Academic Staff Assembly (ASA)
Minutes
Approved 10-11-04
MINUTES
ACADEMIC STAFF ASSEMBLY
Monday, 13 September 2004
272 Bascom Hall (3:30-4:30 pm)
Vice-Chancellor Darrell Bazzell called the meeting to order at 3:30 pm.
AUTOMATIC CONSENT BUSINESS
The minutes of the 5/10/2004 Academic Staff Assembly meeting were approved.
Mini-orientation for Assembly members - Read Gilgen and Belinda Velazquez
Read introduced the members of the Academic Staff Executive Committee
of the Academic Staff Assembly. He stressed the importance of communication
among other Assembly members through the listserv and with district members
by email. The academic staff website is an important resource, and the
FAQ section can provide answers to key questions.
Belinda mentioned that attending Assembly meetings was the primary task for representatives and that reps should find an alternate to attend when they are unable to. Belinda talked about the relationship between Assembly representatives and their ASEC mentors.
Committee Reports
Academic Staff Executive Committee (ASEC) - Bruce Beck, chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/asec.html
Bruce welcomed new Assembly representatives: Robert Stone Newsom, Joyce
Hemphill, Miranda McClenaghan, Kathleen Madden, Torie Dzelak, Laura Thibodeau,
Jim Molenda, Amy Fruchtman, and John Dreger.
Last year, ASEC recognized these academic staff for their outstanding
contributions to the university and community
a. Jo Ann Carr, School of Ed, creating an award for student hourly employees
b. CASI of the School of Nursing, work with a local Head Start program
c. Tania Banak, Vet Med, organizing volunteer work to protect a campus
natural area.
It was brought to ASEC's attention that Intercollegiate Athletics rescinded all academic staff rolling horizon appointments because the method for determining who got them seemed arbitrary and capricious. When confronted by members of academic staff governance, deputy athletic director, Jamie Pollard, was willing to bring academic staff into decisions that affect them through establishment of a Committee on Academic Staff Issues (CASI). ASEC offered assistance and will follow up to check on the progress of the CASI startup.
In July, eight academic staff from UW-Madison attended the UW System Academic Staff Leadership Conference at UW-Stout. Several state legislators were present as well as a Regent.
Academic staff participated in search and screen process for the dean of L&S. The ASEC representative on the search committee was Tori Richardson.
During the summer ASEC met with Darrell Bazzell, VC for Administration, who talked about the biennial budget for 2005-07, and Gina Sapiro, Associate VC for Undergraduate Learning, who presented findings of a report on the transfer student experience.
For the results of ASEC's annual planning exercise for 2004-05 - see buff handout in your packet.
Compensation and Economic Benefits Committee (CEBC) - Bill Steffenhagen,
chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/cebc/index2.htm
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 Ray announced that her committee is currently looking for nominees
to run for standing committee positions. The recruitment for members of
campus-wide joint governance committees will begin in the spring. Email
Mary if you are interested in being considered.
Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee (PPPC) - Ann Wallace, chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/pppc/index.htm
The PPPC reviewed the number of indefinite appointments recommended by
each of the area review committees. There were eight of them in all. The
Distinguished Prefix Review Committee received three nominations for the
distinguished title and all three were recommended.
Job security data for 2003-04 has been received. When the report is ready, it will be shared with the Assembly and the various CASIs.
Professional Development and Recognition Committee (PDRC) - Barry Robinson,
co-chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/pdrc/index.html
Professional development grant proposals are due on October 15 to your
department chairs or directors. The grants cover the period from January
through June 2005. On September 28, the PDRC will sponsor a noon workshop
at Union South on how to write a successful grant proposal.
Ad hoc Communications Committee - Greg Iaccarino and Lisa Jansen, co-chairs
Looking at ways to improve communication among Assembly representatives
and their members, the ad hoc group has prepared a couple of documents
explaining use of the Assembly listserv and email lists of district members.
They worked with the Districting and Representation Committee to make
the automatic email list updates easier to use. By cutting and pasting,
the addresses can now be moved quickly to the blind copy area of your
outgoing email message.
The committee held a listening session last year to get ideas for better communication methods, but would welcome any others. Greg and Lisa noted that they are looking for interested people to join their committee. Contact either of them if you are interested.
Medical School Committee on Academic Staff Issues - Rosa Garner
There are over 1500 academic staff associated with the Medical School,
70% of whom are in research and instructional titles. The CASI is made
up of 12 voting members, with three members appointed by the dean, and
one ex officio member. In addition, last year, as a pilot project, five
department liaisons were included to enhance communication and participation.
One of these is from the UW-Milwaukee campus.
Last year the CASI did a survey, had two orientations on academic staff governance, and held sessions with administrators, including Dean Farrell. They also did a SWOT analysis as the initial step of a self-study that will result in recommendations for future activities.
Academic Staff Public Representation Organization (ASPRO) - Esther Olson
The Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) amendment failed at the last legislative
session, but is bound to reappear in some form with a cap on spending
that will be problematic for higher education. It will be important for
all groups opposed to this bill to educate the public on the negative
consequences if it passes.
ASPRO members ran an interactive session at the summer leadership conference at UW-Stout. ASPRO will be looking to increase its membership around the System this year.
ASPRO urges academic staff to be informed and involved in politics at the campus and community level, but most importantly, to get out and vote!
New Business
Assembly Resolution to honor University of Wisconsin System President Katharine C. Lyall upon her retirement
Bruce Beck moved adoption of the ASEC resolution distributed with the Assembly materials to commend former System President Katharine Lyall on her support of academic staff during her tenure. The motion passed with unanimous consent.
Vice Chancellor for Administration - Darrell Bazzell
Bazzell talked about three priorities for the new budget cycle. The first
one mentioned was access for students. System will ask for additional
financial aid from GPR that will replace every dollar of any tuition increase
for students. Secondly, System has requested a 3% increase in each year
of the biennium over and above the state pay plan increase. As faculty
and staff have fallen behind their peers dramatically, this additional
pay raise is essential to recruit and retain top level people. The third
big expense is the cost to continue, which includes increased utility
and maintenance costs.
Those budget requests are modest, but necessary, for keeping a high standard of quality and access. System and campus administration hopes to be treated fairly by the governor and the legislature, since we were forced to take a big cut in the last budget reductions. However, a large structural deficit looms for the state, so nothing is certain. The governor now has all the requests from state agencies, so will have until early next year before sending his budget figures to the Joint Finance Committee. The JFC will draw up a version of the budget that will go to the legislature in the spring. Final approval is likely next summer sometime.
The Legislature Audit Bureau report on System administration is expected to be released soon. It is likely to bring negative press coverage, but System will challenge LAB methods and comparables aggressively. When compared with peer institutions (rather than other state agencies), the UW System has a very low percentage of administrative support. System President Kevin Reilly is well versed on the issue and will respond publicly to the audit findings.
Meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
Submitted by Colleen McCabe
Secretary of the Academic Staff