Guests: Cheryl Gittens, Denny Hackel, Alyson Kim, Angela Kita, Karyn Matchey, Karl Scholz, Andrew Turner

The meeting was called to order at 2:02 p.m.

The minutes of September 3 were approved.

General Reports
Jenny Dahlberg, ASEC chair, reported on recent meetings between the secretaries, chairs, and chiefs of staff. Concerns about off-campus student activity and testing results were discussed, which led to the announcement earlier in the week limiting student activity. The Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration had to cancel a meeting to review the report of the Revenue Innovation Study Group with governance chairs and secretaries. This meeting will be rescheduled, and the results will later be shared with ASEC and the Assembly.

Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff, met with Jenny, Stephanie, and a couple of academic staff members regarding concerns and questions on UW-Madison’s contract with Badger State Industries for procurement. Jake also reported that the skills workshop for Assembly reps will be scheduled in late September or early October.

Liaison Reports
Tim Dalby reported that the Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee has a new co-chair, Nicole Senter. The committee will be looking at ASPP Chapters 13 and 14 as well as continuing its work on Title IX issues. An overview of the Policy Library Project was also provided.

Jenny Dahlberg reported that the Vet Med CASI has a small working group looking at the CASI’s procedures, and the CASI is also looking at electing a new co-chair. All academic staff in the Vet School will be voting on that change.

Bill Tishler reported on this week’s meeting of the DCS CASI, which was a difficult meeting due to discussion of recent layoffs and budgetary concerns in the division. The CASI will be creating a focus group for discussion on these issues, and the CASI will be meeting with the dean on an ongoing monthly basis.

Guest: Karl Scholz, Provost
Provost Scholz discussed a proposed change to the deadline for withdrawing from a course. Usually, this deadline occurs within the ninth week of instruction. In discussion with multiple groups, there is a recommendation to extend the deadline from October 30 to November 20, which aligns with the withdrawal date for a regular session. The idea is to allow students more time to make choices appropriate to their circumstances. This change would be specific to undergraduate students, and there would be no fiscal impact as a result of this change. Provost Scholz also reported on the increase in infections on campus. UW-Madison has taken quick and strong actions to address this. Several fraternity and sorority houses have been quarantined, and on Wednesday night, Sellery and Witte were also quarantined. In-person instruction has been cancelled on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and all group instruction will be remote for at least two weeks starting on Monday. Other spaces will be closed, like the Union and the Chazen. Libraries will continue to support research.

On the question of consistency in action plans across schools/colleges/divisions with respect to instructional continuity, the Provost started having twice-weekly calls with the deans in the spring, and this was a frequent topic of discussion. There will be some variation due to decentralization and curricular differences. Specific concerns have not yet come up on those calls. The other place these issues are discussed is with the instructional continuity team, Steve Cramer, and the academic associate deans. UW-Madison is committed to helping students make progress in their academic goals. On the topic of enrollments, we were at 99.4% of our target for incoming students and had approximately 1,000 more returning students than we had last year. Recent announcements may lead to some withdrawals.

Guest: Cheryl Gittens, Interim Chief Diversity Officer
Cheryl Gittens introduced herself to ASEC as the Interim Chief Diversity Officer. She provided ASEC with an overview of how the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Educational Achievement (DDEEA) is structured and shared information about DDEEA’s work in several focus areas, including education and training; recruitment and retention; inclusion and community building; and communications and storytelling. She also shared DDEEA’s strategic priorities: provide thought leadership; foster institutional engagement; develop the next generation of leaders; and chronicle our commitment. DDEEA provides student academic support through its pipeline and recruitment programs in a variety of capacities, and the office also engages in a number of initiatives to engage campus in issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (e.g. annual Diversity Forum, Diversity Big Read, and other educational opportunities). She provided a brief overview of the Target of Opportunity Program (TOP) as part of a broader faculty diversity initiative. ASEC briefly discussed the ad hoc committee it charged to look at DEI issues for staff. ASEC had several topics of interest and will invite Cheryl back for a future meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 4:18 p.m.