Academic Staff Assembly (ASA) Minutes
Minutes
ACADEMIC STAFF ASSEMBLY
Monday, February 12, 2001
270 Bascom Hall (3:30 - 5:00 p.m.)
A. Interim Provost Gary Sandefur introduced himself and called the meeting
to order at 3:30 pm.
B. AUTOMATIC CONSENT BUSINESS
The minutes of the 1/8/2001 Academic Staff Assembly meeting were approved as corrected.
C. COMMITTEES AND REPORTS
1. ASEC ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES - Wilt Sanders, Chair
a. New Employee Orientation is Thursday, February 15 at the Kohl Center from 8:30 - 12:30. Please encourage new staff members to attend.
b. The annual Academic Staff Leadership Conference will take place at UW-Stevens Point on July 26-27.
c. A group will meet to strategize on key issues regarding
domestic partner benefits on February 15 at 3:30 in Memorial Union. Anyone interested is welcome to attend.
d. Annie Stunden, DoIT Director, will speak to the Assembly in April.
e. ASEC ballots have been mailed. Encourage your district members to vote by March 1.
f. The Faculty Senate passed legislation allowing academic staff to have a larger voice in departmental governance. [With the approval of the department executive committee, academic staff may be extended the vote in departmental meeting and may be allowed to participate in the preferential balloting for department chair.]
g. The new ASPP Chapter 15 has cleared university legal and will go to the provost and chancellor for final approval.
h. Search and Screen Committees under way for both the provost and international studies dean.
i. ASEC is preparing a slate for the Nominating Committee. Let the Secretary know if you are interested.
j. ASEC met with UW Regent President Jay Smith and the University Committee.
k. Town Meetings are being planned for April. One session will take place at the Clinical Sciences Center and another at Memorial Union.l. ASEC reviewed initiatives and priorities set at the Annual
Meeting last summer to determine what will be the focus of the rest of this semester.
2. Compensation and Economic Benefits Committee (CEBC) - Ron Carda, Chair
3. Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee (PPPC) - Ann Wallace, Chair
4. Nominating Committee - Karen Carlson, Chair
5. Professional Development and Recognition Committee (PDRC) - Belinda Velazquez for Jackie Hank, Chair
a. PDRC is holding a brown bag lunch on February 27 to talk aboutresources for finding grants (Memorial Library, room 362).
b. The Excellence Awards and System teaching award packets are being reviewed.
c. The Academic Staff Internship program deadline for summer and fall applicants is this week, Wednesday, February 14. Information is on the PDRC web site.
d. The deadline for mentee applications for the mentoring program is Friday, February 23.
e. The deadline for the next round of Professional Development Grants is March 23.
6. Districting and Representation Committee (DRC) - Mary Ray, Chair
7. Legislative Update - Esther Olson
a. No word yet on the retirement bill.
b. Bills to convert unused sick leave credits for retirees into long-term care insurance are being introduced in both houses.
c. ASPRO members have been meeting Joint Finance Committee members. ASPRO will now be targeting new legislators and members of key committees.
d. UW DAY is March 7. This system-wide event will showcase System campuses for the legislature and other community leaders.
OTHER BUSINESS
D. OLD BUSINESS
1. Emergency Salary Support
ASEC asked for a motion to approve the Emergency Salary Support for Senior Investigators (pilot proposal) as presented. So moved.
Becky Kirkland (District 334) moved to amend the proposal to strike "evaluated after five years" and add "evaluated periodically." The motion was seconded. After discussion, the motion to amend failed.
Kirkland introduced a second motion to amend the proposal to change "emergency salary support for long-term . . . academic staff principal investigators or co-investigators" to "all academic staff with more than ten years service." The motion was seconded. After lengthy discussion with members of the Assembly expressing their views that a similar program could eventually include more than the pilot group, this motion to amend failed.
Jeanne Hendricks (458) made a friendly motion to add a final clause in the last sentence under #4 " . . . consistent with the recovery plan." The motion passed.
The amended motion to approve the emergency support guidelines for senior investigators was voted on and passed.
2. New District 432 - Mary Ray
The Districting and Representation Committee moved that the Academic Staff Assembly create a new district for Clinical Nurse Specialists in medical specialties (District 432). The motion carried.
3. ASPP Chapter 12, Outside Activities and Conflicts of Interest - Ann Wallace
The Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee moved approval of the revisions to Chapter 12. Motion carried.
4. Web Working Group
Greg Iaccarino explained that modifications to the academic staff web page should make the site more usable. The home page changes will take place in March. Kathy Poi (230), on behalf of the Committee on Workplace Issues, commended the group for their progress so far in improving communications.
5. Title Series
Wilt Sanders reported that the Faculty Senate passed its own proposal for honorific professorial titles for researchers and defeated a similar proposal for instructors. Their title series proposals are unlike either of those passed by the Assembly or recommended by the System Working Group. We will continue to advocate for the motion as we adopted it.
H. NEW BUSINESS
1. New districts - Mary Ray
Drafts of motions for two new districts (401and 261) were presented for a first reading. The vote will take place at the next meeting.
2. UW System Fringe Benefits Advisory Committee - Bill Steffenhagen
This committee, made up of one member from each campus, advises Katharine Lyall on issues that would require legislation or administrative action. These are some of the recommendations.
a. Modify policies on usage of income continuation plans to separate the benefit from sick leave, so that sick leave does not need to be exhausted before ICI kicks in.
b. Keep the proposed dental plan, but find a way to fund it. HMOs are trying to get out of the dental program business, and System has proposed a new comprehensive dental plan. However, according to the current proposal funding for it must come from present premiums or off the top of the pay plan. The advisory committee liked the dental plan, but requested additional funding for it.
c. Find a way to compensate those earning more than $170,000/year who cannot get UW retirement contributions at that level because of an IRS ruling.
d. Change the statutory definition of "spouse" to include domestic partners for the purpose of state group health insurance benefits.
e. Study the issue of converting sick leave credits to long-term care insurance.
Meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
Submitted by Colleen McCabe
Secretary of the Academic Staff