Approved 05-05-22

ASEC Minutes

2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 28, 2022

53 Bascom Hall

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

Members Present: Jenny Dahlberg; Tim Dalby, chair; Stephanie Elkins; Shane Hubbard; Stephanie Jones; Mallory Musolf; Lindsey Stoddard Cameron; Bill Tishler

Guests: Rebecca Blank, Elizabeth Covington, Rob Cramer, Alissa Ewer, Lesley Fisher, John Horn, Angela Kita

The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m.

The minutes of April 21 were approved.

General Reports

Tim Dalby, ASEC Chair, reported on the topics of the most recent ASEC listening session. Tim met with other shared governance chairs and discussed further cooperation between the groups and ensuring awareness of other groups’ activities. Tim attended the Leadership@UW Forum and shared materials on servant leadership for ASEC to consider in its thoughts about supervisor training. Tim and Jake will be attending shared governance sessions with each of the chancellor finalists, and ASEC discussed topics and questions of interest for those sessions. Tim announced that he is planning on stepping down as ASEC chair for 2022-23.

Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff, provided the committee with the schedule for summer meetings and discussed the chair/vice chair election. ASEC meetings during the summer will be relocating to 260 Bascom Hall. Jake and Lesley met with the co-chairs of the Communications Committee and ASEC members regarding the new academic staff newsletter. The committee is looking to start releasing the newsletter in the fall semester. Jake met with members of the Districting and Representation Committee to discuss progress on updates to districting logic as a result of TTC. The first of three Academic Staff Institute virtual sessions was held the morning of April 28. The session was well attended, and there were a number of questions that the OHR team will follow up on with participants.

Liaison Reports

Jenny Dahlberg reported on the most recent meeting of the CALS CASI. CASI members expressed appreciation to ASEC for the opportunity to participate in the shared governance sessions with the dean finalists. They also had a discussion with the CALS director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the college’s plans in those areas.

Business

·       May Assembly Meeting Agenda – for vote

Lindsey Stoddard Cameron will plan to introduce the resolution recognizing Chancellor Blank. Motion to approve the May Assembly agenda (Stoddard Cameron). Seconded. Approved.

Guest: Rob Cramer, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration

Vice Chancellor Cramer discussed the Administrative Transformation Program (ATP) and interactions with shared governance. Joanna Wang and Jim Langdon are in the process of setting up visits with the other System campuses and identifying primary contacts for the project. For UW-Madison, we have the team that Nick Tincher is building within the VCFA office. It will be important for Nick’s group and the UW-Madison ATP team to check in with shared governance regularly. Once we have reached the end of the planning stage, it will also be important to evaluate how the team is engaging with individuals to ensure all of the necessary perspectives are at the table. There was discussion of downstream impacts of the cloud-based software being able to address all of the institution’s needs, and especially to avoid either staffing or efficiency issues. The goal is to have input on those impacts as early as possible. The team is thinking about resources based on what the software can do, and specifically what ancillary systems may need to be retained if Workday can’t provide the necessary functionality. ASEC stressed the need for subject matter experts that can provide a user perspective. The Vice Chancellor and members of the ATP team will continue to meet with ASEC on these issues and discuss feedback from constituents, as well as provide more information on the communication plan. ASEC will plan to meet with Nick more frequently in the future.

Regarding a search for the permanent chief human resources officer, Vice Chancellor Cramer wants to discuss a plan for the search with the new chancellor. There will be governance input on the search and screen committee.

Having been appointed to the permanent role, Vice Chancellor Cramer is having a series of listening sessions with his direct reports. The most important area of focus is on the people at UW-Madison, including staff, faculty, students, and the community. His current initiatives include: next steps for TTC, including priorities around benefits; pressures that employees are under and looking at what our childcare environment looks like; how we’re progressing on DEI activities; professional development and training opportunities for employees; actions coming out of the Staff Climate Survey and the Administrative Quality Satisfaction Survey; attending to other processes that aren’t in scope for ATP; facilities and utilization; and strategies for growing revenue and margins. On the topic of facilities and our built environment, the Campus Master Plan is in progress and on target for 2025.

Business

·       Discussion of Briefing Materials for New Chancellor

The Chancellor’s office sent a template to use for this document. There are several priority areas that mirror what ASEC sent to UW System, with some additional institution-specific priorities. ASEC will finalize the document and send to the Chancellor’s office by May 6.

·       Topics for Guests

VPFS: professorial titles, HIB reporting, supervisor training, DEI curriculum committee

Guest: Rebecca Blank, Chancellor

Chancellor Blank reported on the upcoming commencement ceremonies that will be held on May 13 and 14. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, will give a commencement address to graduates on May 14. On the COVID front, there has been a slight uptick in both the county and campus numbers, and administration is continuing to watch the data closely. Rob Cramer has been announced as the new Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration after serving in an interim capacity. The last candidate for the Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences will visit campus on April 29, and five finalists for the chancellor position will be on campus next week. Chancellor Blank has met with incoming UW System President Jay Rothman and had the chance to discuss a number of topics with him before she leaves her role. Chancellor Blank discussed accomplishments of the institution that she was proud of, including the reintegration of Cooperative Extension and Wisconsin Public Media, Bucky’s Tuition Promise, alumni fundraising, success in educational metrics, increasing research expenditure, generating investment income, and overall financial stability. The financial stability of the institution, staying strong on graduation rates and continuing to narrow gaps for underrepresented students, supporting big interdisciplinary research for faculty and staff, and strengthening relationships with our external partners are all key issues moving forward. On the topic of diversity, we are thinking about ways to move to the next phase under Chief Diversity Officer LaVar Charleston’s leadership, including pipelines for faculty, graduate students, and staff. Chancellor Blank expressed appreciation to academic staff governance for its partnership and engagement in addressing a variety of issues during her time at the university.

Meeting adjourned at 4:41 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff