SAS Newsletter, University of of Wisconsin-Stout. Welcome to your Academic Staff Newsletter

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1 , University of of Wisconsin-Stout - Stout Volume X, Issue X Academic December, Year 2014 Welcome to your Academic Staff Newsletter From the Editor (Anita Wiese, SAS Secretary) The Academic Staff Newsletter highlights the work which the Senate has done in the past year: issues discussed, votes taken, input provided to the Administration, and committees on which senators and academic staff served. The Senate represents you and your interests to the Administration in the process of shared governance at UW-Stout. Please take the opportunity to ask questions and voice your opinion to the Senate (a public comments time has been added to each Senate meeting at which Administrator reports are not heard) or directly to a Senator Senators (beginning of the academic year) 1 st Row (left to right) Linda Borofka 2 nd Row: Patrick Lytle, Ben Bechle, Provost Guilfoile, Katie Kramschuster 3 rd Row: Cory Mitchell, Bob Butterfield, Brett Roseman, Andrew Mercil Back Row: Jane Anderson, Michael Manning, Anita Wiese, Brenda Krueger, Michael Lee, Josiah Ray, Missing from the Photo: Stephen Collie; Tiffani Taggart, Sandy White, Curtis Wieland, and Marya Wilson. Page 1

2 Thanks, and Welcome Thank you to those individuals who have represented the Academic Staff and/or the Senate on University committees. Your efforts are greatly appreciated! Thanks also to those who have attended Senate meetings and those who have worked within Senate committees. The following individuals will not be returning as Senators in 2018: Bob Butterfield, Stephen Collie, Chip Kochendorfer, Patrick Lytle, Andrew Mercil, Troy Temple, Sandy White, Curtis Wieland, Anita Wiese, and Marya Wilson. These individuals have provided invaluable input toward shared governance and the hope is that each one will continue to voice their opinion on campus issues. Welcome to those joining the Senate of Academic Staff for : Tracey Bauer, Amy Gullixson, Jessica Jurgella, Heather Klanderman, Tiffany Koeshall, Jennifer Lee, Laura Reisinger, Amber Schoenick, Richard Schutta, and Derek Sturgill. Feel free to contact Senators directly or use the feedback button on the Senate of Academic Staff website ( The Senate of Academic Staff website posts the calendar of meetings, agendas, and meeting minutes so you can stay abreast of the issues. SAS Standing Committee Updates Election Committee (by Brenda Krueger, Chair) Thank you to those academic staff who have served on the Senate of Academic Staff (SAS), standing committees, or university committees. Your involvement in shared governance at UW-Stout is appreciated. Two elections were held in : one in fall and one in spring. The Fall Election is held to fill any vacancies that have come up over the summer due to job or workload changes. In Fall 2017, the ballot had just 6 vacancies. Four of the 6 vacancies (67%) were filled. The Spring Election is the main election for the Senate of Academic Staff, standing committees, and university committees. In Spring 2018, the ballot listed 61 vacancies. Ninety percent (55 of the 61) of the vacancies were filled. Thank you to those who nominated others or self-nominated for the SAS elections this year. Most of the SAS standing committee and university committee positions are filled for the academic year. If you would like information about the Senate Elected/Appointed committees at UW- Stout, visit for a complete list of committee descriptions. To see the Spring, 2018 election results, check out this link: Watch your or UW-Stout Today for opportunities to get involved in shared governance at UW- Stout. We encourage you to get involved! Page 2

