Approved 01-25-24

ASEC Minutes

2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Thursday, January 18, 2024

53 Bascom Hall

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

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

Guests: Emma Bekele, Eden Inoway-Ronnie, Charles Isbell, Xiying Mi, Jeff Novak, Scott Wildman

The meeting was called to order at 2:03 p.m.

The minutes of January 11 were approved.

General Reports

Albert Muniz, ASEC Chair, reported on the recent Academic Staff Chat.

Lesley Fisher, Acting Secretary of the Academic Staff, reported that the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration is offering scholarship funding to attend select professional development courses offered by the Division of Continuing Studies. Applications are being accepted through Friday, January 26.

Liaison Reports

Lindsey Stoddard Cameron reported that the CALS CASI is planning their annual spring welcome event and working on updating their bylaws. They will be recommending the appointment of a committee member to the CALS Academic Planning Council.

Stephanie Elkins reported on the recent WPM CASI meeting at which pay issues involving compression, recruiting, and parity were discussed.

Guest: Charles Isbell

Provost Isbell discussed the search for a new Secretary of the Academic Staff. ASEC recommended that the search be open to external applicants and will provide the provost with a list of possible nominees to serve on the search and screen committee.

Provost Isbell has instituted some changes to how the Deans Council operates since starting in his position. The senior vice provost for academic affairs and the dean and vice provost of university libraries now participate. The Council meets twice monthly for a longer period of time, and at each meeting an issue is presented that is then discussed as a group at the following meeting. These changes have worked well and have resulted in a more conversational approach to decision making.

Business

• Age in the Workplace Committee Charge

ASEC briefly reviewed feedback on the charge from the Academic Staff Assembly. A small group of ASEC members will meet to consider and incorporate the feedback before their next meeting.

Recessed at 3:09pm.

Reconvened at 3:20pm.

Guest: Jeff Novak

Jeff Novak, Associate Vice Chancellor and Director of University Housing, discussed dining on campus. A couple of years ago, the dining halls changed from a la carte service to all-you-care-to-eat service. Reasons for the change include increased food and operational costs, enrollment growth, and time spent waiting in checkout lines. Knowing how many meals have been sold and the associated revenue allows University Housing to run the program more efficiently and better plan for food needs, staffing, and operational hours. They also try to offer some popular a la carte items at the Badger Markets.

Seating in the dining halls is a current issue. Conference rooms are being used in Gordan Dining and Events Center as overflow seating during lunch and dinner service. They recently installed Bluetooth readers to track live usage at Gordan and are exploring options for increasing seating availability.

While University Housing is primarily focused on serving students, staff are still an important consideration and can utilize any dining facility on campus.

Business

• February Assembly Agenda

ASEC reviewed and provided feedback on a potential resolution drafted by an Assembly representative.

• Topics for Guests

OHR: jobs are being posted online with the minimum starting salary outside of the salary range for the title, why is this happening; compensation update and transparency among staff; would OHR consider offering integrative health services to employees

VCFA: compensation update; how do we plan to manage the position cap and what flexibilities do we anticipate; with all dining on campus being characterized as student-centered, where does this leave faculty and staff

Meeting adjourned at 4:26 p.m.

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