Approved 06-03-21

 

ASEC Minutes

2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 27, 2021

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

Members Present: Donna Cole; Tim Dalby, chair; Stephanie Elkins; Mallory Musolf; Leslie Petty; Deb Shapiro; Bill Tishler

Guests: Rob Cramer, Lesley Fisher, John Horn, Angela Kita, Beth Meyerand, Karl Scholz, Mary Thompson, John Zumbrunnen

The meeting was called to order at 2:01 p.m.

The minutes of May 20 were approved.

General Reports

Tim Dalby, ASEC Chair, discussed continuing the listening sessions that ASEC has piloted over the last few months. ASEC decided to continue the sessions going forward with the same audience. ASEC will work on scheduling sessions throughout the rest of the summer. At the joint chairs meeting, University Committee chair Eric Sandgren discussed the possibility of coming to ASEC to discuss the year ahead. Jake will schedule Eric for a future meeting. At the meeting of the chiefs of staff, chairs, and secretaries, vaccination rates were discussed. Currently 75% of employees and 50% of students have reported that they are vaccinated, and it is possible that these numbers are underreported. Discussions are still in progress regarding UW’s protocols in light of the announcement from Dane County Public Health regarding its changes to protocols for vaccinated individuals.

Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff, reported that there has not yet been a response to the letter to UW System on single payroll. Jake will distribute the letter to Assembly reps, alts, and CASI reps early next week. Jake asked for ASEC members to volunteer for temporary liaison assignments through the summer for the CALS CASI and for CEBC. Tim volunteered for the CALS CASI, and Bill volunteered to cover CEBC. Jake reported that Nancy Lynch has been selected as the new Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs. Jake discussed the summer schedule with ASEC. ASEC will have more of a biweekly schedule through August.

Liaison Reports

Donna Cole reported on that morning’s meeting of the School of Pharmacy CASI. Among other activities, the CASI has volunteered to assist with the transition of employees back to onsite work in their offices.

Stephanie Elkins reported that the Wisconsin Public Media CASI held listening sessions on the single payroll transition and received a number of good questions regarding the transition.

Guests: Karl Scholz, Provost; and John Zumbrunnen, Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning

Provost Scholz discussed his possible role on the UW System committee on distance education. Because this initiative is tied to a budget request, whether the committee will move forward is uncertain at this point.

Provost Scholz and Vice Provost Zumbrunnen reported on the status of the new Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring. Plans for creating the center continue to progress, with over 50 staff members from DoIT Academic Technology, the Division of Continuing Studies, and the Collaborative for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching coming together. A transition team is working right now to bring these individuals together and create an org chart for a brand new organization. This transition will provide opportunities for professional growth and development for those individuals joining the organization. We are gradually moving out of what we have thought of as instructional continuity and academic affairs continuity to the work of CTLM and academic affairs coordination. The goal is to continue to foster the rich collaborations that have been formed between schools/colleges/divisions. Regarding mentoring, the challenge will be to pull together and continue to support the various mentoring efforts that are already in place all over campus. It will also be important to think about mentoring as a component of both individual and group instruction. In planning for the creation of the center, physical space and equity for similar work currently done in different divisions are both substantial considerations.

On the question of instructional workload and fall enrollment, we’ll be ready for our incoming students on the instructional side. There is work to be done on improving access, and with that comes the need for increased resources. One of the main themes from the spring instructor survey is that remote teaching is more difficult than in-class teaching, but there will also be a substantial transition in moving back to in-person teaching.

Guest: Rob Cramer, Interim Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration

Interim Vice Chancellor Cramer introduced himself to ASEC. He has partnered with Laurent Heller for years both in UW System Administration as well as in the role of Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Planning and Management. He served as Vice President for Administration at UW System, and before that served as Chief Business Officer for UW-Platteville. He is getting up to speed, meeting with other members of leadership and shared governance to get a sense of priorities in their areas.

Regarding the recent merger of DoIT and AIMS, the Chief Information Officer position will continue to have a dotted line to the VCFA, which is important due to the number of things that the office works on that have impact in the administrative realm, especially cybersecurity. AIMS had a budget reduction that was independent of the merger, and the hope is that the merger will foster a number of opportunities for collaboration. The unit will continue to be led by Kevin Cherek and report to the Deputy CIO.