3 Personnel Committee (by Tiffani Taggart, Chair) The SAS Personnel Committee continued in the significant task begun in to review and revise the current performance evaluation form. I am pleased to report that we are in the final stages with training planned to begin Fall 2018 and full implementation for January On behalf of the entire committee, thank you to all academic staff for your time, thoughtful feedback, and genuine commitment to creating an evaluation that strives to build and support the best employee possible. Professional Development Committee (by Sandy White, Chair) The SAS Professional Development Committee has responsibility for promoting both the Board of Regents Award (BOR) and the Chancellors Academic Staff Award for Excellence as well as serving on the Faculty and Academic Senate Professional Development Committee. Seven applications were received for the Chancellor s Academic Award for Excellence, demonstrating hard work and numerous valuable contributions by the applicants to the university and community. The evaluation rating sheet was refined to narrow down to the two selected: Heather Stecklein, University Archivist/Area Research Center Director Sarah Wynn, Director of McNair Scholars Program One application was forwarded for the Board of Regents Award this year. We are encouraging this year s Chancellor s Academic Staff Award for Excellence recipients to apply for the Board of Regents Award. in the future. The Professional Development committee joins three faculty senate representatives to evaluate the traditional Professional Development Grant proposals now submitted over four dates throughout the academic year: July 1, October 1, January 1, and April 1. It is a pleasure to review these proposals which exhibit a wide range of innovative requests as well as variety in professional development activities. We wish we could fund them all. Limited funds mean we are required to make tough decisions, narrowing it down to the resource allocation available. Sixteen submissions were received for the April 1 awarding, totaling $21,000 but only $10,000 was available to award. A Note from the Current Senate Chair (by Josiah Ray, Chair) It has been my honor to serve as Chair of the Senate of Academic Staff during the academic year. This past year was relatively quiet from a governance standpoint. Our senate primarily focused on two complex and labor-intensive goals: revising the performance evaluation for academic staff and recommending changes to the scope of emergency hire and no intent to renew contracts. Both efforts have been led by Tiffani Taggart, who will take over the position of SAS Chair at the end of this academic term. Tiffani s leadership during her term as vice-chair has been invaluable to our senate and she will continue to provide a strong voice for academic staff on governance topics. Page 3

4 There are several issues that have emerged which may continue to develop during the upcoming year. Our campus s approach toward creating a welcoming environment for students of diverse backgrounds, is one that immediately comes to mind. The achievement gap for minority students is also a significant concern for our campus. The university administration is reviewing the creation of a diversity-related position to provide leadership as we work to address these issues. The 2017 campus climate survey indicated job satisfaction for faculty and staff as most negatively impacted by workload and compensation concerns. Campus and state-mandated pay plans have been developed since the survey to help address the compensation issue, but UW-Stout continues to have one of the highest turnover rates in the UW system. Our campus needs to make meaningful progress on these topics, so we do not continue to lose productive faculty and staff to other universities and private industry. The recent drop in enrollment is an area of concern for our campus, particularly those areas which depend on enrollment growth for income. A number of efforts to help stem the tide in the enrollment decline and assist recruitment efforts are being tried: additional funding set aside for scholarships, a Strategic Enrollment Management plan, a website redesign, and a new Constituent Relationship Management program. On the systemwide level, the decision to merge two-year colleges into neighboring four-year universities has raised concerns on the lack of transparency leading up to that decision. UW System President Ray Cross has been heavily criticized for his comments which appeared to circumvent shared governance in the decision-making process. Although UW-Stout is not receiving a two-year college, this decision does carry implications for recruiting and revenue sharing that will affect our campus in the future. Despite all of these concerns, I am heartened by the fact that our senate is staffed by many thoughtful and conscientious individuals who care deeply about shared governance and its role in our campus processes. The faculty, university staff, and student senate leaders continue to meet regularly to ensure that whenever possible, our senates are working toward a common goal that benefits all Stout students and employees. The Senate of Academic Staff sends updates periodically to keep you informed of the issues we are working on. It is most important that we hear from you! Please let us know when you have a concern. Being a Senator. what is it like? I joined the Senate of Academic Staff because I was interested in getting involved on campus, beyond my job and adjunct teaching roles. I enjoy the opportunity provided by joining the Senate: better exposure to shared governance, as well as more fully participating in the shared governance process. Before joining the Senate, I was not very aware or knowledgeable of current topics and issues of concern for faculty, staff, students, and the overall campus. I now feel better informed about what s happening regarding the general operation of the university. I am glad to be a part of a group which can help affect change or bring concerns from the broader campus community to the attention of senior leadership. Sometimes the work is such that if anyone asked me about being a Senator, I would say stay out while you still can. Usually though, I would ask them why wouldn t you want to be a Senator? Your Page 4

