Governance

The 1973 merger which created the current University of Wisconsin System led to the development of UW System (UWS) rules, which were approved by the Board of Regents in 1975. Chapter UWS 9 of the Regent Rules directed each chancellor to establish a campus committee to advise the administration on policies and procedures for academic staff.

In May 1975, an interim committee was established to develop procedures for establishing an academic staff committee that would in turn develop UW-Madison policies and procedures for academic staff and advise the administration on academic staff issues. The first committee included seven academic staff elected from six work-related areas and four academic staff appointed by the chancellor. The initial Academic Staff Advisory Committee spent almost three years developing the Policies and Procedures Governing Academic Staff Appointments. When the rules became official, the word “Advisory” was dropped and the Academic Staff Committee (ASC) became the official governance mechanism for academic staff. In faculty shared governance, the University Committee is the parallel to ASC (now called ASEC, or the Academic Staff Executive Committee).

On August 17, 1985, Chapter 36 of the Wisconsin Statutes was revised to include academic staff:

The academic staff members of each institution, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president and the chancellor and faculty of the institution, shall be active participants in the immediate governance of and policy development for the institution. The academic staff members have primary responsibility for the formulation and review, and shall be represented in the development of all policies and procedures concerning academic staff members, including academic staff personnel matters. The academic staff members of each institution shall have the right to organize themselves in a manner they determine, and to select their representatives to participate in institutional governance. 

On July 13, 2015, Chapter 36 of the Wisconsin Statutes was revised to clarify the meaning of subject to.  36.09 (3m) was added which reads “Meaning of “subject to” in certain provisions. In subs. (4) to (5), “subject to the responsibilities and powers” means subordinate to the responsibilities and powers.”

On September 6, 1985, the Board of Regents (Resolution 3359) directed each chancellor to implement academic staff governance participation.

In 1986, the Academic Staff Committee hired a consultant to assist them in getting input from the widest possible range of members of the academic staff and in the development of new governance mechanisms. The Articles of Organization were developed and were ratified by the academic staff on February 16, 1987:

Preamble Excerpt: Participation in the UW-Madison Academic Staff Assembly, Academic Staff Executive Committee, and subcommittees is recognized by the university as a fundamental right and responsibility of academic staff members. Employing units and supervisors shall encourage these activities as fundamental to the success of shared governance. This includes providing flexibility for academic staff to attend meetings of these bodies. Participation in academic staff governance should be considered among other job functions and responsibilities in performance evaluations for promotion, indefinite appointment, merit increase, and other job-related matters.

On March 2, 1987, the Faculty Senate adopted a resolution of support for academic staff governance.

An ad hoc districting committee was set up, Assembly representatives were elected, and the first Assembly met on June 23, 1987. The parallel in faculty governance is the Faculty Senate. The Assembly appointed a Bylaws Subcommittee that met almost weekly to amend and fine-tune the original draft of the Academic Staff Assembly Bylaws. The Bylaws were approved on December 1, 1987, and included the current structure for the selection of the following committees:

• Academic Staff Executive Committee
• Compensation and Economic Benefits Committee
• Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee
• Nominating Committee

The Academic Staff Executive Committee (ASEC) is responsible for day-to-day governance decisions and reports its activities to the Assembly on a regular basis. The Assembly has since established four additional standing committees:

• Communications Committee
• Districting and Representation Committee
• Mentoring Committee
• Professional Development and Recognition Committee

In response to the need for academic staff to be aware of and have influence concerning legislation affecting academic staff, the Academic Staff Assembly established ASPRO on March 28, 1989.