Academic Staff Executive Committee Minutes 05-07-2026
Approved 05-21-26
ASEC Agenda
1:00 – 3:30 p.m., Thursday, May 7, 2026
53 Bascom Hall; https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/97722653207
Members present: Hanna Blazel, Richard Barajas, Alissa Ewer (chair), Eunsook Jung, Diane Stojanovich
Members absent: Aaron Crandall, Terry Paape, Nola Walker
Guests: Lucien Gerondeau, Jaimee Gilford, Demi Jo Carr, Andrea Kerr, Lauren Hasselbacher, Emily Reynolds, Patrick Sheehan, Taryn Tainter, Scott Wildman, Michael Zenz, John Zumbrunnen
The meeting was called to order at 1:00 p.m.
Motion to convene in closed session pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c), and (f) to discuss nominations to the Academic Staff Appeals Committee; Athletic Board; Distinguished Status Review Committee; University Book Store Board of Directors; and the Wisconsin Union Council (Jung). Seconded. Approved.
Motion to reconvene in open session (Barajas). Seconded. Approved.
Business
- Nominations – for vote
Motion to nominate JJ Andrews, Julie Scharm, Cindy Waldeck, and Matt Zeller to the Academic Staff Appeals Committee; Andrew Turner to the Athletic Board; Verda Blythe, Elizabeth Covington, Shawn Peters, and Rebecca Ryan to the Distinguished Status Review Committee; Russell Epp to the University Book Store Board of Directors; and TJ Sargent to the Wisconsin Union Council (Jung). Seconded. Approved.
Automatic Consent Business
The minutes of April 30 were approved.
General Reports
ASEC Chair Alissa Ewer reported on the recent Operational Excellence Advancement Program (OEAP) Deep Dive Session. The session focused on the operating model prototype. Chair Ewer encouraged ASEC to attend one of the upcoming Deep Dive Sessions found on the OEAP website: https://finadmin.wisc.edu/oeap/.
Secretary of the Academic Staff Mallory Musolf reported that nominations for ASEC chair and vice chair open May 7. Nominations are due May 19 at noon. The Faculty Senate voted to postpone a resolution on mass surveillance.
Guest: John Zumbrunnen, Provost
Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau was named the founding dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence. Kristin Eschenfelder was named interim dean of the College of Letters and Science. The UW–Madison chancellor search committee was announced. It is anticipated that the search committee for the Universities of Wisconsin president will be announced soon. Vice provost for enrollment management finalists will be on campus in June. The vice provost for teaching and learning position is changing to a vice provost for undergraduate education. It is anticipated that there will be a search for this position in the fall. This change will impact the leadership structure of the Division for Teaching and Learning.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture changed their terms and conditions to receive federal funding, which is impacting our ability to draw on certain grants. A lawsuit is underway. Campus is actively working to understand the legal and budgetary situation.
Federal funding loss is impacting graduate education in various ways. Campus is exploring bridge funding for spaces where grants have been terminated but is also thinking about long-term support and how we can diversify our funding portfolio. Changes to the Federal Direct Loan Program will affect some graduate students, particularly students in professional programs.
Guests: Jaimee Gilford, Director of the Office of Compliance and Lauren Hasselbacher, Associate Director of Civil Rights Compliance and Title IX Coordinator, Office of Compliance
The unified Hostile and Intimidating Behavior (HIB) Policy went into effect in February 2025. The Office of Compliance (OC) investigates formal complaints. They also work with the Office of Human Resources (OHR) to address problematic behavior that may not rise to the level of HIB.
A large percentage of HIB contacts the OC receives are related to supervisory conflicts. If the OC determines that behavior does not rise to the level of HIB and therefore will not conduct an investigation, with the complainant’s permission, they provide information to local human resources to see if the concerns can be addressed in other ways.
Liaison Reports
Hanna Blazel reported that the ad hoc budget group completed its work. Members of the committee are interested in continuing to meet. Vice Chancellor Rob Crarmer is considering this request.
Diane Stojanovich reported that University of Wisconsin (UW) System Board of Regents President Amy Bogost and Acting Executive-in-Charge Christopher Patton provided an update at the UW Shared Governance Representatives meeting. Academic staff representatives discussed priorities for the coming year, including caregiving leave and free tuition for employees. President Bogost and Acting Executive-in-Charge Patton also asked each governance group to submit five names for consideration for appointment to the Universities of Wisconsin President Search Committee.
Business
- Gathering perspectives to support academic staff
Richard Barajas and Hanna Blazel will work on identifying themes from the recent feedback provided by the Academic Staff Assembly regarding current global challenges and uncertainty affecting academic staff.
- Topics for ASEC meeting guests:
VCFA: Operating model prototype
Guest: Patrick Sheehan, Chief Human Resources Officer, Office of Human Resources
An announcement went out regarding central funds for compensation adjustments. It is a 27.1-million-dollar initiative to recognize and acknowledge the contributions of so many on our campus. This initiative is also accompanied by a 3% salary structure update which will increase the minimums, midpoints, and maximums of established salary ranges across employee categories. Additionally, eligible faculty and staff will receive the 2% pay plan on July 1.
There are concerns that the campus HIB policy has created a gap related to problematic behavior that does not meet the policy threshold for HIB. OHR is having conversations about this with the OC.
Meeting adjourned at 3:36 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Mallory Musolf, secretary of the academic staff