5 voice is heard, impacting policies and procedures that affect each one of us. You can comment and ask questions so another viewpoint is heard/considered in the decision making of the Administration. I like the briefings that we get from the Administration. I like the fact that we are a resource to the Chancellor, so he can understand our viewpoint before making decisions. I do not like the underlying current exhibited at times which considers the Administration as the enemy, so we need to be watchful. I wish our Senate had more trust in the Administration as I have not seen the Administrators personally gain from anything done. I believe the Administration is really trying to work in the best interest of the campus. What is good for the campus is not always good for us personally. We need to keep in mind that while we should push for our rights and share our opinions, we are all on the same side. Being involved in the Senate of Academic Staff has been a wonderful experience. I enjoy knowing what is happening on campus and having a voice in decision-making. I encourage others to get involved. As Senators, we have worked hard over the last two years to keep academic staff informed of hot topics on campus and at System and to give everyone an opportunity to give feedback. If you want to get more involved, watch your or UW-Stout Today for ways to become involved. You can start by self-nominating for a standing or university committee or dive right in and self-nominate for the Senate of Academic Staff. In addition, watch for opportunities throughout the year to serve on ad-hoc committees. From Sandy White: It has been an honor and a privilege serving as an Academic Senator these past six years and I must now take a required one-year break per SAS By-laws. University stewardship and shared governance are valued on our campus. Participation on SAS offered valuable opportunities to provide input on a wide range of subjects. It also allows for a voice in the University s growth and development as future procedures/policies are updated or created to solve challenging issues and meet the needs of changing times. As a Senator I have had many rewarding opportunities to work in collaboration with colleagues across campus through enriching committee experiences as we pooled our collective expertise to make recommendations on proposed solutions to issues or advocated for preserving the quality and integrity of the programs and instruction. I hope to serve again on the Academic Senate as I am passionate about getting involved and I know together we can all make a difference! As Margaret Mead s inspirational quote relays, Never doubt that a small group of concerned people can change the world. Indeed, it s the only thing that ever has! Senate of Academic Staff Accomplishments University policies and those who served on the committees reviewing the policy: #90-61 Non-Discrimination Revision (Ben Bechle) University Committees: 2017 Engagement Session follow-up: 1 st year Experience/Freshman Student Retention Committee (Angela Ruppe) 2017 Engagement Session follow-up: Harassment in the Classroom Committee (Tiffani Taggart) 2017 Engagement Session follow-up: Student Work Experience Committee (Brenda Krueger) 2017 Engagement Session follow-up: Class Size Plan/Strategy Committee (Brittany Miskowiec [CACHSS], Mike Bird {CEHHHS], Derek Sturgill [CSTEMM] Center for the Study of Institutions & Innovation Advisory Board (Stephen Collie) Page 5

6 Tuition Reimbursement Taskforce (Curtis Wieland) Orientation and Professional Development Planning group (Phillip Stoeklen) Budget Model Review Committee [102 allocation model] (Bob Butterfield, Sandy White) Ad-Hoc Committee on Salary Equity model (Sandy White) UW System Titling & Compensation: UW-Stout Committee (Bob Butterfield) Administrative Procedures reviewed by the Senate: #043 Responsible assignment of overloads. Difference in endorsement in between Senates (Faculty and Academic Staff). Payment will now be monthly payment #071 Terminal Leave An individual can stay on payroll for 60 days (max) after retiring. Summer Session, WinTerM and Miscellaneous Instructor Contracts administrative procedure: Standardized Summer & WinTerM contracts, rates of pay, thesis stipends, etc. Discussion with/input to Administration on: Spending (distribution) of Supplemental Pay provided to University by State (lapse funding) Revised definition of Merit for proposed State Pay plan ASA Course Evaluation questions Elimination of Education Preparation codes (faculty portion of the handbook changes) Workload (classroom contract hours for faculty and academic staff) Stipend or overload for a non-instructional staff who is elected Chair of the Academic Staff Senate Academic Staff Senate Outreach: SAS communication process established Senate representation reviewed (voted to keep as is) Established 10-minute public comment time at start of each meeting when Administrative Session on governance held during Professional Development, hosted by Academic Staff senate, University Staff senate and Student Senate Conversations with Cabinet Series: Understanding the relationship between governance and the Strategic Planning process, hosted by governance chairs and Meredith Wentz (2/20/18) In Progress: Ad-hoc Committee on Emergency Hires (including no intent to renew) Input on Diversity Leadership position UW System-wide Titling and Total Compensation study (Bob Butterfield on UW-Stout committee) Development of a Bylaws committee New All-University policy on Time, Place and Manner (Jennifer Lee) New All-University Policy on Telecommuting (Cory Mitchell) #91-53 Sexual Harassment Revision (Amber Schoenick) Page 6