ACADEMIC STAFF ASSEMBLY
Monday, January 14, 2002
165 Bascom Hall (3:30 - 4:30)

A. PROVOST PETER SPEAR CALLED THE MEETING TO ORDER AT 3:30 P.M.

B. AUTOMATIC CONSENT BUSINESS
The minutes of the 12/10/2001 Academic Staff Assembly meeting were approved as presented.

C. PROVOST ACTIVITY REPORT: PETER SPEAR
The Dean of Students has announced that she will be leaving to join the faculty in the Department of Educational Administration. A search and screen committee will be forming soon to find a replacement.

Chuck Halaby has been named Associate Dean of L&S for Social Sciences, replacing Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, who has been appointed L&S Deputy Dean and Associate Dean for Research and Outreach.

The provost talked about campus climate issues in reference to recent remarks about academic staff in the Faculty Senate. He stressed that these are the views of individual Senators and should be taken as such.

Campus administrators will have to accept the recent resolution to amend Faculty Policies and Procedures passed by the Faculty Senate regarding professorial titles.

D. COMMITTEES AND REPORTS

1. ASEC ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES - Linda Newman, Chair
The bake sale/donations totaled close to $100 in December. The endowment committee will sponsor a second sale in February to benefit the fund. Bring your appetites and wallets!

Linda has been working with Karen Schwarz on the Instructional and Research Academic Staff Integration Report as a response to a request by UW System in May.

The ASEC ballot will be mailed later this month. It is due back to the secretary's office on March 1.

Esther Olson described her duties on the State Group Insurance Board and encouraged Assembly representatives to contact her if they or their district members have concerns about health care coverage policies.

2. Compensation and Economic Benefits Committee (CEBC) - Ron Carda, Chair
http://cebc.engr.wisc.edu/

3. Districting and Representation Committee (DRC) - Mary Ray, Chair
http://drc.academic-staff.wisc.edu

4. Nominating Committee (NC) -Karen Carlson, Chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/comopp/nc.html

5. Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee (PPPC) - Ann Wallace, Chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/comopp/pppc/

6. Professional Development and Recognition Committee (PDRC) - Belinda Velazquez, Co-chair
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/acstaff/pdrc/index.html
Two of the popular brown bag series from last semester will be repeated this spring:
2/14 on Grant Writing, noon in 340 Steenbock
4/18 on Who's Who in Administration, noon in 220 Ingraham

7. Legislative Update - Esther Olson
Two bills on domestic partners were introduced in the Legislature. SB 386 by Fred Risser (D-Madison) would provide coverage for domestic partners under health care plans and long term care insurance policies. AB 721 by Frank Boyle (D-Superior) provides requirements for forming a legal domestic partner relationship. Both bills were referred to committee.

GUEST: John Torphy, Vice Chancellor for Administration

John Torphy talked about the possible effects of the state budget deficit on the Madison campus, but stressed that the exact numbers have not been determined. UW System will be receiving the information first, and will pass on each campus' share.

What is known is that the temporary lapse on $1.6 million in the 2001-02 budget will become permanent, with additional cuts expected. The campus is also expected to pick up any overage in the utilities cost, which the state had forgiven in the past. The impact on tuition, financial aid, the Madison Initiative, including Biostar, and most importantly, on bonding are not yet known.

The key issue for UW-Madison is to consider how we can invest the dollars we do have so they will provide the most benefit to the state's economic growth.

OTHER BUSINESS

A. OLD BUSINESS

ASPP - Chapter 14
Karen Schwarz of ASEC and PPPC asked if there were any further changes to those presented in the distributed draft of ASPP Chapter 14. She said that most of the revisions were either cosmetic or intended to shorten the document by including references to Faculty Policies and Procedures for the legal descriptions of the various shared governance committee functions.

The provost asked for a motion for a vote to approve the changes. The motion passed unanimously. The draft will be edited for formatting and other minor details before going on the web.

B. NEW BUSINESS

1. UW-Madison Domestic Partner Policy
Steve Lund, of the Academic Personnel Office, explained that the policy document (in the packet) serves to describe existing policies on campus for providing access to domestic partners of campus employees. Having a written campus-wide policy description (borrowed partly from UW-LaCrosse) will offer consistent criteria throughout the campus units that have an access requirement.

A motion was made from the floor to endorse the policy. Seconded and passed.

The policy has been approved by the University Committee, but still needs endorsement from the student and non-represented classified staff organizations. Then it will be up to the provost to implement it.

2. Catastrophic leave policy - Steve Lund
Under this policy, academic staff may donate vacation, ALRA, or personal leave to another academic staff member who has a difficult medical or family situation that requires a prolonged absence from work. The donor and recipient must be 12-month employees, and the donation must be made to a specific individual through the unit's human resources office.

Meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

Submitted by Colleen McCabe
Secretary of the Academic Staff