Academic Staff Executive Committee Minutes 04-21-22

Approved 04-28-22

ASEC Minutes

2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21, 2022

53 Bascom Hall

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

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

Guests: Lesley Fisher, Karl Scholz, Patrick Sheehan, Scott Wildman

The meeting was called to order at 1:57 p.m.

The minutes of April 7 were approved.

Guest: Patrick Sheehan, Interim Chief Human Resources Officer

The Chief Human Resources Officers and the Chief Budget Officers at the various campuses met to discuss next steps with TTC and conceptualizing strategies for addressing compensation issues for the other campuses. Madison continues to work on its own strategies for addressing compensation.

The latest TTC appeals stats were shared, with 47 approved for academic staff and 83 either pending denied or pending review. OHR is also addressing staffing issues that will impact the timeline for keeping the appeals process moving forward.

Salary data was shared through an open records request, and there have been some individual questions sent to OHR. OHR is proposing to review equity in thirds over a rolling three-year period, working with data from CUPA and Willis Towers Watson, which will allow for ongoing adjustment of salary ranges and structural changes over time to raise salary maxima and to consider how pay plan implementation will work for those over the maxima. OHR is also having conversations about how data might be presented going forward, given limitations on what can be shared due to antitrust regulations.

ASEC had inquired about additional resources for career counseling for staff. This is part of OHR’s budget conversations with the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration. The hope is to reduce the backlog that exists currently and to create a resource through the Office of Learning and Talent Development that is employee-focused.

On the topic of manager/supervisor training, OHR is exploring potential opportunities in this space. Lynn Freeman and Patrick will attend a future ASEC meeting to talk about how these opportunities might work, including better support for managers/supervisors. It will be important to have the same metrics as with other trainings (e.g. surveys, 6-month follow-ups), as well as opportunities in other areas like performance management and bystander training. There is the question of whether training will be mandatory. While there has been evolution on this notion over time, in areas such as performance evaluation and sexual harassment/sexual violence training, there are still a number of conversations to have, including with faculty, on this topic.

OHR continues to evaluate what is working well and what isn’t as relates to the remote work policy. There has been feedback about the clarity of the policy and whether to be more or less prescriptive. OHR is also conscious of this as a driver of recruitment and retention considerations.

Guest: Karl Scholz, Provost

Provost Scholz discussed the recent survey on student free speech that was announced by UW System. The survey is on hold until the fall. The student climate survey from last fall has key questions about whether or not students are being treated with respect, whether they feel as though they belong, whether they feel stifled in class, etc. Survey fatigue is also a concern.

Looking to initiatives in the coming year, Provost Scholz expressed confidence in resources being available to address pay for staff. The Administrative Transformation Program is continuing to move along, and it is important to get this right, not only to streamline systems but also to see how it will allow us to do things that we haven’t done before. It will be important to eliminate shadow systems where possible and also to serve as a catalyst for redesigning some processes.

On the question of next steps for school/college/division plans for diversity, equity, and inclusion, the Provost Office is looking at a likely deadline of August 1 for those to be submitted. The Campus Diversity and Climate Committee has also done some work in this space.

Regarding COVID testing on campus, there are still discussions in progress and it is not certain when a decision will be reached on how testing might look in the next academic year.

General Reports

Tim Dalby, ASEC Chair, met with Patrick Sheehan along with Mallory and Jake for their monthly meeting. Much of what was discussed was covered by Patrick here. Tim and Jake met with Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs Beth Meyerand to discuss themes from the latest Academic Staff Chat, as well as other topics, including HIB, funding for staff salaries, and progress on use of academic staff professorial titles. Tim will be meeting with the other shared governance chairs on Friday.

Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff, reported that Rob Cramer was announced as the permanent Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration. This year’s Academic Staff Institute was well received, and Jake thanked everyone who helped plan the event. The Academic Staff Excellence Awards Ceremony was held on April 18, and it was a wonderful event. There will be additional recognition at the May Assembly meeting. On Tuesday, the last Academic Staff Chat of this academic year was held on TTC. Regarding the chancellor search, there is a link on the search website to submit questions for the moderated Q&A sessions for each finalist, and the deadline to submit questions is April 27. Jake met with Patrick Sheehan, Beth Meyerand, and Lynn Freeman to discuss next steps on supervisory training. Patrick and Lynn will visit a future ASEC meeting to discuss more on this topic. There will be a joint ASPRO/PROFS forum on Thursday, April 28, discussing implications of the latest state legislative session for UW-Madison.

Liaison Reports

Stephanie Elkins reported on updates from the Wisconsin Public Media CASI’s various subcommittees. The Communications Committee met with the Eloqua team from DoIT regarding distribution mechanisms for the academic staff newsletter. The Ad Hoc Committee for Academic and University Staff Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion met and discussed how to move forward with its draft report. They are aiming for a mid-late June meeting with ASEC to present the report.

Donna Cole attended the most recent meeting of the International Division CASI, which is looking at a chair and chair-elect model for its structure. At the latest meeting of the SMPH CASI, Dean Golden attended and discussed DEI initiatives for faculty and staff, as well as the use of the research professor title, which has been customized to meet the needs of the School.

Jenny Dahlberg reported that the shared governance panels for the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration worked well together and had good conversations with all of the finalists. The School of Veterinary Medicine CASI has been working on ways to integrate mental health and wellness activities into the School. The west end CASI working group (SMPH, Pharmacy, Nursing, Vet Med) also met to talk about what activities they would like to see at a future event for those CASIs.

Mallory Musolf reported that the shared governance panels have met with two out of the three finalists for the Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. The third finalist will visit campus on April 29.

Business

·        ASEC Planning Subcommittee Reports

The DEI subcommittee will schedule a meeting with Nominating Committee and the SOAS office to discuss next steps on some initiatives to broaden diversity.

·        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.

·        May Assembly Meeting Agenda

Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education Steve Ackerman and Graduate School Dean Bill Karpus will present at the May meeting. ASEC reviewed draft resolutions and will work on them in small working groups before the next meeting, when the agenda will be finalized.

·        Topics for Guests

Chancellor: update on initiatives that she wanted to accomplish in her last semester, as well as projects that she hopes will continue after her departure; advice for working effectively with new UWS President; fostering a relationship with the new Chancellor and advancing pay for academic staff; thoughts on shared governance and suggestions for continued/greater effectiveness

VCFA: initiatives he would like to begin work on now that he’s in the permanent position; plans for further shared governance participation with ATP and vision for engagement for other rollouts going forward; timeline for posting/hiring Chief HR Officer position; thoughts on/vision for next iteration of Campus Master Plan

Meeting adjourned at 4:24 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff