Approved 03-06-25

ASEC Minutes

1:00 – 3:30 p.m. Thursday, February 27, 2025

https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/94062364316

Members Present: Richard Barajas, Aaron Crandall, Alissa Ewer, Andrew Lokuta, Albert Muniz (chair), Terry Paape, Nicole Senter, Diane Stojanovich

Members Absent: Nola Walker

Guests: Donna Cole, Lucien Gerondeau, Charles Isbell, Leah Madison, Karen Massetti-Moran, Emily Reynolds, Patrick Sheehan, David Tobin, Andrew Turner, Scott Wildman

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

The minutes of February 20 were approved.

General Reports

Albert Muniz, ASEC Chair, reported that the Committee on Academic Staff Issues (CASI) coalition is planning to move forward with sending their letter in March. Albert connected the coalition with the College of Letters & Science CASI.  

Lesley Fisher, Deputy Secretary of the Academic Staff, reported that Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs, Kent Weigel, met with the co-chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Researchers and Scientists. The Secretary of the Academic Staff office is planning two academic staff chats for the spring semester. Registration opened for the first chat.

Liaison Reports

Diane Stojanovich reported on the various voting items at the recent University Academic Planning Council meeting.

Albert Muniz reported that at their recent meeting, the Nominating Committee approved election slates for the Assembly standing committees. They will begin working on nominations for shared governance committees in April.

Guest: Charles Isbell, Provost

Leadership is gaming out different scenarios that we may find ourselves in based on the changing federal landscape. The goal to protect our mission, our people, and UW-Madison’s future.

Regarding graduate students, we want to bring in the number of people that we think we will be able to support for the next couple of years. Other institutions are reducing the number of students they admit, which we expect will cause an increase in our yield. Therefore, we also need to reduce the number of students we admit.

There was an ad hoc committee formed to review the Dear Colleague letter. They did a data gathering exercise to evaluate if we are in violation of current law. The committee found that we are in compliance and will make recommendations about what we should do moving forward.

The Visioning Committee is moving forward with their work. They plan to send a survey to gather input and will be identifying smaller groups of people to meet with for in-person conversations. 

Guest: Donna Cole, Co-Chair, Ad hoc Review Committee on Academic Staff Research Professor Titles

Donna provided an update on the committee’s work. They interviewed a staff member that holds the research professor title and recently formed two subcommittees. The committee also reached out to research professors on campus asking if they are willing to share their biosketch or chat with the committee about their experience. They hope to complete a report this summer.

Guests: Patrick Sheehan, Chief Human Resources Officer; Karen Massetti-Moran, Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer, Office of Human Resources

Patrick acknowledged matters happening at the federal level. OHR is tracking layoffs, which have been minimal to this point, and providing overarching support to schools/colleges/divisions. Patrick highlighted several resources available to employees, including the Employee Assistance Office (EAO), LifeMatters, Ombuds, and Career Counseling office. Following separation from UW-Madison, employees can access the EAO for 3 months, and LifeMatters and the Career Counseling Office for 6 months.

Patrick attended the legislative hearing regarding 2025 Senate Bill 27, which would require state employees to work in person beginning July 1. Much of the discussion focused on office space and cybersecurity concerns. UW-Madison continues to focus on remote work agreements, which are required for employees that regularly perform work off campus. OHR is considering how they could enhance training offerings for employees that work remotely.

Recessed at 2:58 p.m.

Reconvened at 3:03 p.m.

Business

• ASEC subcommittee follow-up

Albert offered the full committee’s support, as well as that of the Secretary of the Academic Staff Office, if any of the subcommittees are encountering difficulties in achieving their goals.

• Bereavement leave resolution

ASEC reviewed an updated version of the resolution. Andrew Turner, Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee co-chair and co-author of the resolution, provided an overview of updates and answered questions. The resolution will be up for a vote at the March Assembly meeting.

• March Assembly agenda – for vote

Motion to approve the March Assembly agenda (Crandall). Seconded. Approved.

• Shared governance letter

Albert provided background on the origin of the draft letter. ASEC members shared their thoughts on the draft and discussed options for how to move forward. ASEC will discuss this again at their next meeting.

• Topics for guests

Ombuds: has there been an increase in visits due to recent federal activity; strategies for elevating Ombuds office as an employee resource; update on mediator position

VCSA: update on cultural centers; enrollment projections for next year; student impacts related to emerging federal issues; impacts to grants following WI state appeals court decision on Wisconsin minority grant program

OHR: ATP/Workday update; WI heat map of employees working outside of Madison

Meeting adjourned at 3:32 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Lesley Fisher, Deputy Secretary of the Academic Staff