Approved 09-09-24

ACADEMIC STAFF ASSEMBLY MEETING MINUTES

272 Bascom Hall

Monday, May 13, 2024

3:30 to 5:00 p.m.

Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Rob Cramer called the meeting to order at 3:31 p.m.

Memorial Resolution for Dolores Sirek (ASA #833)

Sarah Korpi presented the memorial resolution for Dolores Sirek.

Recognition of Academic Staff Excellence Award Winners

Angela Kita, Professional Development and Recognition Committee chair, announced the winners of the 2023-24 Academic Staff Excellence Awards. The winners are Barbara Rodriguez-Guridi (Chancellor’s Hilldale Award for Excellence in Teaching), James Reardon (WISCIENCE Lillian Tong Teaching Aware), Ben Griffiths (Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Service to the University), Timothy McGuine (Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research: Independent Investigator), Carla Schubert (Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research: Critical Research Support), Bill Schwab (Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Leadership: Individual Unit Level), Barbara Anderson (Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Leadership: College, School, or Larger University Community Level), David Hart (Robert and Carroll Heideman Award for Excellence in Public Service and Outreach), Clare Huhn (Martha Casey Award for Dedication to Excellence), and Teddy Kaul (Martha Casey Award for Dedication to Excellence).

Guest: Rob Cramer, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration

Vice Chancellor Cramer provided an update on the budget approach. Since his last update to the Assembly in February, the Undergraduate Tuition Task Force and the Overhead Allocation Task Force have completed their work. The Undergraduate Tuition Task Force accepted using credit hours (Credits Follow Instructor) and student headcount (Primary Academic Group) as metrics for tuition allocation, but did not reach consensus on relative weights to be given to each metric. The Overhead Allocation Task Force discussed the need to not disincentivize applications for awards with low indirects and to not equate the value of indirects to the value of research. They also discussed the possibility of attributing a share of overhead to the principal investigator’s division. The Graduate Tuition Task Force and the Wisconsin Idea Task Force are getting started. The new fiscal year begins on July 1, and it’s expected that the shadow budget will begin in the fall.

Through dialogue and negotiations, administration was able to reach an agreement with Students for Justice in Palestine. As part of the agreement, administration will report back to shared governance groups on progress towards their commitments.

The Workday team recently completed another round of end-to-end testing, and the next round of testing will occur later this summer. Training for everyday users will begin in March 2025. When Workday launches, we will move to a standardized performance management schedule that will occur on the fiscal year. The selection process is wrapping up for the first associate vice chancellor and executive director for the Workday enterprise team. This team will be responsible for day-to-day operations of Workday, as well as data governance and data and reporting.

The Administrative Quality Satisfaction Survey concluded on April 30. The overall response rate was 13.8% and included 14,000 qualitative responses. Results are being analyzed and will then be shared with the campus community.

Last week, over 8,000 students moved out of the residence halls. Volunteers were present to help divert material from landfills, identifying items that could be donated or recycled. Last year, over 150,000 pounds were diverted from landfills.

Vice Chancellor Cramer provided a brief update on construction projects around campus that are causing road closures.

Automatic Consent Business

The Academic Staff Assembly minutes of Monday, April 8, 2024, were approved.

Academic Staff Assembly Standing Committee Election Results (ASA #834)

Interim Secretary of the Academic Staff Lesley Fisher presented the 2024 Assembly standing committee election results. Kathi Koppa, Sarina Lotlikar, and Jason Smith were elected to the Communications Committee. Elizabeth Covington, Karla Esbona, and Mike Watters were elected to the Compensation and Economic Benefits Committee. Becky Beebe and Taryn Conaway were elected to the Districting and Representation Committee. Kendra Gurnee and Vanessa Taulbee were elected to the Mentoring Committee. Kate Hattery-Groskopf, Jenee Jerome, and Brady Minter were elected to the Nominating Committee. Diane Farsetta, Toni Gunnison, and Jason Jankoski were elected to the Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee. Zach Hershoff, Karen Thomas, Abbie Wagaman, and Carrie Welsh were elected to the Professional Development and Recognition Committee. Terms of office are from July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2027.

Reports

ASEC Chair Albert Muniz presented the ASEC report. The Teaching and Learning Symposium is this Thursday at Union South. Interviews concluded last week for the secretary of the academic staff position and a hiring announcement is expected soon.

Jenny Dahlberg presented the Academic Staff Professionals Representation Organization (ASPRO) report. The Legislative Council Study Committee on the Future of the University of Wisconsin System was just launched. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee will conduct an audit of DEI activities across state agencies, including Universities of Wisconsin.

Academic Staff Executive Committee Candidate (ASA #835)

The Assembly voted to elect Nicole Senter to the Academic Staff Executive Committee.

Meeting adjourned at 4:36 pm.

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