASAP website;  if so, please consider writing up a
short piece (a
"one-pager") for this purpose.

    Sincere thanks from the ASAP Board for your absolutely essential support
at members.

        With best wishes to you and for a vital Arecibo future,

                    The ASAP Board
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