Approved 01-16-25

ASEC Minutes

1:00 – 3:30 p.m. Thursday, December 19, 2024

https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/98598259734

Members Present: Richard Barajas, Alissa Ewer, Andrew Lokuta, Albert Muniz (chair), Nicole Senter, Diane Stojanovich, and Nola Walker

Members Absent: Aaron Crandall and Terry Paape

Guests: Rob Cramer, Jenny Dahlberg, Charles Isbell, and Scott Wildman

The meeting was called to order at 1:01 p.m.

The minutes of December 5 were approved.

General Reports

Albert Muniz, ASEC Chair, reported on the Big Ten Collaboration for Staff Advocacy quarterly meeting. Participating campuses provided updates and discussed the changing landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion. At the Committee on Academic Staff Issues (CASI) fall session, CASI coalition letter authors gave an overview of the letter’s goals, gathered input from CASI representatives, and discussed how to best move the letter forward. Albert reported on ASEC activities and the bereavement resolution at the meeting with standing committee chairs. At the shared governance group meeting, participants discussed opportunities to elevate the role of shared governance and the value it brings to campus decision making with campus leadership.

Mallory Musolf reported that the Visitor Accommodation policy was approved and published in the policy library. Richard Barajas and Andrew Lokuta will represent ASEC at the upcoming shared governance meetings with finalist candidates for the dean of the College of Engineering position.  

Liaison Reports

Richard Barajas reported that the Review Committee on Academic Staff Teaching Professor Titles and the Professor of Practice Title discussed available data and questions for a survey and focus group.

Nicole Senter reported that the School of Medicine and Public Health CASI is working on their five-year plan and the Engineering CASI is considering the addition of a treasurer position. The Compensation and Economic Benefits Committee discussed staff sabbaticals.

Alissa Ewer reported that the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research CASI published a newsletter.

Diane Stojanovich reported that the Wisconsin Public Media CASI is working to create a HR recruitment subcommittee and is interested in developing a lunch and learn series for staff.

Andrew Lokuta reported that the Extension CASI is updating their bylaws and discussed potential layoffs.

Albert reported that the College of Letters & Science CASI continued discussion on the impacts of Administrative Regional Teams (ART), including how to foster a sense of community with the staffing change within departments.

Guest: Charles Isbell, Provost

Provost Isbell discussed onboarding Kent Weigel, who was recently appointed the vice provost for faculty and staff affairs. He encouraged ASEC to utilize Kent as a resource to support staff. Finalist visits for the College of Engineering dean position will begin in January. Campus is working with Isaacson, Miller, a search firm to help identify the next chief information officer & vice provost for information technology. This spring campus will launch a strategic planning process. Part of this effort will include a visioning committee to help campus leadership draft a vision for campus.

Recessed at 2:00 p.m.

Reconvened at 2:10 p.m.

Business

• ASEC subcommittee reports

The professional development subcommittee met with the Office of Human Resources (OHR) to discuss opportunities for adding new communities of practice (CoPs). OHR has a decision tree for determining whether or not a CoP can be included on their website. The subcommittee is also exploring options to develop a series on change management and adaptability for administrative staff with campus partners. The morale and climate subcommittee reviewed data on the job boards. Remote work is a popular look-up. The outreach and engagement subcommittee reported that ASEC will continue to host meet-and-greets before Assembly meetings this spring. Work will also continue on the academic staff governance survey.

Guest: Rob Cramer, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration

Vice Chancellor Cramer provided an update on the associate vice chancellor and chief of police search. Finalist interviews are planned for late January. Regarding the Administrative Transformation Program (ATP), there are 163 temporary positions to support workday implementation through June 2025. Following Workday go-live on July 1, 2025, most have been hired as project employees to support initial go-live efforts through December 2025. Beginning January 1, 2026, the Workday Enterprise Solutions team will take on the work of ATP to support Workday long-term. ATP staff will be considered for job opportunities within the Workday Enterprise Solutions team. 680 individuals completed the Campus Dining Services Survey. Initial results indicate respondents would like more dining options on the west side of campus and more food options for those with dietary needs.   

Business

• Bereavement leave resolution

ASEC discussed feedback received following the December Assembly meeting. This feedback will also be shared with the authors of the resolution.

• Topics for next ASEC meeting (January 16) guests:

Megan Dzyuba, Office of Workforce Relations, Eden Inoway-Ronnie, Office of the Provost, Jaimee Gilford and Lauren Hasselbacher, Office of Compliance: unified HIB policy

Meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Mallory Musolf, Secretary of the Academic Staff