Approved 10-26-23

ASEC Minutes

2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Thursday, October 19, 2023

53 Bascom Hall

https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/93223941305

Members Present: Donna Cole; Alissa Ewer; Julie Hunt Johnson; Albert Muniz, chair; Terry Paape; Lindsey Stoddard Cameron; Nola Walker

Guests: LaVar Charleston, Lesley Fisher, Charles Isbell, Emily Reynolds, Scott Wildman

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

The minutes of October 5 and October 12 were approved.

General Reports

Albert Muniz, ASEC Chair, acknowledged both the events in Gaza as well as the Joint Committee on Employment Relations not acting on pay raises for UW employees. He encouraged members to continue to bring concerns from constituents forward.

Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff, reported Dean Karpus and a member of the University Committee could be available to meet with ASEC to discuss proposed changes to the reporting line for the Dean of the Graduate School. ASEC asked Jake to invite them to a future meeting. Albert, Donna, and Jake met with Interim Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education Cindy Czajkowski to discuss the proposed ad hoc committee for researcher/scientist concerns. The committee will be moving forward, with a call to be sent to researchers/scientists for participation soon. Jake discussed the possibility of retiring the TTC website with OHR, and ASEC will discuss this with OHR at a future meeting. Jake reported on the recent announcement of layoffs at UW Oshkosh, the closure of the Richland campus, and the end of in-person instruction at the Washington County and the Fond du Lac campuses.

Liaison Reports

Terry Paape reported on the recent meeting of the Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee. They continued their discussion on policies and programs around professional development and plan to work with the Communications Committee on efforts to highlight lesser known policies in the academic staff newsletter. Terry provided an update from the School of Nursing CASI, who also had discussions around professional development funding.

Lindsey Stoddard Cameron reported on the Districting and Representation Committee meeting. DRC had further discussions about how people are sorted into districts after the implementation of the revised logic, and they are working on FAQ updates to the districting website.

Alissa Ewer reported that the Compensation and Economic Benefits Committee reviewed their priorities for the coming year and discussed strategies for more direct engagement with OHR. The OVCRGE CASI discussed graduate student salaries, as well as several center director searches that are ongoing in addition to the Vice Chancellor for Research position. The School of Education CASI discussed their hopes for engagement with Dean Hess’ successor, results of a survey of staff regarding professional development funding and opportunities, and potential changes to their bylaws and inclusion of university staff.

Guest: Charles Isbell, Provost

Provost Isbell reported on the October 17 meeting of the Joint Committee on Employment Relations. The committee took up the 4%/2% pay plan for all state employees except those within the Universities of Wisconsin. It is important to note that the committee did not take it up but also that they did not vote it down. Statutes indicate that JCOER has to meet and vote on the proposed plan in order for it to take effect. Conversations between UW and the Legislature are ongoing.

Related to the events in Gaza, campus has identified and verified the safety of any travelers affected by these events. Campus continues to monitor the situation daily, and all university sponsored or affiliated travel to the region has been suspended. Any travel to the region is also strongly discouraged for university employees. International Student Services has reached out to all enrolled students from Israel and Palestine and has provided resources and support. Student Affairs has added processing spaces, and the Dean of Students Office is available for more information, as are the Center for Interfaith Dialogue and UHS Mental Health Services. There are ongoing conversations with student leaders, and Senior Vice Provost John Zumbrunnen reached out to instructors reminding them of the need for support and flexibility for impacted students.

The search for the next Vice Chancellor for Research is moving along. A posting for that position will be produced as soon as possible. The search committee for the Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine will hopefully convene in the near future. Finalist visits for the Vice Provost for Libraries concluded this week, and Provost Isbell expects to move forward with hiring for that role soon.

Guest: LaVar Charleston, Chief Diversity Officer

CDO Charleston discussed the last 10 years of operationalizing efforts around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging via the R.E.E.L. Change strategic plan. Now that we have a new chancellor and provost, DDEEA is looking at additional data to inform decision-making in the next iteration of the strategic planning process, including surveys of staff, faculty, and students. CDO Charleston has also convened the associate deans for diversity and has consulted with the University Committee on what the process for developing the new strategic plan might look like. In the meantime, DDEEA is looking at a broad set of strategic priorities, including 1) building a culture of organizational learning that promotes the principles of DEIB for all, alongside a commitment to free expression and civil engagement across differences; 2) fostering a culture of belonging to enhance the recruitment and retention of students, staff and faculty, especially those from underrepresented and underserved populations; 3) facilitating an effective model of distributed strategic diversity leadership for shared visioning and implementation; and 4) utilizing and maximizing data to inform equity-minded policies, practices, and decision-making. DDEEA is a central resource to campus that serves as a convener, catalyst, consultant, and community builder. The Division has hired Elizabeth Stanislawski as its new Executive Director of Communications and Angela Miller as the new Assistant Vice Provost for Strategic Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Administration.  The AVP for SEDIBA will specifically be charged with building professional development capacity for faculty and staff in these areas. The intersection of free speech and belonging is one of the Chancellor’s priorities, and there are several efforts underway in this space. We are also thinking about the impacts of the SCOTUS decision on undergraduate and graduate recruitment. DDEEA also continues to partner with Student Affairs in a variety of areas related to student climate. The Chancellor has also charged an ad hoc working group to provide recommendations by the end of January on steps that can be taken to positively impact the Black community experience on campus. This year’s Diversity Forum will be held November 14-15, and there are 2,300 registrants so far. Winners of this year’s Outstanding Women of Color Awards will be recognized at this year’s Forum as well.

Business                                

• ASEC Expectations

ASEC members discussed expectations around attendance and engagement during meetings.

• ASEC Priorities and Planning Discussion

ASEC agreed on its priorities around compensation, ageism, dining/wellness, DEIB, family/caregiver support, hostile and intimidating behavior policies and practices, morale and workplace climate, and professional development and supervisor training. In addition to ad hoc committees or other strategies, these will serve as the basis for ASEC’s ongoing engagement with university leaders over the course of the next several months.

• Ageism Committee Resolution Discussion

ASEC reviewed the resolution and discussed potential timelines for the committees work as well as definitions of ageism within the resolution. ASEC will continue discussion of the resolution at the next meeting.

• November Assembly Agenda

The Office of Career Counseling is slated to give a brief presentation, and the annual report of the Campus Diversity and Climate Committee will also be presented. ASEC will vote on the agenda at the November 2 meeting.

• Topics for Guests

VCFA: update on pay plan; direction for dining/wellness; update on budget model; ATP delay
OHR: Benefits Phase 2 (related to possible TTC website retirement); communication from OHR to divisions and local HR reps; positioning on Office of Child Care and Family Resources being exclusively student focused; possibility of pre-tax payroll option to use fitness facilities

Meeting adjourned at 4:32 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff