Approved 12-09-21

ASEC Minutes

2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Thursday, December 2, 2021

53 Bascom Hall

https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/93936751067

Members Present: Donna Cole; Jenny Dahlberg; Tim Dalby, chair; Stephanie Elkins; Stephanie Jones; Mallory Musolf; Leslie Petty; Lindsey Stoddard Cameron; Bill Tishler

Guests: Steve Ackerman, Elizabeth Covington, Lesley Fisher, Luisa Gerasimo, Beth Meyerand, Karl Scholz

The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m.

The minutes of November 18 and November 23 were approved.

General Reports

Tim Dalby, ASEC Chair, reported on the recent meeting of the Letters and Science CASI, which revolved around TTC and campus-wide best practices around the Discretionary Compensation Fund. At the recent meeting of the chiefs of staff, chairs, and secretaries, questions regarding the federal vaccine mandate were addressed. There will be a standardized process for medical and religious exemptions, and individuals who are granted exemptions will still need to undergo regular testing. The policy covers all employee categories. ASEC discussed questions related to the forms for exemption and will plan to discuss further with Mark Walters at the next ASEC meeting.

Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff, reported that the Chancellor Search and Screen Committee membership had been announced. LaVar Charleston is now scheduled for the March Assembly meeting, with a visit to ASEC scheduled for February. OHR will continue to meet with ASEC on a 2-3-week schedule continuing into the spring semester.

Liaison Reports

Lindsey Stoddard Cameron reported on the Campus Planning Committee. The committee sent a slate of projects to the Chancellor for approval with more than $1 billion in project costs. The top project was the College of Engineering, with the second highest being remodeling of the former School of Music Building. A confirmation of what the Chancellor sends forward is expected in mid-December.

Jenny Dahlberg reported on the recent meeting of the Compensation and Economic Benefits Committee. The committee debriefed on its recent meeting with Karen Massetti-Moran and discussed TTC, salary ranges, and scaling. The CALS CASI discussed similar topics with respect to TTC, as well as the impact of remote work on recruitment.

Mallory Musolf reported that the UW System Representatives would be meeting the next day. Topics include the TTC Project, the System President search, system-wide governance resources, and the UW System student behavioral health initiative.

Guest: Karl Scholz, Provost

Provost Scholz reported on the status of the UW System Presidential Search and Screen Committee. The committee is working on sifting and winnowing the current group of candidates. The committee is on track for the final selection to be considered at the February Board of Regents Meeting.

Provost Scholz discussed spring semester planning and reflections on how the fall semester went. Given all of the challenges that the institution faced and all of the work that went into it, the feeling is that the fall semester has been very successful, with students and families conveying gratitude for the in-person learning experience. The implementation of the Title and Total Compensation Project and the single payroll conversion have been stressors on varying segments of the employee population across the institution, in addition to the general pressures of the pandemic. The Provost and ASEC discussed both the benefits of in-person learning and interaction and the flexibilities desired for remote work on an ongoing basis, as well as the stresses related to the eventual transition from a pandemic to endemic state of affairs with respect to COVID.

Guest: Steve Ackerman, Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education

Vice Chancellor Ackerman reported that the OVCRGE is in the ongoing process of developing its policies around remote work. There will be a meeting with OVCRGE staff in the coming weeks to discuss this issue. He is seeing that it is an issue in some centers and not in others. Vice Chancellor Ackerman discussed his philosophy on remote work for the OVCRGE, which involves development of hybrid work agreements and continuation of flexible work policies but not moving to a fully remote model. There is concern over loss of personal interactions and collaboration. He addressed space constraint issues with RSP, and his office will continue to work with units that have unique needs. Regarding questions around competitiveness and retention in the research administration space, the Associate Vice Chancellors are looking at practices at other universities and collecting data to see where trends are going for certain types of jobs. Regarding the Title and Total Compensation Project, there are known issues in the Research IT space, particularly in the centers. OHR is working on addressing these issues. There has also been discussion regarding broader communication of the availability of the research professor title.

Guest: Beth Meyerand, Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs

Vice Provost Meyerand provided an update on tracking of issues related to hostile and intimidating behavior. Tamie Klumpyan has done a deep dive compiling data on HIB training that has been delivered thus far, as well as training for groups in schools/colleges/divisions as a starting point for further discussion. In tracking incidences, we want to correlate those to training in terms of how many people have been reached and the training’s efficacy. There will also be a look at peer institutions’ practices in this space.

Regarding TTC impacts that she has heard from her office, the majority fall into concerns from IT and from research, and OHR is working on addressing those concerns.

Assistant Vice Provost Kelly Rupp is putting together a meeting with broad representation from groups who do survey work on campus to talk about a climate survey for all employee categories in the spring. The goal will be to come together to talk about areas of commonality among several different surveys and what next steps might be.

Motion to Convene in Closed Session Pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c), and (f) to Discuss Nomination to the Nominating Committee (Elkins). Seconded. Approved.

Motion to Reconvene in Open Session (Stoddard Cameron). Seconded. Approved.

Business

·       Nomination – for vote

Motion to nominate Kelly Krein to the Nominating Committee (Stoddard Cameron). Seconded. Approved.

·       December Assembly Meeting Agenda

Motion to approve the December Assembly Agenda (Stoddard Cameron). Seconded. Approved.

·       Topics for Guests

OHR: religious exemptions, appeals for those with campus-wide issues; revisit supervisory responsibility with 2.0 FTE; numbers of appeals to date, 20% responsibilities; requirements for DCF; pay tools

Meeting adjourned at 4:37 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff