Academic Staff Assembly (ASA)
Minutes
DRAFT
MINUTES
ACADEMIC STAFF ASSEMBLY
Monday, 8 November 2004
272 Bascom Hall (3:30-4:15 pm)
Chancellor John D. Wiley called the meeting to order at 3:30 pm.
AUTOMATIC CONSENT BUSINESS
The minutes of the 10/11/2004 Academic Staff Assembly meeting were approved
as amended.
State of the University - John Wiley
Chancellor Wiley referred to the handout "A Third-Year Progress Report
on the Strategic Plan" for an update on the top five campus priorities.
A quick glance at the graphs shows that positive gains are being made
in all areas. The only troubling issue for the campus as a whole is base
budget reductions due to declining contributions from the state. This
puts the burden on student tuition to cover the increasing costs of salaries,
student services, and programs. While funds from outside sources, such
as the UW Foundation and private donors, continue to be generous, these
monies are earmarked for specific purposes and are not used for base budget
expenditures. The proposed pay plan of 5% in each year of the biennium
will have to be covered by tuition increases. Wiley said that the cost
of higher education is less affordable for families across the country,
now averaging about 15% of family income.
The chancellor is confident that the governor and legislators understand that the UW System took a disproportionate hit in the last budget cycle, so would be spared a large cut this time around. But there isn't a lot of new money, so it's always necessary to reallocate, looking for efficiencies and effective use of resources. Wiley gave as an example the cost of meetings, i.e. a one-hour meeting of eight people is one staff work day, and stressed their judicious use.
Wiley answered a question about the LAB audit report saying that overall our true administrative costs are similar to other large universities. And, despite the report's calculation, the real cost of educating a student at UW-Madison is $12,800.
Committee Reports
Academic Staff Executive Committee (ASEC) - Bruce Beck, chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/asec.html
The search and screen committee for the dean of the School of Education
includes two members of the academic staff, Read Gilgen and Brenda Spychalla.
The Secretary of the Academic Staff (Colleen McCabe) and I attended a meeting of academic staff representatives from the other Big Ten universities. This meeting was held in Chicago on October 18.
ASEC had a luncheon meeting with Chancellor Wiley. Topics discussed included the impending state budget decisions, TABOR, and stem cell research.
ASEC had a luncheon meeting with Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty and Staff Programs, Laurie Beth Clark. Mo Bishof from the AVC's office also attended. Topics discussed included salary equity, academic staff who have reached their salary maximums, and career progression for academic staff.
ASEC had a luncheon meeting with the CASI liaisons. Key topics included academic staff participation in departmental governance, performance reviews, and job security in the form of indefinite appointments and rolling horizons. Most of the CASIs have now filed their annual reports for 2003-04. These reports will be available on the web.
ASEC met with Associate Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, Gina Sapiro. Mo Bishof from the AVC's office also attended. Key topics included the newly formed Teaching and Learning Council and a new office of undergraduate academic awards and scholarships.
ASEC met with Faramarz Vakili-Zadeh, Associate Director of Physical Plant. Faramarz described recent progress in reducing the consumption of electricity (and other utilities) at UW-Madison.
ASEC, together with the provost, has issued a certificate of appreciation to Esther Olson for her valuable and sustained contributions to the work of ASPRO.
ASEC has appointed David Werther to fill a vacancy on the Professional Development and Recognition Committee.
Each year, ASEC is responsible for developing a slate of candidates for the Nominating Committee. If anyone in the Assembly would like to serve or can suggest someone else as a candidate for election to this committee, please contact the Secretary of the Academic Staff, Colleen McCabe.
Compensation and Economic Benefits Committee (CEBC) - Bill Steffenhagen,
chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/cebc/index2.htm
The number of Category A academic staff members at or near the maximum
of their pay range is about 460. Because new academic staff members are
being hired at 101% of the midpoint in most pay ranges, it is clear the
ranges have not kept pace with the market. The UW System is aware that
the ranges are not market based, but addressing this issue may have to
wait until the budget is settled next year.
Districting and Representation Committee (DRC) - Anne Gunther, chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/comopp/drc.html
Nominating Committee - Mary Ray, chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/comopp/nc.html
Mary reported that her committee was working on the slates for the Standing
Committee elections in the spring. Once this is completed, they will begin
to look for candidates for the shared governance committees. These are
appointments made by ASEC at the recommendation of the Nominating Committee.
Mary will provide Assembly reps with a list of the committees with openings.
Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee (PPPC) - Ann Wallace, chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/pppc/index.htm
Job security data from last year will soon be available on the web. The
process of gathering this year's data has just begun. CASIs should begin
to talk to their deans about granting, where appropriate, more rolling
horizons and indefinite appointments to worthy staff as a measure of their
value to the unit.
Professional Development and Recognition Committee (PDRC) - Barry Robinson,
co-chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/pdrc/index.html
School of Education Committee on Academic Staff Issues - Brenda Spychalla
As vice-chair of the CASI, Brenda listed the accomplishments of the group
in the past year. The CASI completed its five-year review. They have a
well-established web site, a listserv, and continue to pursue improvements
in communication tools within the school. The CASI established an "ambassador"
program to welcome new staff. Each new staff member in the School with
at least a 50% renewable appointment is called upon by a colleague for
a short face-to-face meeting. The new staff member is provided with a
key contact person to call on for any question or concern. The CASI organized
an Academic Staff Week of programs showcasing some of the talented academic
staff within the School of Education.
The CASI has drafted information regarding soft-money issues, which will be posted shortly. Another issue under development is supervisor evaluation and training.
New Business
1. ASEC chair, Bruce Beck, provided the results of the academic staff
issues ballot that Assembly representatives were asked to fill out at
the October meeting. The issues were ranked in the following order:
1 Pay plans coupled to the faculty- 41 2 Compensation and benefits -
39
3 Job security - 34 4 Climate - 27
5 Career Progression - 24 6 Diversity - 15
7 Workload - 11 8 Performance Evaluations - 9
9 Environmental Stewardship - 9 10 Workplace Safety - 6
Topics added by Assembly reps
Collective Bargaining Professional development
Conflicting rules across various campus units Parking
2. Assembly resolution in support of the Board of Regents 2005-2007 budget
proposal
ASEC moved adoption of the resolution (Academic Staff Assembly document
#340a), with revisions from the version (#340) that was included in the
packet of materials. With inclusion of two friendly amendments, the resolution
carried. Copies of the resolution will be sent to the governor and appropriate
members of the legislature.
Meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m.
Submitted by Colleen McCabe
Secretary of the Academic Staff