Academic Staff Executive Committee Minutes 05-27-21
Approved 06-03-21
ASEC Minutes
2:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 27, 2021
https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/93936751067
Members
Present: Donna Cole; Tim
Dalby, chair; Stephanie Elkins; Mallory Musolf;
Leslie Petty; Deb Shapiro; Bill Tishler
Guests: Rob Cramer, Lesley Fisher, John Horn, Angela Kita, Beth Meyerand, Karl Scholz, Mary Thompson, John Zumbrunnen
The meeting was called to order at 2:01 p.m.
The minutes of May 20 were approved.
General Reports
Tim Dalby, ASEC Chair, discussed continuing the listening sessions that ASEC has piloted over
the last few months. ASEC decided to continue the sessions going forward with
the same audience. ASEC will work on scheduling sessions throughout the rest of
the summer. At the joint chairs meeting, University Committee chair Eric Sandgren discussed the possibility of coming to ASEC to
discuss the year ahead. Jake will schedule Eric for a future meeting. At the
meeting of the chiefs of staff, chairs, and secretaries, vaccination rates were
discussed. Currently 75% of employees and 50% of students have reported that
they are vaccinated, and it is possible that these numbers are underreported.
Discussions are still in progress regarding UW’s protocols in
light of the announcement from Dane County Public Health regarding its changes
to protocols for vaccinated individuals.
Jake
Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff, reported that there has not yet been a
response to the letter to UW System on single payroll. Jake will distribute the
letter to Assembly reps, alts, and CASI reps early next week. Jake asked for
ASEC members to volunteer for temporary liaison assignments through the summer
for the CALS CASI and for CEBC. Tim volunteered for
the CALS CASI, and Bill volunteered to cover CEBC.
Jake reported that Nancy Lynch has been selected as the new Vice Chancellor for
Legal Affairs. Jake discussed the summer schedule with ASEC. ASEC will have
more of a biweekly schedule through August.
Liaison
Reports
Donna Cole reported
on that morning’s meeting of the School of Pharmacy CASI. Among other
activities, the CASI has volunteered to assist with the transition of employees
back to onsite work in their offices.
Stephanie Elkins
reported that the Wisconsin Public Media CASI held listening
sessions on the single payroll transition and received a number of good questions
regarding the transition.
Guests:
Karl Scholz, Provost; and John Zumbrunnen, Vice Provost for Teaching and
Learning
Provost Scholz
discussed his possible role on the UW System committee on distance education.
Because this initiative is tied to a budget request, whether the committee will
move forward is uncertain at this point.
Provost Scholz and
Vice Provost Zumbrunnen reported on the status of the new Center for Teaching,
Learning, and Mentoring. Plans for creating the center continue to progress,
with over 50 staff members from DoIT Academic Technology, the Division of
Continuing Studies, and the Collaborative for the Advancement of Learning and
Teaching coming together. A transition team is working right now to bring these
individuals together and create an org chart for a brand new
organization. This transition will provide opportunities for professional
growth and development for those individuals joining the organization. We are gradually
moving out of what we have thought of as instructional continuity and academic
affairs continuity to the work of CTLM and academic
affairs coordination. The goal is to continue to foster the rich collaborations
that have been formed between schools/colleges/divisions. Regarding mentoring,
the challenge will be to pull together and continue to support the various
mentoring efforts that are already in place all over campus. It will also be
important to think about mentoring as a component of both individual and group
instruction. In planning for the creation of the center, physical space and
equity for similar work currently done in different divisions are both
substantial considerations.
On the question of
instructional workload and fall enrollment, we’ll be
ready for our incoming students on the instructional side. There is work to be
done on improving access, and with that comes the need for increased resources.
One of the main themes from the spring instructor survey is that remote
teaching is more difficult than in-class teaching, but there will also be a
substantial transition in moving back to in-person teaching.
Guest:
Rob Cramer, Interim Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
Interim Vice
Chancellor Cramer introduced himself to ASEC. He has partnered with Laurent
Heller for years both in UW System Administration as well as in the role of
Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Planning and Management. He
served as Vice President for Administration at UW System, and before that
served as Chief Business Officer for UW-Platteville. He is getting up to speed,
meeting with other members of leadership and shared governance to get a sense
of priorities in their areas.
Regarding the
recent merger of DoIT and AIMS, the Chief Information Officer position will
continue to have a dotted line to the VCFA, which is important
due to the number of things that the office works on that have impact in the administrative
realm, especially cybersecurity. AIMS had a budget reduction that was
independent of the merger, and the hope is that the merger will foster a number of opportunities for collaboration. The unit will
continue to be led by Kevin Cherek and report to the
Deputy CIO.
Regarding issues
with ShopUW+, the VCFA
office will continue to look into issues around order
tracking and administrative burden for transactions under the $300 threshold
for approvals. Providing an update on the Administrative Transformation
Project, the review of the procurement issue has been completed by the internal
audit group. We are working with UW System in the procurement of an
implementation partner to avoid any other potential procurement issues. Moving
forward with ATP is critical, and the business case that was originally
presented to the Board of Regents provides the operational challenges that
exist if we don’t continue to move forward. On the
question of virtual communication and CRM platforms, Blackboard Collaborate is
being replaced with Zoom. There is central funding for these platforms, and
ASEC discussed the importance of ensuring that selection of these tools is done
in a timely manner.
Interim Vice
Chancellor Cramer reported that there are a number of
building projects in process, including the stabilization of Van Hise. Panels on the third and fourth floor have been removed,
and a project for a longer-term solution has been approved. The expansion joint
at Humanities has been shored up, and there has been minor maintenance of other
expansion joints throughout the building.
Guest:
Beth Meyerand, Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff
Affairs
Vice Provost Meyerand provided a list of schools and colleges for whom teaching and research professor guidelines have been
approved. The College of Engineering, College of Letters and Science, School of
Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Public Health, and the School of Veterinary
Medicine have all had their school/college guidelines for both titles approved.
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences guidelines for teaching professor
have been approved, and research professor guidelines are in progress. The Law
School, the School of Human Ecology, and the School of Business have all
approved teaching professor guidelines.
A small group has
been working on fleshing out the hostile and intimidating behavior policy for
more clarity, particularly around the informal and formal processes, as well as
details around investigations (e.g. timeline). Vice
Provost Meyerand will provide more information on the
work of this group as it develops. Additionally, the Campus Committee on
Diversity Education and Training will be meeting next Friday to chart a path
forward in developing a curriculum on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Vice Provost Meyerand stated that she continues to get feedback from
faculty and staff across campus on the conflict of commitment policy. Additions
are being made to the FAQ document, and she is in discussion with Brian Fox and
Provost Scholz about whether there need to be changes. She also met with
employees in the Division of Extension to address their concerns and questions.
Motion to Convene in Closed Session Pursuant
to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c), and (f) to Discuss Appointments to Campus
Transportation Committee, Health Care Advisory Committee, Information
Technology Committee, LGBTQ+ Committee, University Curriculum Committee, and
Committee for Women in the University and Nominations to the Academic Staff
Appeals Committee, Area Review Committee-Admin/Student Services, Area Review
Committee-Biological/Medical Sciences, Area Review Committee-Humanities/Social
Sciences, Area Review Committee-Physical Sciences/Engineering, Labor Codes and
Licensing Committee, Distinguished Prefix Review Committee (Cole). Seconded.
Approved.
Motion to Reconvene in Open Session (Cole).
Seconded. Approved.
Business
·
Appointments and Nominations – for vote
Motion
to appoint Ethan Nelson to the Campus Transportation Committee; Nic Bresnick to the LGBTQ+ Committee; Kendra Maier to the
Health Care Advisory Committee; Katy Mijal to the Information Technology
Committee; Carol Mitchell to the University Curriculum Committee; and Elizabeth
Jach and Hannah Silber to the Committee for Women in
the University (Petty). Seconded. Approved.
Motion
to nominate JoAnne Lehman, Jeff Shokler, and Tom Tabone to the Area Review Committee –
Administration/Student Services/Library; Susanne Barnett, John Dopp, and Paul Hutson to the Area Review Committee –
Biological/Medical Sciences; Martha Gibson, Jeanne Schueller,
and Alberto Vargas to the Area Review Committee – Humanities/Social Sciences;
Tracy Drier, Charles Fry, and Brian Jicha to the Area Review Committee –
Physical Sciences/Engineering; Graham Banes, Joseph Halaas,
Jessica Hawkey, and Sheila Stoeckel
to the Academic Staff Appeals Committee; Keri Robbins to the Labor Codes and
Licensing Advisory Committee; and Larry Ashmun, Mary Ann Croft, Frederica
Freyberg, Christine Sorenson, and Eric White to the Distinguished Prefix
Committee (Petty). Seconded. Approved.
·
Topics for Guests
OHR:
clarification on rules protecting
information about vaccination status, updates to workplace safety policy and
addressing potential issues with distancing in office spaces and conference
spaces, TTC follow-up, single pay and communication
about retirement/furlough/July shortfall impacts
Meeting adjourned at 4:44 p.m.
Minutes
submitted by Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff