Approved 04-27-23

ASEC Minutes

2:00 – 4:15 p.m. Thursday, April 20, 2023

53 Bascom Hall

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

Members Present: Donna Cole; Tim Dalby; Stephanie Elkins; Alissa Ewer; Julie Hunt Johnson; Stephanie Jones; Albert Muniz; Mallory Musolf, chair; Lindsey Stoddard Cameron

Guests: Jenny Dahlberg; Kelly Gauthier; Jessica Karls-Ruplinger; Jennifer Mnookin; Jennifer Noyes; Patrick Sheehan; Nick Tincher; Susan Tran Degrand; Scott Wildman

The meeting was called to order at 2:01 p.m.

The minutes of April 6 were approved.

General Reports

Mallory Musolf, ASEC Chair, discussed a proposed change to spring break scheduling. The University Committee (UC) drafted the change to create greater consistency in scheduling and better alignment with local school districts. The UC has asked for feedback from ASEC by April 28. The proposal will be shared with the Faculty Senate in May with a plan to vote on it in the fall.

Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff, shared that the Board of Regents will meet tomorrow in closed session to consider a matter related to the recommendation for the provost position. There will be a budget forum on May 2 from 4:00 – 5:00pm at the Wisconsin Idea Room in the School of Education building. Jack O’Meara, PROFS lobbyist, will moderate the forum and Crystal Potts will be on the panel, along with a few legislators. Crystal Potts gave a state relations update to shared governance stakeholders yesterday and discussed current bills, free speech hearings, and the budget. The groundbreaking ceremony for the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences (CDIS) building is on Tuesday. This year’s last academic staff chat was held, at which the discussion focused on the need for strategies to “manage up.” The vice provost for data, academic planning and institutional research finalists are visiting campus this week. The Provost Office has asked ASEC for a briefing document for the new provost, similar to what was put together for the chancellor. ASEC will work on this in the coming weeks.

Liaison Reports

Tim Dalby reported on a recent ASEC listening session. The conversation focused on morale concerns within the research community including lack of defined salary ranges for scientists and researchers, lack of job security when paid on soft money, and a widening salary gap between faculty and staff researchers.

Alissa Ewer reported on the OVCRGE CASI meeting. The increasing cost of e-bike subscriptions, creation of a newsletter, and ATP updates were discussed. Alissa also reported on the recent CEBC meeting, at which they worked on a one-pager on job security.

Albert Muniz reported on yesterday’s L&S CASI meeting. They discussed the many administrative searches in progress, new leaders that are starting, and strategic staffing.

Stephanie Elkins reported that yesterday’s WPM CASI meeting included a presentation by a staff member on what it’s like to be a trans woman in public media. They also discussed the numerous searches happening within WPM, salary and compression issues, and updates regarding Wisconsin Public Media’s presence on Twitter.

Guest: Jennifer Mnookin, Chancellor

Chancellor Mnookin briefly recapped her experience during the week of events leading up to her investiture. She was appreciative of the opportunity to celebrate the university, and of all the work that went into the week.

Chancellor Mnookin discussed key issues for her vision to move the university forward. Free speech and belonging need to be core, simultaneous priorities of the institution. There are early-stage efforts underway to develop a pilot program that would bring small groups of students together that have clear differences, ideally across multiple domains, to engage with one another in a structured way. The goal is for the pilot program to launch this fall. Additionally, Dean Tokaji of the Law School is working on creating an institute for free speech and inclusive democracy. As it relates to sustainability, Chancellor Mnookin hopes to use her position to give more visibility to the issue. We need to celebrate and accelerate the research occurring related to climate change and sustainability, look at how we can be stronger internally on sustainability, and potentially create explicit climate targets. On research, there is room to increase industry sponsored research that aligns with our mission. To move up in the HERD rankings, we need to think about how we support researchers in pursing large-scale projects and improve coordinating functions across the university. Lastly, Chancellor Mnookin discussed possible ways to for our community of faculty, staff, and students to collaborate and come up with creative ideas to help everyone within the institution flourish. Implementing paid parental leave continues to be a priority.

Chancellor Mnookin received a lot of feedback on the finalists for provost and is hopeful there will be news on the position soon. Provost Scholz’s last day is April 21, and Letters and Science Dean Eric Wilcots will serve in the interim role until the new provost starts. The Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications search is underway and finalist visits are tentatively scheduled for mid-June.

The Bucky’s Tuition Promise threshold is increasing this year from $60,000 to $65,000. Bucky’s Pell Pathway is a “last dollar in” program that covers the full cost of attendance including room and board, tuition, and other expenses. Chancellor Mnookin is currently in conversation and consultation with Wisconsin tribes about a tuition waiver for native students.

Guests: Patrick Sheehan, Chief Human Resources Officer; and Susan Tran Degrand, Interim Director, Equity, Inclusion, and Employee Well-being Unit, Office of Human Resources

Related to paid family leave, there is a project team within OHR working on a potential policy and communications plan. They will seek shared governance feedback later this spring.

Susan Tran Degrand provided an update on the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Employee Well-Being. The office was established two years ago to support employees on campus more holistically. They are thinking about what employee well-being looks like and how we can shift from individual approaches to systemic approaches. The office is now fully staffed, their website is live, and they are beginning work on a strategic plan.

The ASEC DEIB subcommittee asked for Patrick’s thoughts on the creation of an advisory board to the OHR leadership team. Patrick is open to the idea and welcomes further conversation on the topic.

Guest: Nick Tincher, Director, Administration Innovation and Planning; and Kelly Gauthier, Transformation Readiness Lead, Administration Innovation and Planning

The Research Administration Modernization Project (RAMP) is scheduled to go live on June 26. Training is available, and the website is continually being updated with additional resources. After implementation, Research and Sponsored Projects (RSP) will oversee the maintenance and support of RAMP. Resources have been made available for additional positions within RSP to support RAMP.

Workday Walkthroughs, formerly known as ATP Readiness Workshops, provide an overview of Workday functionality as it relates to UW business processes in a demo environment. The next one is scheduled for Thursday, May 11 at 3:00 p.m. and will focus on time and absence management for academic and university staff. The sessions are recorded.

One of the main goals of the Administration Innovation and Planning office is to prepare UW-Madison to deliver modern and future-focused administrative services. With regard to the implementation of Workday, they are looking at where business processes occur on our campus and who is responsible for them. They have convened an operating model focus group, composed of central and school/college/division representation, to help inform and advise how we configure operating models in the future state. The office is also working on security role mapping within Workday.

Business

• Subcommittee Reports

The transportation subcommittee is in the process of scheduling a meeting with Patrick Kass. The DEIB subcommittee is working on a proposal for an advisory board to OHR and will meet again soon.

• May Assembly Meeting Agenda

ASEC reviewed the draft agenda and will vote on it next week.

• Topics for Guests

Interim Provost: what he hopes to accomplish and learn while in interim role; what advice was received from previous interim provost; plans for L&S leadership while in the interim provost role; discussion on strategic staffing within L&S and institution-wide; thoughts on student mental health and wellbeing; thoughts on the staff morale resolution; thoughts on ChatGPT

VCFA: UW budgeting to stay competitive with national stipend rates for grad students; impacts of staffing issues in research enterprise may have on institution’s financial picture; analyses of how potential salary issues in the research space might be contributing to attrition; discussion of remote work across the institution

Meeting adjourned at 4:33 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Lesley Fisher, Deputy Secretary of the Academic Staff