Regarding issues with ShopUW+, the VCFA office will continue to look into issues around order tracking and administrative burden for transactions under the $300 threshold for approvals. Providing an update on the Administrative Transformation Project, the review of the procurement issue has been completed by the internal audit group. We are working with UW System in the procurement of an implementation partner to avoid any other potential procurement issues. Moving forward with ATP is critical, and the business case that was originally presented to the Board of Regents provides the operational challenges that exist if we don’t continue to move forward. On the question of virtual communication and CRM platforms, Blackboard Collaborate is being replaced with Zoom. There is central funding for these platforms, and ASEC discussed the importance of ensuring that selection of these tools is done in a timely manner.

Interim Vice Chancellor Cramer reported that there are a number of building projects in process, including the stabilization of Van Hise. Panels on the third and fourth floor have been removed, and a project for a longer-term solution has been approved. The expansion joint at Humanities has been shored up, and there has been minor maintenance of other expansion joints throughout the building.

Guest: Beth Meyerand, Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs

Vice Provost Meyerand provided a list of schools and colleges for whom teaching and research professor guidelines have been approved. The College of Engineering, College of Letters and Science, School of Pharmacy, School of Medicine and Public Health, and the School of Veterinary Medicine have all had their school/college guidelines for both titles approved. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences guidelines for teaching professor have been approved, and research professor guidelines are in progress. The Law School, the School of Human Ecology, and the School of Business have all approved teaching professor guidelines.

A small group has been working on fleshing out the hostile and intimidating behavior policy for more clarity, particularly around the informal and formal processes, as well as details around investigations (e.g. timeline). Vice Provost Meyerand will provide more information on the work of this group as it develops. Additionally, the Campus Committee on Diversity Education and Training will be meeting next Friday to chart a path forward in developing a curriculum on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Vice Provost Meyerand stated that she continues to get feedback from faculty and staff across campus on the conflict of commitment policy. Additions are being made to the FAQ document, and she is in discussion with Brian Fox and Provost Scholz about whether there need to be changes. She also met with employees in the Division of Extension to address their concerns and questions.

Motion to Convene in Closed Session Pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c), and (f) to Discuss Appointments to Campus Transportation Committee, Health Care Advisory Committee, Information Technology Committee, LGBTQ+ Committee, University Curriculum Committee, and Committee for Women in the University and Nominations to the Academic Staff Appeals Committee, Area Review Committee-Admin/Student Services, Area Review Committee-Biological/Medical Sciences, Area Review Committee-Humanities/Social Sciences, Area Review Committee-Physical Sciences/Engineering, Labor Codes and Licensing Committee, Distinguished Prefix Review Committee (Cole). Seconded. Approved.

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

Business

·       Appointments and Nominations – for vote

Motion to appoint Ethan Nelson to the Campus Transportation Committee; Nic Bresnick to the LGBTQ+ Committee; Kendra Maier to the Health Care Advisory Committee; Katy Mijal to the Information Technology Committee; Carol Mitchell to the University Curriculum Committee; and Elizabeth Jach and Hannah Silber to the Committee for Women in the University (Petty). Seconded. Approved.

Motion to nominate JoAnne Lehman, Jeff Shokler, and Tom Tabone to the Area Review Committee – Administration/Student Services/Library; Susanne Barnett, John Dopp, and Paul Hutson to the Area Review Committee – Biological/Medical Sciences; Martha Gibson, Jeanne Schueller, and Alberto Vargas to the Area Review Committee – Humanities/Social Sciences; Tracy Drier, Charles Fry, and Brian Jicha to the Area Review Committee – Physical Sciences/Engineering; Graham Banes, Joseph Halaas, Jessica Hawkey, and Sheila Stoeckel to the Academic Staff Appeals Committee; Keri Robbins to the Labor Codes and Licensing Advisory Committee; and Larry Ashmun, Mary Ann Croft, Frederica Freyberg, Christine Sorenson, and Eric White to the Distinguished Prefix Committee (Petty). Seconded. Approved.

·       Topics for Guests

OHR: clarification on rules protecting information about vaccination status, updates to workplace safety policy and addressing potential issues with distancing in office spaces and conference spaces, TTC follow-up, single pay and communication about retirement/furlough/July shortfall impacts

Meeting adjourned at 4:44 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff