Academic Staff Executive Committee Minutes 01-22-2026

Approved 01-29-26

ASEC Agenda

1:00 – 3:30 p.m., Thursday, January 22, 2026

https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/97722653207

Members present:  Richard Barajas, Hanna Blazel, Alissa Ewer (chair), Terry Paape, Nicole Senter, Diane Stojanovich, Nola Walker

Members absent: Aaron Crandall

Guests: Emily Beach, Rob Cramer, Daniel Gaona, Delight Hensler, Katrina Olson, Kelly Petersen, Scott Wildman, John Zumbrunnen

The meeting was called to order at 1:03 p.m.

The minutes of January 15 were approved.

General Reports

ASEC Chair Alissa Ewer reported on the Operational Excellence (OpEx) Advancement Program Advisory

Committee kick-off meeting. The meeting provided an overview of the OpEx Advancement Program led by staff from Deloitte, who asked the committee about engagement needs and answered questions. The advisory committee will continue to meet monthly.

Secretary of the Academic Staff Mallory Musolf reported on the Joint C’s meeting. The Office of the Secretary of the Faculty hosted the meeting. Special Advisor for Access and Community Percival Matthews presented the principles for fostering access and belonging. Participants learned about ways these principles can be applied in a school/college/division setting and discussed how they could apply in a shared governance setting.

Registration is open for the Academic Staff Institute (ASI), an annual professional development conference for academic staff. ASI will be held on Thursday, April 16. The registration deadline is April 1.

Liaison Reports

Diane Stojanovich reported that the University Academic Planning Council (UAPC) approved the proposal to establish a new division, the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence. They also approved the Ad Hoc Undergraduate Education Committee’s recommendations for implementing the Core General Education Requirements.

Diane Stojanovich reported that the Wisconsin Public Media (WPM) Committee on Academic Staff Issues discussed artificial intelligence policy, as well as layoffs and referral priority. WPM is in the process of recruiting key roles, including the executive director and compliance director positions.

Guest: John Zumbrunnen, Interim Provost

Interim Provost Zumbrunnen provided an Act 15 update. UW System policy regarding instructional workload has not been released yet. A tiger team is working on a draft instructional workload policy for campus. The draft will be shared with the instructional workload ad hoc workgroup. It will also be shared with faculty and academic staff governance groups. The UAPC approved a set of recommendations from the Ad Hoc Undergraduate Education Committee for implementing the Core General Education Requirements on campus. The ad hoc committee worked on high level mapping of current requirements on to UW System’s categories. Moving forward, it will go next to the University Curriculum Committee. Once complete, there will be a lot of work to do at the school/college level. Act 15 also included merit and market funding for faculty in high demand fields.

The Title VI complaint filed against the UW–Madison in January 2026 alleges the university offers twenty-two race-based scholarships that violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Office of Legal Affairs received the complaint and they are reviewing it.

The Wisconsin Exchange steering committee is comprised of faculty and staff who work in a range of disciplines. The Wisconsin Exchange Grant Program deadline recently passed. Grant proposals are under review. The campus is likely to see a wide variety of engagements based on those proposals.

The campus governance structure plays a vital role in ensuring that administration receives feedback regularly. It is important for shared governance and administration to engage authentically in conversation.

Convene in Closed Session Pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c), and (f) to discuss nominations to the Dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence Search and Screen Committee and the Nominating Committee slate (Barajas). Seconded. Approved.

Motion to Reconvene in Open Session (Barajas). Seconded. Approved.

Guest: Rob Cramer, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration

Vice Chancellor Cramer reported on the OpEx Advancement Program. This effort responds to the

Deloitte report recommendations and builds on our current efforts to simplify our administrative work and improve our fiscal and administrative controls to enhance operational excellence on campus. This initiative will focus on three projects: an operating model prototype for HR and finance, enterprise risk management, and unlocking efficiency and effectiveness. Working groups have been established for each project. There is also an advisory committee comprised of faculty, staff, and shared governance to provide campus-wide perspectives and inform decision making. Campus leadership will provide an update on the OpEx Advancement Program at the next Board of Regents meeting in February.

The increase to H-1B visa fees applies to new H-1B visa applications. This is a complex and evolving issue and legal clarification is needed.

LinkUW Phase 1 data shows the initiative is off to a strong start. The program received about 2,000 transactional activity requests across the HR and finance areas. 96% of the requests were responded to within one business day. Customer satisfaction is also high with an average service rating of 4.9 out of 5. Performance data will be collected on an ongoing basis. This information helps us understand how we are doing and informs decisions about if and when to move forward to the next phase. The plan is to have a regular cadence for reviewing and sharing performance data.

Convene in Closed Session Pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c), and (f) to discuss nominations to the Dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence Search and Screen Committee and the Nominating Committee slate (Senter). Seconded. Approved.

Motion to Reconvene in Open Session (Senter). Seconded. Approved.  

Business

• Nominations – for vote

Motion to nominate Milda Aksamitauskas, Justin Hines, Mary Murphy, Sara Rodock, and Todd Shechter to the Dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence Search and Screen Committee (Senter). Seconded. Approved.

• February Assembly Agenda

ASEC reviewed the draft agenda and will vote on it at their next meeting.

• Topics for guests:

Interim Provost: special advisor for access and community position; WI constitutional amendment regarding DEI programs

VCSC: internal campus initiatives; external and internal audience communication

Meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Mallory Musolf, secretary of the academic staff