Academic Staff Assembly (ASA) Minutes
DRAFT
MINUTES
ACADEMIC STAFF ASSEMBLY
Monday, 12 November 2007
272 Bascom Hall (3:30-4:20 pm)
Vice-chancellor Darrell Bazzell called the meeting to order at 3:30 pm.
AUTOMATIC CONSENT BUSINESS
The minutes of the 10/8/2007 Academic Staff Assembly meeting were approved.
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS
Academic Staff Executive Committee (ASEC) – Susan Crowley, chair
Susan invited Assembly reps and anyone interested to attend ASEC meetings on Friday mornings (except the third Friday) from 8:30-11:00am in room 67 Bascom Hall. These are open meetings, unless specifically closed at times to discuss personnel matters. Weekly agendas are posted outside room 174 Bascom on Thursday morning.
The Nominating Committee is working on the Standing Committee slates. ASEC is responsible for the Nominating Committee slate. Anyone interested should contact the secretary.
ASEC held its fall meeting with the CASI liaisons. The CASIs turned in their annual reports, which will appear on the academic staff web site. An issue that concerns many of the CASIs is effort reporting and how it will effect participation on committees.
Communications Committee – Bruce Orchard reporting
The newest standing committee has met three times this fall. Brian Rust was elected as chair. The committee has been looking as possible improvements and enhancements to the academic staff web site. This site was established for governance purposes, but the committee is thinking about the possibility adding more general interest topics to make it more attractive to users.
Graduate School Committee on Academic Staff Issues (CASI) – Bruce Neumann reporting
The Grad School CASI has 12 members: 10 elected and 2 appointed by the dean. They have four subcommittees: Communications, Nominations, Personnel Policies, and Professional Development. The activities of each of the subcommittees are detailed in the CASI’s annual report.
In the coming year, the CASI will focus on increased awareness and involvement in governance. The CASI may coordinate some governance issues with ASEC where there is mutual interest.
GUEST: Kevin Helmkamp, associate dean of students
In talking about campus safety, Kevin stated that there are no easy answers. The situation at Virginia Tech put safety issues on the front burner, and plans for better protection of all have improved over a year ago. A key factor is proper intervention at the lowest level as early as possible. Resources are available if you have a reason to be concerned about a student who might be a threat to himself or others. You can call the ODOS at 263-5700. You can do a reality check with your colleagues, but trust your instinct if no one else is around. Don’t hesitate to call 911 if you perceive an immediate threat. Create an audit trail for reference by noting date, time, and what was said. Plan ahead by talking to university poli ce or counseling center staff. Have an escape route in mind. The campus has review teams that monitor problematic individuals for five years. There are also intervention teams for students who may pose a threat to themselves.
When there is a campus crisis, the UWPD will use newer technology to get the word out. “Facebook,” text messaging, reverse 9-1-1, word of mouth, and email are some of the possible tools.
The #1 Rule is to Keep Yourself Safe.
Vice Chancellor Report, Darrell Bazzell
Darrell mentioned the state budget that had just been passed and signed by the governor. It provides cost-to-continue funding as well as a faculty retention fund of about $10 million System-wide. The System has been handed a $25 million funding lapse of which $9.5 million will have to be covered by UW-Madison. Darrell said that this lapse will be managed centrally and will not be handed down to academic departments.
There is no pay plan as yet, and one probably will not be in place until after January 2008. The pay plan recommendation from OSER to the legislature is expected to be somewhat similar to the last biennium. If the increases come in the form of 2% or less, campuses may ask the Regents for exceptions to the across-the-board provision so there can be some merit distributions if desired.
Darrell spoke about the Charter Street heating plant and the Sierra Club law suit. It is not a good situation, but some energy source is needed. Pollution controls for the coal-burning plant are one option, but long-term there might be a better solution.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m.
Submitted by Colleen McCabe
Secretary of the Academic Staff