Academic Staff Executive Committee Minutes 08-11-22

Approved 08-18-22

ASEC Minutes

2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Thursday, August 11, 2022

260 Bascom Hall

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

Members Present: Donna Cole, vice chair; Tim Dalby; Alissa Ewer; Julie Johnson; Stephanie Jones, Albert Muniz; Lindsey Stoddard Cameron

Guests: Lesley Fisher, Karl Scholz, Scott Wildman

The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m.

The minutes of July 28 were approved.

General Reports

Donna Cole, ASEC Vice Chair, reported on a meeting that she, Mallory, Stephanie Jones, and Jenny Dahlberg had with Learning and Talent Development following up on discussions with ASEC about supervisory training. ASEC members provided feedback on what resources should be available for principal investigators who may not have previous supervisory experience. Donna, Mallory, Lesley, and Jake met with Patrick Sheehan for the monthly OHR meeting. Topics included potential impacts of the Dobbs decision and updates on ATP.

Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff, discussed the process for ASEC providing feedback on the Ad Hoc Committee on Academic and University Staff Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion draft report. The ad hoc committee will hopefully finalize the report by the end of the month or in September. Jake and Lesley are working to schedule ASEC listening sessions for the fall. Jake and the other Secretaries met with Johannes Britz, Interim Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs for UW System. They discussed UW-Madison’s governance structures and opportunities for future engagement. The Step 4 TTC appeals should be starting in a couple of weeks, and they are expected to go on into the fall semester. On August 25, Chancellor Mnookin will be meeting with ASEC.

Liaison Reports

Tim Dalby reported that the Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee is continuing its ongoing review of ASPP and is currently looking at Chapter 3, which focuses on non-renewals.

Guest: Karl Scholz, Provost

Provost Scholz discussed COVID planning for the fall semester. Jennifer Noyes played a substantial role in the planning previously. Now that she has moved into the Interim Chief of Staff role within the Chancellor’s Office, Argyle Wade has moved into that planning role. Campus will continue to have PCR testing available similar to the availability that we had in the spring. The only difference will be that the tests will be processed by Exact Sciences instead of the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab. Campus will also continue to provide antigen tests to students and employees on a weekly basis. In addition to COVID, campus administration is paying close attention to the situation with monkeypox, and there will continue to be communication about vaccination and boosters available at University Health Services.

The Dobbs decision doesn’t affect any services that UHS currently provides. ASEC relayed concerns from constituents about impacts from the ruling, and OHR is checking on any potential impacts to benefits for employees. ASEC also urged mindfulness around future legislation and its potential effects on members of our community. They also stressed the importance of supportive communication to the university community. Administration is looking at potential impacts to both enrollment and research as a result of the decision.

Provost Scholz’s initiatives for the coming year include supporting Chancellor Mnookin and helping the deans to do so as well. He will be looking at the workload and workflow of the Provost Office based on feedback from Interim Provost Hess. Another initiative involves a task force to look at the currently decentralized model of career services and make recommendations about how it might be improved. ASEC encouraged the Provost to consider how doctoral students and students in 131 programs might be included in discussions currently centered on undergraduates and masters students. Another initiative is around the need to look at the efficacy of HIB policies and procedures. ASEC raised a question regarding the potential need for mediators. Provost Scholz indicated that discussions were happening about this through OHR.

Motion to Convene in Closed Session Pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c), and (f) to Discuss Appointments to the Campus Planning Committee and the University Academic Planning Council (Dalby). Seconded. Approved.

 

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

 

Business

·       Appointments – for vote

Motion to appoint Lindsey Stoddard Cameron to the Campus Planning Committee and Stephanie Jones to the University Academic Planning Council (Johnson). Seconded. Approved.

·       ASEC Orientation

Orientation continued from the July 14 meeting and covered parliamentary procedure, resolutions, and additional meetings that ASEC members participate in throughout the year.

·       Assembly Statistics 2021-22

ASEC reviewed statistics for Assembly meeting attendance and representatives’ communication with their districts for the previous academic year.

·       September Assembly Meeting Agenda

ASEC reviewed an initial draft of the September Assembly agenda. ASEC discussed potential guests to invite and the SOAS office will work on scheduling. The September agenda will be voted on at the September 1 ASEC meeting.

·       Staff Morale Discussion

ASEC resumed discussion on various aspects of staff morale, continuing a conversation earlier in the summer related to a potential resolution. Staff morale will also be a topic of substantial discussion when the Chancellor meets with ASEC on August 25. A small group of ASEC members and the SOAS office will take a look at a possible resolution and make recommendations to the group at the next meeting.

·       Topics for Guests

OHR: progression, DEI initiatives within OHR, non-101/104 support within DCF, staffing update, update on renewal of remote work agreements, what potential changes to the policy within the coming year or long-term

Meeting adjourned at 4:16 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff