2024 CASI 

2023 CASI Minutes & Agenda

2023 Minutes

2020 CASI Minutes & Agendas

Friday, December 11th, 2020 Agenda

Date&Time: Friday, December 11th, 2020

Location:Via Teams

  1. Introductions
  2. Approval of minutes from November 13, 2020 Meeting
  3. Checking in, staying well and co-chair reports [McBride/Viney]
  4. Administrative update, if any
  5. Diversity & inclusivity priorities [McBride]
  6. Virtual Show-and-Tell  Project [Peterson]
  7. Ongoing Business
    1. Reports of Standing Committeees
      1. Recognition & Retention [Orr/Tinglum]
      2. Website, Communication & Outreach [Heidke]
      3. Elections & Membership [Tinglum]
      4. Diversity, Inclusion & Climate [McBride/Babler]
      5. Place holder; this  report will be covered in #5, above.
    2.  Ad hoc Committee: Tuition Program [Peterson]
    3. Ad hoc Committee: Clinical Teacher of the Year Guildelines [Orr]
    4. Clinical Hiring [Liaison: Orr]
  8. New Business/Announcements/Other

Next meeting TBD for January

Additional 2020 Minutes

2019 CASI Meetings

December 11, 2019 Minutes

Viney (Chair) called the meeting to order at 9:00AM

  1. Introductions
    • Members present: Gretchen Viney (Chair), Emma Babler, Ben Heidke (Note-taker), Erin McBride, Sarah Orr, Trina Tinglum
    • Members absent: Wenjie Hu, Kim Peterson, Bethany Pluymers
    • Guests: Amy Arntsen, Lanny Glinberg, Kira Stewart, Ursula Weigold
  2. Approval of minutes from November meeting
    • The Board approved the minutes of the November, 2019 meeting. [Motion by Tinglum, second by McBride.]
  3. Chair’s Report [Viney]
    • Open CASI Mid-Term Appointment
      • Malinda Constant is no longer with the Law School. This has created a midterm opening on the CASI board. An email was sent out to academic staff for staff to self-nominate for the position. The new member would serve the mid-term appointment until 2021.
      • Nominations are due by 12/13/2019. After the nomination deadline, Viney will send CASI’s recommendation to Dean Raymond.
    • APC Suggestion at Faculty Meeting - Porchlight
      • During the Dec. Law School Faculty meeting, it was suggested that CASI might be interested in spearheading a volunteering effort through Porchlight. After some discussion, it was decided that CASI would not be taking this on at this time due to other pressing projects. If requested, CASI would send out an email letting academic staff know about volunteer opportunities.
    • Discretionary Compensation Fund (DCF)
      • The discretionary compensation fund is a pot of money available to units on campus to award raises and one-time merit pay to employees. At a campus wide CASI meeting that Viney attended, there was discussion about how units are informed about the DCF. Some CASI’s mentioned that they are not informed about the funds. Others mentioned that they are involved in the recommendation process and are informed about what job classifications received funding.
      • The Law School sends out an email notify employees that there is money available through the DCF. It was discussed that the language of the
        notification suggests that it is only for employees that are on the lower range of their pay scale for their position. This may discourage some
        employees/supervisors to seek funds since they are at the top of their pay scale for their position. After this discussion, Viney mentioned that she will follow up with Pluymers if it would be possible for them to change the language of the note and release which classification received funding.
    • Total Title and Compensation (TTC)
      • The title and total compensation (TTC) project is developing relevant and market-informed titles to help us keep and grow our outstanding workforce. At a campus wide CASI meeting that Viney attended, she learned that information about new job categories units are sharing with employees varies widely. Key take-aways from the meeting:
        • Mapping is not complete for some supervisors/employees
        • Individual meetings to discuss new title are on hold
        • Salary is tied to job description but not made known during mapping process
  4. Parking Priority and Allocation Policy
    • Brief History and overview [Viney]
      • Attendees reviewed the parking memo prepared by Viney (attached).
      • After discussion, the following recommendations were made:
        • Retaining the current policy that assigns priorities for all categories (except unpaid emeritus) based on year.
        • Setting the priority year for all employee categories as the date of Bachelor’s degree or, for those without a Bachelor’s degree, as the year of start of continuous service at the University of Wisconsin; and using as a secondary sort for those with Bachelor’s degrees in the same year (resulting in the same priority) the year of start of continuous service at the University of Wisconsin.
        • Improving communication with law school employees during the process. Specifically, CASI suggests that Administration advise individuals that they can request, and verify, their law school priority date and their priority ranking prior to and during the system-wide process. Administration can then correct any errors in the law school priority list. Also, CASI suggests that Administration inform individuals if they do not receive parking in the initial series of “spins.” This will allow individuals who may not realize they did not receive parking to be proactive and to participate more meaningfully in the process.
        • Involving CASI in any future policy changes. Specifically, CASI would like to be informed of any proposed changes in law school parking policy to allow input into the proposed changes.
        • Spring Program
          • CASI also voted to present a building-wide program on parking sometime in the spring semester, giving Administration and CASI
            the opportunity to explain the process and to discuss the priorities, challenges, and difficult choices inherent in the system
      • Viney will circulate these recommendations with attendees to solicit any corrections/suggestions.
  5. Other business: No other business was discussed.

Meeting adjourned at 10:10 A.M by Viney (Chair).

November 1, 2019 Minutes

Date & Time: Friday, November 1, 2019, 1:30 P.M.
Location: Room 5215 [Dean’s Conference Room]
Minute taker: Malinda Constant

  1. Introductions
  2. Approval of minutes from September meeting
    • Meeting minutes approved
  3. HR/Administration Update [Pluymers]
    • Title & Total Compensation Project
      • Managers will receive access to the job groups on November 11th
      • The group has agreed to attend online forum on November 20th @ 11:30 p.m. and will take notes. Notes will be shared and discussed at next meeting.
  4. Chair’s Report [Viney]
    • The group will review UW professional development grants and awards and will brainstorm nominations at the next meeting.
  5. Ongoing Business
    • Reports of Committees
      • Recognition & Retention [Orr/Tinglum]
        • Table of awards and grants will be made available on the CASI website
      • Website, Communication & Outreach [Heidke]
        • The annual reports, minutes, bylaws and agendas are updated and current
        • The CASI Employee Perks Presentation is available on the CASI website
        • Heidke will determine if the website is accessible
      • Elections & Membership [Tinglum]
        • Confirmed the board will need elections next year
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Climate [Constant/McBride]
        • Hostile & Intimidating Behavior Program Will host program at the law school in spring 2020. Waiting for the program to confirm a date. Lunch will be provided.
        • Other
          • Exploring other trainings to host at the law school in the future
    • Ad hoc committee: Tuition Program [Peterson]
      • Waiting for the results of the Title and Total Compensation Project survey as the tuition program was included in the survey
    • Ad hoc committee: Clinical Teacher of the Year Guidelines [Orr]
      • The committee explained the current process and shared ideas for improvement. These included: identifying criteria for the award, developing prompts to standardize nominations, increasing the number of individuals involved in the process, add a CASI member to this group as well, consider involving straw votes to allow privacy, and encourage student participation
      • The committee will develop prompts and bring them to the next meeting for discussion. In addition, the clinicians will learn if previous winners of the award are barred from winning awards in the future
    • Clinical Hiring [Liaison: Orr]
      • The group is currently involved in the hiring process for the Public Defender Project
    • CASI Involvement in policy-making in matters affecting academic staff. Potential areas:
      • DCF [Discretionary Compensation Fund] guidelines [Viney]
        • This topic needs to be added to the December agenda for further discussion
      • FISC & Professional Development fund guidelines
        • This topic needs to be added to the December agenda for further discussion
  6. New Business/Announcements/Other
    • Parking Priority & Allocation Policy [Viney]
      • The group will continue discussion regarding the date system used to determine the priority list and will explore options to improve the system

Next meeting – TBD. Viney will email Doodle poll to members to determine the next meeting date and time.

September 20, 2019 Minutes

  • Previous minutes approved
  • New law school counselor sitting in on meeting as well as Ursula Weigold (assistant dean)
  • Chair report by Gretchen:
    • Filed yearly report with the Dean
    • Talked with clinical hiring committee
      • Should a CASI member be on this committee as clinicians are AS?
      • Yes- Sarah Orr has been added to the committee.
    • Recurring time for meetings? 1:30-2:30 Fridays (monthly)
    • Picked date for next meeting- Friday, Nov. 1 at 1:30pm. We will choose the dates of the next meetings for the rest of the academic year at this meeting, so bring your calendars!
  • Ongoing Business
    • Recognition & Retention- Trina made a chart (circulated via email)- the committee moved to approve and post the chart.
    • Could have a professional development brown bag at the law school if we’d likemaybe in early October.
    • Elections & membership- several members are nearing the end of their terms; will need to elect new members in the spring
    • Diversity, Inclusion, & Climate committee- Erin will be doing a presentation on Thursday, Sep. 26 (next week) at noon about the perks of working at UW
    • Tuition program- no news at this point
    • Sarah Orr- clinical teacher of the year award- would like to find out more about this before the next meeting; she will talk to Jini/Emily for institutional
      knowledge
    • Policy-making:
      • Discretionary compensation funds- Gretchen is looking into what other CASIs do
      • Instructional staff- Gretchen is looking into policies about PD funds for instructional staff. Question about using these funds for licensure- ie med school pays for its staff to maintain their medical licensures, law school does not pay for staff to maintain legal licensure. Emma will look into whether there is a state law governing this & report back next meeting.
      • An AS asked GV about parking priority- ie, how are the guidelines being made/applied? Erin McBride will look into this & report back next time
      • CASI bylaw revision- change to minute-taking language as per our conventions- approved by committee
  • New Business? None at this time.
  • Meeting adjourned.

August 12, 2019 Minutes

Gretchen Viney called the meeting to order at 10:00 A.M.

  1. Introductions
    • Members present: Malinda Constant, Erin McBride, Sarah Orr, Kim Peterson, Bethany Pluymers (ex officio), Trina Tinglum, Gretchen Viney
    • Others: Ursula Weigold
  2. Approval of minutes from May meeting
    • The Board approved the minutes of the May, 2019 meeting. [Motion by Peterson, second by McBride.] Thank you, Trina.
  3. HR/Administration Update [Pluymers]
    • Dean Pluymers updated the group on the Title & Total Compensation project. The standard job titles and descriptions have now been created. The project created 21 job groups, which are then subdivided into job subgroups, job titles, and finally job descriptions. The next phase involves matching people to their appropriate place in the system. OHR will do the first pass; then she and Justin Boehm will do the next pass once they receive the paperwork from OHR. After that, either she or Boehm will meet with every employee in the building to be sure that the person is placed in the appropriate category. One goal of the new system is to make market comparisons clearer.
    • On the academic staff side, most clinical titles are not changing. However, the new categories of “teaching professor” and “research professor” might apply to some people in the building. Dean Pluymers has not yet received the official information about these categories. The current phase
      of TTC involves job classifications only, not compensation.
    • For more information about TTC, see https://hr.wisc.edu/title-and-total-compensation-study/
  4. Chair’s Report [Viney]
    • Viney reminded committee chairs to send her a year-end report so she can write the CASI annual report by the end of August.
    • Viney reported that the law school website design team has suggested that the CASI website be changed to include FAQ and History on the home page and remove those two items from the link box.
    • The Board looked at the website and discussed the proposed changes. The Board indicated that Viney should respond that the Board did not wish to
      make the suggested changes.
    • Viney met with Heather Daniels and Jake Smith at Bascom on July 15. She will speak more about their suggestions under New Business, below.
    • Amy Rettammel from SMPH is gathering information about whether units on campus have created committees for implementing the new Research Professor and Teaching Professor titles for academic staff and, if so, whether those committees will incorporate CASI input. Viney asked Dean Pluymers if the law school had formed, or planned to form, a committee. Dean Pluymers responded no, but that she and Boehm would be more
      than willing to have CASI input into the process. Viney will follow-up with both Rettammel and Pluymers.
      • Action Plan: Viney will meet with Dean Pluymers to discuss potential CASI involvement in applying the “teaching professor” and “research professor” titles in the law school
    • Viney asked the Board to be thinking about a recurring meeting time, probably Friday mornings. The Board will set the academic year meetings at the September meeting.
  5. Ongoing Business
    • Reports of Committees
      • Recognition & Retention [Orr/Tinglum]: Tinglum circulated a table of the awards available for academic staff. Peterson was also instrumental in producing this interactive resource. Tinglum asked Board members to review the table and furnish any comments to her directly. We will decide at the next meeting how to circulate this table, once finalized.
      • Website, Communication & Outreach [Heidke]: No report
      • Elections & Membership [Tinglum]: No report
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Climate [Constant/McBride]: McBride and Constant plan to reprise last year’s Perks Program in mid-to-late September. McBride will set the date. They also plan to present a HIB [Hostile & Intimidating Behavior] program in the fall. It is possible that the HIB folks will come to the law school if we have sufficient sign-up. For more information, see: https://hr.wisc.edu/hib/
    • Tuition Program [Peterson]
      • Orr reported that the most recent TTC tutorial mentioned the tuition program on one of its slides. Dean Pluymers reported that she heard that some of the results have been compiled but they are not yet posted to the TTC site.
  6. New Business
    • CASI Involvement in policy-making in matters affecting academic staff. During Viney’s meeting with Heather Daniels and Jake Smith, several topics arose that might be fruitful in CASI’s efforts to become more of a policy group than a programming group. The items listed here were topics of that conversation.
      • DCF [Discretionary Compensation Fund] guidelines
        • The #1 suggestion from the office of the secretary of the academic staff during Viney’s meeting on July 15 was to work with administration on unit-specific guidelines for distributing these funds.
        • These funds are part of the central compensation funds. DCF is the one designated for academic staff, university staff, and limited appointees. They are designed to address retention, equity, performance, and market considerations for those members of the group on 101 funds.
        • There’s also an aspect of these central funds titled Performance Bonus Fund. These are for faculty, academic staff, university staff, and limited appointees and apply to employees paid on both 101 and non-101 funds. I’m not sure what the guidelines are for those funds but perhaps there’s an opportunity there, too.
        • Dean Pluymers described the system currently used to apportion these funds. Administration relies heavily on the campus guidelines. She
          questioned the value of imposing additional guidelines on an already-complex system but would certainly be open to discussions about CASI involvement.
        • Action plan: Viney will check with a few other CASIs to see how, or if, they are involved in DCF distribution guidelines. She will report at the next meeting.
      • FISC & Professional Development fund guidelines: This topic is deferred to the next meeting.
      • Academic staff/Clinical faculty hiring criteria and process: This topic is deferred to the next meeting.
      • Clinical Teacher of the Year Award guidelines
        • Viney and Orr described the rather rudderless approach to selecting the Clinical Teacher of the Year, and both recommended that CASI have input into creating guidelines for the selection.
        • Action Plan: Orr volunteered to work on this topic.
      • Other: Discussion of additional ways for CASI to be involved in policy matters is deferred to the next meeting.
    • CASI Bylaw revision [Viney]: Viney circulated a proposal to revise the bylaws to more accurately reflect the actual CASI process for minute-taking. The Board will consider changing the bylaws at the next meeting.
  7. Announcements/Other: None.

Meeting adjourned at 11:05 A.M.

May 20, 2019 Minutes

  1. Introductions - Quorum present.
  2. Approval of minutes from March meeting.
    • Unanimous vote to approve minutes from March meeting
  3. Chair's Report [Viney]
    • Gretchen attended campus-wide CASI meeting. She reported the following (B-F)
    • Meeting discussed UW Extension joining University CASI
    • Other CASI groups were larger, more formal, well-developed and systemic.
      • Medical & Public Health - hired a strategic planner
      • Library - CASI made up almost all library employees and worked closely with their Dean
    • Other CASI groups seemd to have a greater role within administration (e.g., hiring, etc.)
    • Other CASI groups included university staff and Gretchen thought that should be something we considered as well
    • Suggest the Law School CASI Committee review the Law School Committee on Academic Staff Issues Committee's bylaws as well as the School, College, and Dvision Committees on Academic Staff Issues responsibilities, membership, and procedures to determine if the comittee's actions are consistent with those bylaws/responsibilities. Committee members should review the Bylaws and Responsibilities with the following questions in
      mind.
      • Questions like, is CASI's role regarding administration's policy for academic staff one of communication? Or should the committee be adivising? Etc. Are there specific acdaemic staff policies the committee should be communicating to others? What are some of the policies specific to academic staff that the committee should be aware of? What are the expectations of campus overall?
      • Erin M. suggested the committee review the law school committee charges that might affect CASI.
    • Kim P. suggested an administrative representative to attend a portion of the CASI meetings.
    • Gretchen also attended the Madison Academic Staff Network (MASN) Meeting
      • Noted the role of the committee is social
      • Good presentation on diversity/inclusion
  4. April 10 Program: Perks (Recap) [McBride]
    • Erin M. said the presentation was well attended, with over 45 attendees.
    • Attendees appreciated lunch.
    • Would like to present again this fall - committee agreed.
    • Posting the information to CASI website the best option?
  5. Election of 2019-2020 Chair
    • With unanimous encouragement from committee members, Gretchen agreed to serve another year as chair.
  6. Ongoing Business
    • Reports of Committees
      • Recognition & Retention [Orr/Tinglum]
        • Tinglum struggling with awards table
        • Kim P. and Sarah O. offered to review
      • Website, Communication & Outreach [Heidke] (no report)
      • Elections & Membership [Tinglum] (no report)
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Climate [Constant/McBride]
        • Erin reported that there is good programming available.
        • Interest in presentation by Hostile & Intimidating Workplace counselors
        • Interest in career counseling presentation
    • Tuition Program [Peterson]
      • Kim reported that survey results are being tabulated/reviewed
    • Future Programs
      • Summer/Fall 2019 programs
      • See (A)(iv).
  7. New Business
    • No new business
  8. Announcements
    • No announcement

Next meeting - August 12th, 2019

March 29, 2019 Minutes

Date and Time: Friday, March 29th, 2019 at 10:00a.m.

  1. Introductions
  2. Approval of minutes from January Meeting
    • Unamious vot to approve minutes from January Meeting
  3. Recognition/Professional Awards [Tinglum]
    • Ad hoc subcommittee met, Trina will be putting together a draft spreadsheet with information about potential awards, deadline, information needed, etc. to help academic staff understand teh awards, how to apply for them, and other necessary information.
  4. February 13 Program: MASN and ASPRO - Recap [Viney]
    • Program was good, not particularly well-attended. Everyone thought it was worthwhile, however.
  5. Program: Employee Perks [McBride]
    • Program is scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, 2019
      • Erin McBride will do a program on all the campus perks using the UW website. We will try to serve lunch to increase attendance.
  6. Ongoing Business
    • Tuition Program [Peterson]
      • No news on this front.
    • Instructional Lunch Sessions
      • Discussion of possible 2018 - 2019 additional programs
      • Fall 2019 -- Academic staff awards? Fun ideas to get everyone together?
  7. New Business
    • Possibility of recognizing work anniversaries.
  8. Announcements
    • No announcements

Next meeting - May 20th, 2019

January 25, 2019 Minutes

Date and Time: Friday, January 25th, 2019

  1. Introductions
  2. Approval of minutes from November meeting
    •  All voted to approve minutes
  3. Law School Administration Update [Pluymers]
    • SmartMarket is first on campus - send feedback to Bethany.
    • Parking - review of prioritization is underway
    • Dean's new Executive Assistant Janice Toliver starts Jan. 28
    • Title and Total Compensation Study - 41% response rate on survey; stay tuned for more information about this process and/or findings
    • Administration working on budget for upcoming year as well as 5-year projection
  4. Recognition/Professional Awards [Tinglum]
    • Discussion of CASI helping guide nominators in understanding the awards and the nominating process
    • Ad hoc subcommittee formed: Trina Tinglum, Kim Peterson, and Sarah Orr
  5. Potential Program: MASN and ASPRO [Viney]
    • Scheduled for Wed., Feb. 13, noon - 1:00pm in Room 3250
  6. Potential Program: Employee Perks [McBride]
    • March or early April 2019-Erin McBride will do a program on all the campus perks using the UW website. May partner with Justin Boehm.
  7. Ongoing Business
    • Tuition Program [Peterson]
      • No updates
    • Instructional Lunch Sessions
      • Discussion of 2018-2019 additional programs
      • Fall 2019-- Academic staff awards-informational program
    • New Business
      • No new business
    •  Announcements
      • No announcements

The next CASI Board meeting is scheduled for March 29 at 10:00 A.M.

2018 CASI Board Meetings

November 12, 2018 Minutes

Date & Time:  Monday, November 12, 2018, at 2:30 P.M.

  • Introductions
    • CASI members introduced themselves
  • Approval of minutes from September meeting
    • All voted to approve minutes with the correction that it reads "minutes"
  • Law School Administration Update [Pluymers] - No update
  • Academic Staff List & Assembly Districts [Viney & Orr]
    • Adjuct faculty members are not to be considered for seats on CASI board according to the bylaws
    • Viney reported that academic staff at the Law School are seperated into many different Assembly Disctricts. This means that the Law School CASI is uniquely positioned to be a unifiying voice for academic staff at the Law School.
  • CASI Vacancy [Viney]
    • The CASI board welcomed Trina Tinglum to the CASI board. She is filling the vacacny left by Christopher Yue
    • Trina Tinglum was appointed to Chair the Elections & Membership Subcommittee to fill the vacancy left by Christopher Yue.
  • Ongoing Business
    • Perfectionism Program report [Jennifer Hanrahan, Wellness Committee]
      • There were about 20 attendees. The content was not what was expected. It was decided that CASI would not be repeating this program.
    • Tuition Program [Peterson] - No update
    • Instructional Lunch Sessions
    • Discussion of 2018-2019 additional programs
      • Time management workshop
      • Perks on campus (bus pass, reduced meals, fun activities, Inside UW)
      • Session on academic staff organiztions (Madison Academic Staff Network (MASN), Academic Staff Professional Representation Organizations (ASPRO)
      • Coffee and Bagels - Opportunity for academic staff to share what they do in the building
      • Madison School district
  • New Business - No new business
  • Announcements - No announcements

Next meeting – Friday, January 25th at 10:00am

September 10th, 2018 Minutes

Location: Room 3380a (Law Library Conference Room)

Present: Gretchen (Chair), Bethany, Ben, Kim, Lee, Malinda, Sara

  1. New CASI Board Year: membership review [Viney]
  2. Approval of minutes from May meeting
    1. Viney will send out previous meeting minutes
  3. Law School Administration Update
    1. Time and leave reporting are now done online (replaces paper sheets). 
    2. Performance management is now online.
    3. 2% increase rais; another scheduled for January.
    4. Campus block grant/bonus fund and raises: Merit based raise scheduled again for this year.
    5. Title total compensation study: currently vetting job descriptions. Benefits survey is on agenda for a meeting tomorrow (9/11) that Pluymers is attending.
  4. Academic Staff Assembly Update - No update
  5. Wrap-up of 2017-2018 - Discussed items from the May meeting. [Viney]
  6. Housekeeping for 2018-2019
    1. Meeting Scheduled
      1. Meeting every other month on Mondays at 2:30pm in Room 3380a (Law Library Conference Room). In November, we will decide what our new meeting schedule for the spring semester will be due to class schedules.
    2. Standing Subcommittees
      1. FYI: The bylaws state that "standing subcommittees may be established as needed" and "standing subcomittees may include, but are not limited to: 
        1. Recognition & Retention
        2. Website, Communications, & Outreach
        3. Elections & Membership
        4. Personnel Policies & Procedures: This subcommittee removed because Pluymers attends meetings.
        5. Diversity and Inclusion subcommittee create because of report.
      2. Identify, create, and assign members for standing subcomittees 
        1. Recoginition & Retention - Sara Orr
        2. Website, Communications, & Outreach - Ben Heidke
        3. Elections & Memership - Christopher Yue
          1. Need updated list of academic staff.
          2. Need to determine the rules on adjuct faculty voting.
      3. New: Diversity and Inclusion subcommittee - Erin & Malinda
      4. Disolved: Personnel Policies & Procedures
    3. Ad Hoc Subcomitties
      1. Identify and appoint chairs to potential ad hoc committees
      2. Tutition Reimbursement benefit committee - Kim Peterson
  7. Ongoing Business
    1. Perfectionism Program [Jennifer Hanrahan, Wellness Committee]
      1. Scheduled for Tues. Nov. 6, time is undetermined.
      2. Will Jennifer Hanrahan book room? Viney will connect with Jennifer.
      3. Event is for faculty & staff only
    2. Tuition Program [Peterson]
      1. No updates
    3. Instructional Lunch Sessions
      1. Overview of 2017-2018 Programs
        1. Suicide prevention program held in Nov. 2017
        2. Resume Preparation Workshop
        3. Promotions for Academic Staff
      2. Discussions of 2018-2019 potential programs
        1. Brown Bag Lunches
        2. UW Campus services/benefits - how to access (wiscard discount program, membership to rec. services) "perks for being on campus"
        3. Outside spaces, where you can go outside of the building
        4. Bagel over lunch hour
        5. Inviting academic staff to share "what I do in the building"
  8. New Business - No new business
  9. Announcements - No announcements

Next meeting is Nov. 12th at 2:30pm in 6th floor library conference room.

May 14th, 2018 Minutes

Location: Room 3380a (Law Library Conference Room)

Present: Bonnie (Chair), Gretchen, Kim, Ben H., Jeff, Emma, Christopher, Melinda, Erin, Jennifer, Michael

  1. Welcomed newly elected members: Gretchen, Emma, Christopher, and Melinda
  2. Minutes from April meeting approved.
  3. CASI Programs and Events
    1. CASI will partner with Wellness committee to schedule a "Perfectionism" program for faculty and staff. Similar session was conducted for law students.
    2. Holding an Imposter Syndrome program was suggested. 
    3. Design new programming and events for next year to address the CASI charge from the Task Force on Dieversity and Inclusion Report
  4. Subcommittee updates
    1. Recognition and Retention - No update
    2. Website, Communications, and Outreach - No update
    3. Elections and Membership - No update
    4. Personnel Policies and Procedures - The board should reach out to UW Law HR on how the new online performance evaluation system is working. 
    5. Tuition Reimbursement proposal status
      1. Title and Total Compensation Committee (TTCC) has the Law School CASI proposal. CASI board will be watching for an update from the TTCC.
  5. New Business
    1. Discussed the Law School Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion Report
    2. CASI may want to create a "20-year" club to honor academic staff for 20 years of service.
  6. Academic Staff Assembly Update - No update

Next meeting – To be scheduled.

April 9th, 2018 Minutes

Location: Room 3380a (Law Library Conference Room)

Present: Bonnie (Chair), Michael, Wenji, Sumudu, Kim, Ben H. and Justin

  1. Minutes from February Meeting unanimously approved.
  2. Subcommittee updates
    1. Recognition & Retention – Sumudu – Nothing to report
    2. Website, Communications, & Outreach – Ben H – Nothing to report.
    3. Elections & Membership – Bonnie – There are only 3 continuing members- Wenji, Sara, and Ben H.         There are 2 clinician and 4 non clinician spots that need to be filled for next year.
    4. Personnel Policies & Procedures – All - Justin spoke about changes to performance management and development process. This is a new online performance management process. Justin wants feedback from us and a the academic staff on the Criteria for Success and the Employee Self-appraisal sections of the online performance evaluation process. These are the two areas that the law school can alter. He will be providing this information to the entire staff/faculty as well, seeking feedback.
  3. Instructional Lunch Sessions
    1. Ideas: Wellness luncheon and perfectionism concerns for faculty/staff.
  4. Tuition Reimbursement proposal status
    1. We received support from other CASIs - we sent the proposal and endorsement letter to Mary Luther (TTCC - as suggested by Bethany) and Lindsay Stoddard Cameron from faculty services who will push the proposal as well.
  5. New Business
    1. No new business was brought forth or discussed.
  6. Academic Staff Assembly Update - No update

Next meeting – To be scheduled.

February 12th, 2018 Minutes

Location: Room 3380a (Law Library Conference Room)

Present: Bonnie (Chair), Jeffrey, Ben H., Sumudu, Wenjie, Sarah, Kim, Bethany

  1. November meeting minutes unanimously approved.
  2. Subcommittee updates
    1. Recognition & Retention – Sumudu – Nothing to report
    2. Website, Communications, & Outreach – Ben H – After some discussion, it was decided that Ben would send out a newsletter listing upcoming events for academic staff.
    3. Elections & Membership – Bonnie – There are 2 clinician and 4 non clinician spots that need to be filled for next year. Any help with filling the spots would be greatly appreciated.
    4. Personnel Policies & Procedures – All – Nothing to report
  3. Instructional Lunch Sessions
    1. Suicide Prevention Training held Nov. 17th - Event was well attended.
    2. New Performance Management Tracking Program - Justin will be in touch about setting up a lunch session.
    3. Other ideas? No new ideas were brought forth.
  4. Tuition Reimbursement proposal status
    1. Lindsey Cameron mentioned it during an ASEC meeting according to the minutes of that meeting. Bonnie mentioned it during a meeting of CASIs. After some discussion on how best to move forward, it was decided that Kim would write a letter for other CASI's across campus to sign in order to gain more support for the proposal. Bethany will be working with Kim to present the letter to the Title and Total Title Compensation Review Committee. 
  5. Feedback on Instructional Annual Reports 
    1. Bonnie - Suggestions to the annual report were submitted and they were very appreciative of the feedback.
  6. New Business
    1. It was confirmed that the Wellness Committee is handing the logistics of the Well Wisconsin onsite wellness assessments.
  7. Law School Administration Update - Bethany
    1. Pay Plan - Is moving ahead that will give staff a 2.2% base salary increase in July and another 2.2% base salary increase in January. In order to be eligible for the increase, you need to have completed the sexual harassment training and have your performance evaluation on your self and any subordinates up to date.
    2. Equity and Diversity Taskforce: Sent out survey to law school staff for input. Pleas complete the survey.
  8. Academic Staff Assembly Update - No update
  9. Announcements
    1. Campus Supervisors Network
    2. Construct Your Career at UW Career Development Conference - 3/6/2018
    3. Academic Staff Institute - 3/15/2018
    4. Professional Development Grant Applications due 3/16/2018
    5. Journey of Facilitation and Collaboration Program

Next meeting – April 9th, 2018

2017 CASI Board Meetings

November 20th, 2017 Minutes

Location: Room 3380a (Law Library Conference Room)

Present: Bonnie (Chair), Jeffrey, Ben H, Sumudu, Wenjie, Ben K., Michael, Sarah, and Kim

  1. September meeting minutes unanimously approved.
  2. Lindsey Stoddard Cameron, our ASEC liaison, attended to talk about how the Academic Staff Executive Committee acts more or less as the CASI for the campus for academic staff
    1. They work on shared governance issues with parallel faculty and student committees
    2. Currently working heavily with the title and total compensation committee (T&TC) issues
  3. Tuition reimbursement proposal
    1. Kim and Michael introduced the proposal for the Tuition Assistance Reimbursement Proposal (TARP) to Lindsey, which was submitted to both to the T&TC through Bethany, and to Heather Daniels, the Secretary of the Academic Staff
    2. There was a discussion about who would get to decide if this moves forward
      1. Lindsey shared that if this is considered a benefit within the scope of T&TC then this committee could move forward with it
      2. If it was not found to be within the purview of the T&TC committee, the Office of Human Resources would be the next option
    3. The other item for discussion was whether to move forward with this as being a benefit just for the Madison campus or for all UW campuses
      1. If it is limited to Madison there is the possibility this could be decided by the T&TC committee without the need to go outside of campus for approval
      2. If we propose including all campuses there would be less of a chance that it looks like we are being elitists looking out only for UW-Madison employees and, as Ben K. pointed out, the benefit of the draw for other campuses to hire and retain faculty and staff may be even more acute for them – this of course leads to more outside decision-makers being involved
  4. Feedback on Instructional Annual Reports
    1. Sumudu sent her comments to the committee and will share with the clinical faculty to get more comments
  5. Subcommittee updates
    1. Recognition & Retention – Sumudu – Forwarded the announcements about the Distinguished prefix (deadline February 2018) and academic staff awards (deadline January 2018) to CASI
    2. Website, Communications, & Outreach – Ben H – Has been posting minutes and meeting agendas
    3. Elections & Membership – Bonnie – Nothing to report
    4. Personnel Policies & Procedures – All – Nothing to report
  6. Instructional Lunch Sessions
    1. Suicide Prevention Training (partner with Asst Dean for Student Affairs and Wellness Committee) – Fri, Nov 17th 12:30-1:30 rm 3260
    2. Benefits – Michael or Kim – This session cannot be presented during the open enrollment time since OHR personnel are busy then, and it is not of much use outside of that time, so the idea is being scrapped
    3. New Performance Management Tracking Program is being rolled out with the Law School slated for a January/February move. Might be a good session for the spring.
  7. New Business – No new business
  8. Law School Administration Update – no update
  9. Academic Staff Assembly Update – no update
  10. Announcements
    1. Campus Job Family Listening Sessions – Nov 27th to 30th – Bonnie encouraged all to attend the session that fit their family
    2. CASI Nominee for Law School Equity, Inclusion & Diversity Task Force – Lindsay Healless was sent to the Dean as the CASI nominee (and has been attending meetings)
    3. Campus Academic Staff Excellence Awards – Sent to law school staff
    4. CASI Brown Bag – Nov. 14th – Bonnie will be in attendance and discuss TARP and new performance management tracking
    5. Campus Academic Staff chat series – Next one on Nov. 29th
    6. This was Ben’s last meeting and after much celebration, everyone wished him well. 

Next meeting - February 12 2018 at 2:30 - Jeff will be the note taker

September 11, 2017 Minutes

Location: Room 3380a (Law Library Conference Room)

Present: Bonnie (Chair), Jeffrey, Ben H, Sumudu, Wenjie, Ben K., Michael, Sarah, and Kim

  1. New CASI Board Year – membership review
    1. The board members welcomed Ben H. and Wenjie formally to the CASI board.
    2. Breakdown of members according to their year of membership:
    3. 3rd year members – Jeffrey, Sumudu, Bonnie, Michael, Ben K. (until December)
    4. 2nd year members – Sarah, Kim
    5. 1st year members – Ben H and Wenjie
    6. It was decided to continue minus one member when Ben K. retires in December and hold elections in late spring for all the vacancies.
  2. Approval of minutes from May meeting
    1. Approved subject to correcting Wenjie’s name.
    2. Wrap-up of 2016-17
    3. Bonnie informed that the Annual report was sent to Dean Raymond and Heather Daniels
  3. Housekeeping for 2017-18
    1. Standing Meeting - frequency and date/time
      1. According to the CASI by laws, we are required to meet only every other month. It was decided to meet every other month, rather than monthly. Bonnie will send out a list of new meeting dates.
    2. Board Roles
      1. Selection of Chair
        1. As nobody came forward to serve as new chair, Bonnie agreed to continue as chair.
      2. Subcommittee Chairs
        1. Website, Communications, & Outreach – Ben H. agreed to take this over
        2.  Recognition & Retention – Sumudu will continue
        3. Elections & Membership – No need for a subcommittee
        4. Personnel Policies & Procedures – No need for a subcommittee
        5. Self Study (ad hoc – required every 5 yrs) _ No self-study has ever been done. Decided to hold off on this for now.
  4. Ongoing Business
    1. Updating Awards & Grants page on CASI site – Sumudu will continue
    2. Self-study - Law School AS needs & interests –Bonnie will take the lead when the committee decides to do this.
    3. Free or reduced cost courses for UW Madison employees and families
      1. Michael and Kim presented their report. UW is the only big 10 university not to have a free/reduced tuition program for employees and their families.
      2. It was decided to inform Bethany of our decision to move forward with this and then take it up with Heather Daniels.
    4. Instructional Lunch Sessions
      1. Suicide Prevention Training? – Decided to partner with Emily Kite
      2. Benefits – Decided to see whether we could get somebody from UW HR to come to Law School before the enrolment period. Kim and Michael will follow up with Bethany.
      3. Electronic Performance Review system – Justin or Bethany? Cannot remember what we decided. 
      4. Other ideas? – Title and Total Compensation study – decided to inform Academic Staff of the various forums that are already scheduled and encourage them to participate. 
  5. New Business - Bonnie will speak to Susannah about the new online activity report re: concerns about not reflecting the activities of clinical faculty and other instructional staff.
  6. Law School Administration Update – Bethany – no update
  7. Academic Staff Assembly Update – Eric – no update
  8. Announcements - none

Next meeting – November 13th @ 2:30pm 

May 8, 2017 Minutes

Present: Bonnie, Sumudu, Michael, Kim, Ben K., Sarah (minute taker), Wenjie, Cheryl, and Ben H.

  1. Welcome to newly elected members Wenjie and Ben H.
  2. Minutes from the March and April meetings were approved.
  3. Subcommittee Updates:
    1. Elections and Membership
      1. 1 vacancy remains to be filled by clinical staff. Ben K. will continue on Board until December 2017, and an election will be held to fill the spot.
      2. Anyone who is interested in serving as Chair should contact Bonnie via email. Bonnie will consider serving another year if no others are interested.
    2. Recognition and Retention
      1. Discussion of “Distinguished” title pre-fix. Sumudu and Marsha Mansfield recently attained this title, as did Gretchen Viney. The process is arduous. Sumudu is willing to share her materials with those interested.
      2. Grants and awards information already on CASI website. Sumudu will update.
    3. Self Study on Role and Future of CASI
      1. Now that the UW study is available, this will be on the agenda for next year.
  4. Free or reduced-cost UW classes
    1. Michael and Kim will explore over the summer and report back in the fall.
  5. Events and Projects
    1. “Title and Total Compensation” presentation—Bonnie will check with Bethany to see if she can present, possibly the week before 1L orientation.
    2. “Benefits” presentation—Possibly Justin and/or Kelly as presenter(s) in the fall.
  6. Law School Administration Update
    1. None at this time.
  7. New Business / Announcements
    1. No new business. Board will reconvene in fall 2017.

April 10, 2017 Minutes

Present: Bonnie Shucha, Michael Keller, Jeff Glazer, Cheryl Weston, Ben Kempinen, Danielle Wampole (minute taker)

  1. Minutes from March meeting. We will approve these at the next meeting.
  2. Subcommittee Updates
  3. Elections and memberships (Bonnie)
    1. We need 2 non-clinicians and 1 clinician to fill vacancies for next year.
    2. We have 2 non-clinicians who have indicated they are willing to serve. We don’t have any clinicians who have submitted nominations yet.
    3. Timeline
      1. Nominations are due Wednesday, April 12th. We may extend this deadline to encourage further nominations from clinicians.
      2. Elections to be held late April. We can move this to early May.
      3. New CASI board chair. Bonnie is willing to run again if needed.
  4. Recognition and Retention (Sumudu)
    1. During the last five years
      1. We have had three staff recognized with Excellence awards.
      2. We have had three staff receive Professional Development grants.
    2. Follow Up
      1. CASI should encourage people to apply for academic staff awards. List of award opportunities with description and award timeline on CASI website?
        1. Nominations for the Excellence Award are at the beginning of the year.
        2. Professional Development grant nominations happen twice per year.
  5. Academic Staff Self-Study
    1. In 2016, campus academic staff were surveyed about their worklife environment. Twenty-two Law School academic staff responded.
    2. Law School responses compared to other departments on campus (noting the relatively low response rate for Law School academic staff)
      1. In general, we are doing better with morale at the Law School than campus academic staff as a whole.
      2. There were only two areas in which Law School responses were lower than campus as a whole:
        1. Academic staff at the Law School feel that they are treated with somewhat less respect by faculty than academic staff as a whole.
        2. Academic staff at the Law School are in general less enthusiastic about the human resources redesign and new performance appraisal system than academic staff as a whole.
    3. White paper analyzing campus level survey results (https://kb.wisc.edu/images/group171/72259/649-2016AcademicStaffWorklifeSurveyReport.pdf)
      1. Three big problems were found among academic staff in the survey responses (contributing to higher turnover/low morale):
        1. Academic staff feeling that their work is not formally recognized by department. Not as big of an issue in the Law School according to our survey responses.
        2. Wisconsin’s political leaders do not value their work and they fear for the future of the campus.
        3. Academic staff are dissatisfied with their compensation. Not as big of an issue in the Law School according to our survey responses.
  6. CASI Events
    1. Instructional Lunch Sessions
      1. Resume writing workshop – Michael Keller to present Monday, May 8th at noon in room 3250. Sumudu will order lunch.
      2. Title & Total Compensation Plan Update – Bethany Pluymers to present in summer.
      3. Benefits overview – Justin and Kelly to present in fall.
      4. Discussed possibility of Cleary Act training, but group thought this was best left to HR and/or individual units to train staff on.
  7. Free or reduced-cost courses for staff and families
    1. Michael will look into this further.

March 13, 2017 Minutes

Present: Ben Kempinen, Bonnie Shucha, Sumudu Atapattu, Michael Keller, Jeff Glazer, Sarah Orr, Bethany Pluymers (minute taker), Kim Peterson, Eric Giefer

  1. Approval and posting of Minutes
    1. The minutes from our last meeting were circulated and approved.
  2. Online Activity Reports – Eric Giefer 
    1. Eric talked about a sub-group he is on that is revising the online activity reports filed by instructors. The group wants to make the reports easier to file, more relevant to the various instructor groups, and to allow administration to pull metrics and statistics from the reports. The major categories that will be in the report will likely be service, scholarship and instruction. From those categories they are going to create further drop down menus that are specific to the instructional area. He is hoping to get feedback from instructional staff. 
    2. One question raised was “why are we collecting the information in the Activity Report?” It was thought that the reports may be used for several purposes - self-reflective, professional development and merit raises. Eric was going to ask the APC for further information on this question.
  3. Academic Staff Assembly – Eric Giefer 
    1. There is a meeting today. They are considering adding words to academic staff dismissal notices that show that such notices can be sent electronically, rather than certified mail. The purpose is to make the information easier to receive, and to move to the electronic era. Further they are fixing an error related to professional TAs, and finally there is going to be discussion on redistricting, making sure that all needs are represented. The law school will still likely have three representatives. 
  4. Elections and Membership - Bonnie
    1. Bonnie said that we need to replace Cheryl and Danielle, who will not be continuing on the CASI board. Ben will be stepping down next December. It was decided to elect three people, and have one extra member for ½ a year. We will seek one clinician and two non-clinicians. Elections will be mid to late April. Bonnie will write up something to send out to Academic Staff seeking nominations for members. 
  5. Recognition and Retention - Sumudu
    1. No significant updates. Anyone with suggestions about what to look at let Sumudu know. Bethany said we could get a list of academic staff awards from Heather Daniels and find out who is nominating who, so that the award nomination can be shared with the nominee. 
  6. Self-Study 
    1. We will await the University ASEC Climate Survey to determine whether there are any reasons to conduct our own survey.
  7. CASI Events
    1. Michael Keller’s resume presentation needs to be re-scheduled. We decided to put off considering other CASI-sponsored events given that they would likely be in the fall. Some ideas were to have the UW benefits department come to the law school to explain healthcare, possibility of self-insurance.
  8. New Business
    1. We discussed finding a way to allow current employees to take classes at UW for free or at a reduced rate. This would help with retaining staff, and hiring new staff. Michael Keller would work on finding information on how other similarly situated institutions do this, and put together a report to Bethany advocating this position. Kim Peterson said she would help with the effort.

February 13, 2017 Minutes

Present: Ben Kempinen (minute taker), Bonnie Shucha (by phone), Sumudu Atapattu, Michael Keller, Jeff
Glazer, Danielle Wampole, Bethany Pluymers, Carrie Sperling (guest)

  1. Approval of Minutes from November 2016 Meeting
    1. All agreed that the minutes from the November meeting set a new standard for thoroughness and accuracy. They were enthusiastically approved.
  2. Academic Staff Participation in Faculty Meetings (Carrie Sperling, guest)
    1. Carrie Sperling discussed academic staff participation in faculty meetings and Law School governance. The rule seems to codify existing practice – teaching academic staff may attend and speak at faculty meetings, make recommendations (advisory votes), be physically present for Executive Committee consideration of clinic hiring decisions, but not vote on most matters reserved for the dean and tenured faculty by Rule 5.21, which include hiring and promotion and budget decisions. The university rules are also attached. Apparently there is no written Law School version of this rule. Note that Rule 5.10 grants the Executive Committee the power, if they choose, to allow full participation of some or all academic staff in faculty governance. Our deans and faculty, at least since 1976, have not chosen to exercise that authority.
    2. POST-MEETING ADDITION: Bethany Pluymers noted that all academic staff may attend faculty meetings.
  3. Elections and Membership
    1. The Board composition and possible openings were discussed. It was decided that any members planning to step down should notify Bonnie Shucha with possible elections in April of this year. The new Board year starts on September 1, 2017.
  4. Recognition and Retention
    1. Information was shared about nominations of colleagues for AS awards and Professional Development grants.
  5. Self-Study
    1. We will await the University ASEC Climate Survey to determine whether there are any reasons to conduct our own survey.
  6. CASI Events
    1. Michael Keller’s resume presentation needs to be re-scheduled. We decided to put off considering other CASI-sponsored events given that they would likely be in the fall.
    2. POST-MEETING ADDITION: Bethany Pluymers suggested inviting a Benefits department employee for a CASI event. Perhaps in the fall would work when we may have more clarity about changes in the state budget and before the yearly open enrollment period.
  7. Activities Reports
    1. A project is underway to allow online preparation and filing of activities reports. There was a brief discussion about how they are used and what the committee, chaired by Susannah Camic Tahk, is hoping to accomplish.

2016 CASI Board Meetings

November 14, 2016 Minutes

Minute taker: Michael Keller

  1. Approval of minutes from October meeting - approved
  2. Subcommittee Updates
    1. Elections and Membership 
      1. Potential vacancies for spring election
        1. With current status of board there would be no members ready to depart after this year
        2. If someone wants to depart they can tell Bonnie
        3. Cheryl stated she would step down if space was needed
    2. Recognition and Retention 
      1. CASI’s role in Academic Staff Recognition programs 
        1. Other CASIs’ roles in the process
        2. Some are not involved
        3. Some encourage staff members to apply
        4. Others review applications for grants and awards and rank them
        5. Still others make recommendations to the Dean for grants and awards
      2. Campus Academic Staff Awards now accepting nominations – due 1/13/17
        1. Sumudu – Law School CASI needs to decide our role. She suggests not to review applications, but to seek out those that might be eligible
        2. Ben – We might advertise the awards directly to those who qualify
        3. Kim – Could send the recommendation to the staff member directly or to his/her supervisor
        4. Cheryl – Wants us to be careful to not send it out to select individuals
        5. Bethany – Dean doesn’t want to add more to our work, but rather to encourage staff to be nominated or apply for grants or awards by talking about previous successful candidates
        6. Ben – CASI Board could nominate staff members directly
        7. Bethany - Encourage nominating staff to share nomination with candidate
        8. Advertise success stories for PD grants and awards
        9. Everyone agreed that making this more personal to the law school would be best
        10. Sumudu is going to draft a plan with the new information
    3. Self-study on the role of the CASI Board
      1. Should we poll our members at this time? 
        1. Cheryl – The question is how we want to approach it, since she went ahead with reaching out to supervisors to have meeting with staff around the building to get their feedback on what the CASI board should/could do
        2. Bonnie – A university-wide, ASEC survey went out with the result coming soon – do we want to wait for the results to come out first?
        3. After some discussion everyone agreed to put it on hold until the ASEC survey results are out
  3. CASI Events and Projects Updates
    1. Lunch Sessions
      1. Everyone who attended agreed that the Academic Staff Promotions session was well done and thanked Bethany
      2. Resume Writing Workshop (Friday, December 9th in Lubar) – Michael
        1. Michael was ready for the December 9th workshop and he would share write-up with Bonnie and Sumudu to advertise
        2. Sumudu will order the lunch 
      3. Other HR sessions?
        1. Pay Tools
          1. Bethany – can create a session that talks about the variety of ways that staff could get increases. There is a pay tool matrix beyond the current programs that could be used. These are unfunded.
          2. Bonnie – Do we want to encourage it if there is no funding?
          3. Bethany – Thought it may not be timely – promotion, change of duties, equity pay raises, performance raises. She thinks there will be funding for this in the future, but there is probably not going to be an across-the-board raise
          4. Agreed to put on hold
        2. Performance appraisals workshop
          1. Bonnie – Would this be helpful for supervisors and would CASI be the catalyst?
          2. Bethany – Reviewed requirements for performance evaluations and what is happening across the campus including at the law school and stated Justin could do a talk on it
          3. Cheryl – Isn’t this what was recommended last year where everyone said they knew about this?
          4. Bonnie – This board probably stands above most in their knowledge of the system
          5. Bethany – Does each unit that needs to be brought into compliance need to be talked to rather than everyone? Not everyone is in compliance and everything is not done.
          6. Ben – Great value in having something, but is it premature? Talking about what an employee can do to address issues where they don’t agree with the process or something that was said.
          7. Bethany – The presentation could discuss the process and where we are at, and then address any questions/concerns.
          8. No decisions were made
        3. Benefits Changes and Guidance
          1. Cheryl – We need to have a timely talk on benefits changes and guidance on it because the website is confusing
          2. Bethany – The law school can’t have one in the building – there are ones in other places on campus – but we don’t have the expertise and U benefits can’t do one of these everywhere so we won’t have one at the LS
    2. Suggested additions to Law School services/experts directories – Kim
      1. Everything has been covered by the business office or will be covered by IT, so there is not the need any more. There were issues with Emma, but everything else has been covered.
    3. Other suggestions?
      1. None
  4. Law School Administration Updates – Bethany
    1. FLSA changes for those going from salary to hourly are being shared with those that will be effected 
    2. Working on block grants and other raise issues that should be taking place in January
  5. New Business
    1. Bethany encouraged CASI to keep catering from Side Bar in mind
      1. Do we want to go through them or encourage others to do so?
      2. Sumudu – the food was marginal and was consistently bad when she used it
      3. Bethany – might want to encourage since if Side Bar doesn’t make it there will not be anyone in the building
  6. Announcements
    1. APC considering proposal on Academic Staff participation/voting at faculty meetings
      1. Authority for non-tenured faculty to vote must be re-approved every three years

October 10, 2016 Minutes

Present: Danielle, Cheryl, Michael, Kim, Bethany, Sumudu, Bonnie (chair), Sarah, Jeff (minute taker) and special guest, Dean Margaret Raymond
Absent: Ben Kempinen

  1. Minutes of the September 2016 meeting were approved
  2. Discussion with Dean Raymond about CASI’s role in the Law School
    • CASI has impressive commitment to serve community
    • Governance group of community
    • Would prefer to understand how we can engage Dean's office rather than the other way around
    • Law School staff "punches above weight" for percentage of Academic Staff
    • Discussed ways to recognize efforts of Law School Academic Staff (see below)
    • Discussed ways to engage CASI members – give them a “voice” (see below)
  3. Subcommittee Updates
    • Recognition - Sumudu taking on subcommittee
      1. Look out for opportunities for recognition for academic staff – internal and external
    • What is the universe of external (off-campus, non-UW) awards that staff can be nominated for
    • Help people enhance individual resumes and helps get law school recognition as well
      1. Discussed best ways to make people feel rewarded and acknowledged for the work that they are doing without engaging them in ways that are against policy and procedures (e.g., against FPP or tied explicitly to money that doesn't exist)
    • Recognition that no one gets acknowledged for the work that they do; Academic Staff doesn't have the full resources of recognition as faculty
      1. Action item – CASI should focus on ways to recognize academic staff
    • Internal - Shepherd "internal" awards specifically designated for Academic Staff
    • External - External awards may be very specifically fact-dependent; Sarah looking into Clinical awards; Kim looking into Legal Writing awards; Michael has OCPD awards lists; Bonnie has library awards; admissions, external relationships
    • CASI should not necessarily be source for exhaustive list, but should create a culture of nominating co-workers
    • Self Study
      1. How to determine needs of academic staff; what does staff want out of CASI?
    • Problem is diversity of staff, so no traditional employment structures to engage with academic staff
    • AS complaints don't go to Dean; when it does it's too late
    • Creation of anonymous platform for eliciting suggestions
    • Creation of traditional survey
    • Decline in faculty engagement in law school activities v. enthusiasm of staff - as it relates to law school governance (i.e., faculty disengaged, but in charge of governance; staff is fully engaged but no voice)
    • Is creation of social opportunity sufficient to overcome lack of voice?
      1. Action item for next time: Consider how to best approach Academic staff; Everyone think of open-ended questions to ask in a survey – all questions should be vetted by Board
  4. CASI Events and Projects Updates
    1. Lunch Events
      1. Fri Oct 28 - Bethany -Hiring and Promotions for Academic Staff
        1. Tentatively Nov 28 - Michael - Resume-writing for academic staff
        2. Might make sense to add time to discuss CVs v. Resumes
        3. Law School services/experts directories - Kim - not much to add to resource list prepared Law School Business Office
  5. Law School Administration Updates – Bethany
    1. Central funds for compensation adjustment - nominations due on Fri Oct 14 (something-something Multi-function algebraic equation)
      1. Should include targeted amounts: block grant (primarily tenure track faculty or nationally recruited academic staff - up to $61K across all faculty - recommend up to 20%); discretionary compensation fund ($76K recommended for up to 1/3 of staff); performance bonus fund ($23K across all employment types for performance over and above)
  6. Academic Staff Assembly Updates – Eric - None
  7. New Business - None
  8. Announcements
    1. eBenefits Enrollment Session - Oct 19 for one-on-one and other help

September 12, 2016 Minutes

Present: Bonnie (chair), Danielle, Cheryl, Kim, Ben, Michael, Sumudu, Jeff, Bethany
Absent: Sarah Orr

  • The chair welcomed everyone to the new academic year and welcomed Sarah Orr to CASI although she was unable to attend the meeting.
  • The minutes of April and August meetings were approved.
  • Jeff is the designated minutes-taker for the next meeting
  • Sub committees
    • Do we need subcommittees or should we just ask for volunteers for a specific issue?
    • Elections and memberships – may be – Would Eric be willing to do this?
      • Under the by-laws non-members can be allocated to do tasks. May be Eric can alert us to deadlines etc. Bonnie will speak to Eric
    • Bonnie is the website person. No need for a committee
    • Recognition and retention – may be
    • Personnel and policies – Bethany usually updates us
    • By laws – we just looked at them so no need for a sub committee
    • Self-study – Cheryl: We are supposed to do one every 5 years. Our primary mission is to advocate on behalf of academic staff (AS). In order to do that we need to know what their concerns are. We need to develop ways to do more outreach to meet with AS and ask what their concerns are. Perhaps get invited to their meetings and send a questionnaire to the adjuncts
  • CASI events
    • Our session on technology in the classroom was a success although we didn’t have many faculty members attending. Everybody felt it was very helpful.
    • Future lunch & learns
    • Resume writing workshop with Michael – dates? Not yet scheduled. Michael will get back to us with a couple of possibilities
    • Other lunch & learns – these have gone so well – what are other ideas we brainstormed in the past?
      HR updates?
    • Bethany will do one on Promotion in October and the November one will be on resumes
    • Other topics: HR 101? Benefits? We can get somebody from the Benefits Office to do it. Overview of employee rights? These topics might be too broad – we should identify more specific topics
    • More informal events – stop by on 2nd Tuesday of the month?
    • Fall reception? Bagels around the building? Drinks on the Terrace?
  • Compiling a directory of services and experts
    • Do we still need one in light of the financial guidelines handbook and the IT quick reference guide? Kim will send out her outstanding questions and we will add to that. Knowledge in the building is scattered. Can we suggest topics to be included in the directory?
    • The financial handbook will be sent electronically by Bethany’s Office
  • Other business
    • Governance
      • Different departments have different ways of structuring the relationship with faculty. Here at the law school, we have no say in the governance. What about asking the administration what they would like us to do? What is the vision of the Dean about CASI? Is it acceptable to us to have no say in the governance? What is the best way to have that conversation?
      • Bethany suggested that as the new chair, Bonnie should make an appointment with the Dean. The University has shared governance so we should ask the Dean about our role. Perhaps the person on APC can report to CASI and take our concerns back to the APC.
      • In the past, Margaret asked whether we want her attend the meetings. She is happy to come. We should see whether she is available for our next meeting. Bonnie will check with Dianna.
      • Can CASI help design a structure for applications for AS assembly grants? Have a series of CASI brown bags?
      • Do we want to nominate people for grants and awards? The Dean wants to know whether CASI wants to take on a bigger role in this. How do we get the word out? Get more applications in? Get more folks apply for these awards?
      • Re: Promotions - Perhaps CASI can help those who are planning to apply
    • Compensation fund
      • Bethany informed the group that the University recently sent a memo of 3 pots of money that is available to help faculty and staff with compensation:
        • Block grant – tenure track faculty, academic staff in nationally competitive positions (4) – 20% of faculty
        • Discretionary comp fund (DCF) like last year – base increases for AS, university staff, limited staff (eg. Deans) – market and equity – 30%
        • Performance bonus fund – for exceptional service (pilot project)
      • This will be sent to everybody in the building. It will says something to the effect – if you think you are eligible, please submit a memo to supervisor and Bethany
      • Equity issues will be taken into consideration – questions and recommendations should be sent to Bethany.
    • Academic staff chats and other events
      • Free lunches that you can sign up for. Since not everybody seems to have received the announcement, Bonnie will send it to the group
      • Another event of interest - Oct 26, 12-1 at Union South (CASI brown bag)
    • Title and compensation study
      • Bethany is on the systems advisory committee
      • RFP to hire a consultant was published recently – UW-Madison and systems – two separate studies will be done by the same consultant– hoping to have somebody on board shortly. Beyond this nothing much has happened. This is likely to take at least 3 years so we need to be familiar with the current system

August 5, 2016 Minutes

Present: Cheryl Weston, Ben Kempinen (minute taker), Bonnie Shucha, Sumudu Atapattu, Michael Keller, Jeff Glazer, and Sarah Orr

  1. Annual Report of Chair
    1. Cheryl Weston’s draft, with suggestions from Bonnie Shucha and Sumudu Atapattu, was tentatively approved, with final additions to be added after today’s Lunch and Learn presentation. It was noted that apparently this will be the first report even though the CASI bylaws require a yearly report.
  2. Meeting Times for the Coming Year
    1. Monday from 2pm to 3pm was selected as the time for monthly meetings for the coming year. Sumudu has already reserved Room 7205 at this time for the following dates:
      1. September 12, 2016
      2. October 10, 2016
      3. November 14, 2016
      4. February 13, 2017
      5. March 13, 2017
      6. April 10, 2017
      7. May 8, 2017
      8. June 12, 2017 and
      9. July 10, 2017
  3. Roles and Responsibilities for the Coming Year
    1. Cheryl Weston told the committee she needed to relinquish her chairmanship for the coming year. Selection of a new chair will be made at or before our September 12, 2016, meeting. 
    2. Two administrative matters were raised and resolved – responsibility for taking minutes and maintaining our website. All agreed that minute-taking should be rotated among committee members. Bonnie graciously agreed to keep up the website. 
    3. The committee discussed a number of issues that might be addressed before we assign other responsibilities to individual members. 
    4. Ben Kempinen suggested inviting Dean Raymond to have the benefit of her thoughts on what role the CASI committee should have at the Law School. It was also suggested that we obtain a list of all academic staff, their unit assignments and supervisors, including adjunct faculty, to have the benefit of their views of what needs they see. Kim Peterson added that learning more about promotion opportunities for academic staff was a matter of interest we should explore. 
    5. It was also recommended that we seek feedback about our Lunch and Learn programs. We have two remaining – Michael Keller on resume drafting and Bethany Pluymers on general HR matters. This would help us decide how to focus our efforts for the coming year. 
    6. Another idea that has been raised at several meetings was a guide for the Law School – how to find help or information on a range of issues including, but not limited to, technical assistance, budget matters (including the CASI budget!), and other important and mundane matters involved in working at an institution of higher learning. The need for such a guide was confirmed at the lunch presentation when Cheryl Weston’s question about whose job it was to help with one of the new software applications was answered skillfully by Eric who said no one but that we could find someone to help. 
  4. Approval and posting of Minutes
    1. The minutes from our last meeting have not yet been circulated and approved. Perhaps we can have a “two-for-one” – and review these and the prior minutes before our next meeting. 

April 8, 2016 Minutes

Present: Cheryl Weston, Stacy Taeuber, Bonnie Shucha, Jeff Glazer, Kim Peterson (minute taker).

Miscellaneous: The February and March meeting minutes were approved.

  • The bylaws were changed according to the September meeting minutes.
  • Elections: Cheryl will handle elections. She has spoken with Ursula, who gave Cheryl all her notes and correspondence about elections. There was a discussion about who is academic staff. Cheryl indicated that the Secretary of Academic Staff said that we can define academic staff however we would like. We discussed including anyone not tenured and not university staff. We discussed including adjunct instructors and limited term employees as well. The list of academic staff will be reviewed and cleaned up to remove those that are no longer with the law school. Cheryl will send out information about elections at the end of May, seeking individuals interested in running for a position. Bonnie will help proofread the election materials.
  • CASI Panels: Everyone agreed that the CASI panel on millennials was a success. The technology panel is not close to finalizing a date yet. Thinking maybe August 5th. Contemplating internal presenters. Bonnie will confirm a date and report back. Hoping for August 5th at noon in Lubar.
  • Summer Meeting Schedule: Wednesdays at 3:30 seemed best for everyone. Meet in June and August. No meeting in July.

March 11, 2016 Minutes

Present: Cheryl Weston, Stacy Taeuber, Jeffrey Glazer, Michael Keller, Ben Kempinen, Sumudu Atapattu, Eric Geifer, Bonnie Shucha, Danielle Wampole (note taker).

  • Approval of minutes from previous meeting
    • Minutes from the February 12th meeting still need to be approved. We will approve the minutes at our next meeting, once everyone has had a chance to review them.
  • Updates from subcommittees on upcoming events
    • Our first event will be April 1st, 2016 from 11am to noon in Room 3250. The event will be a presentation from Steven Zwickel of the School of Engineering, who will give an updated version of his talk “Understanding the Generations.” Event publicity will be handled by Michael and Stacy. They will distribute emails to the relevant listservs in the Law School (Watercooler, Faculty list, Staff list, Clinic list), and may also hang up some flyers in staff common areas. Food will be handled by Michael and Stacy with the help of Sumudu.
    • Our second event will be in August. Possible dates include August 5th, 12th or 26th. This event will be a presentation from Eric Giefer and his staff, along with Kris Turner, about technology use in the classroom. Some topics the presentation may cover include alternative presentation apps, screen capture and basic webcasting, tablet use, and clickers/poll use.
  • Election planning
    • CASI needs to facilitate elections for three representatives for the CASI Board for next year. Current Board members who have terms expiring include Cheryl, Stacy and Ben. Stacy and Ben will send an email to the clinician listserv to recruit clinicians to run for the CASI Board. Michael is also willing to help with recruiting new members if needed. Staff members that are interested in running for the CASI Board should provide us with a short paragraph about themselves to circulate with the ballot.
    • Eric has programming set up already to send out ballots. We need to let him know who will be on the ballot, and who is eligible to vote.
  • Other business
    • Cheryl created a background document on the role of CASI to distribute to academic staff members. The Board provided some feedback on the document, and Cheryl will consult with Sumudu about using Emma to send it out.

February 12, 2016 Minutes

Present: Cheryl Weston, Stacy Taeuber, Michael Keller, Ben Kempinen, Sumudu Atapattu, Bonnie Shucha, Danielle Wampole, Kim Peterson (minute taker).

  • There will be two presentations this year: Panel #1 – pertaining to millennials –will try to have this presentation on April 1st at 11:00 a.m.
  • Panel #2 – Technology panel is still in the brainstorming phase. Have ideas about using tablets, clickers and alternative presentation applications. They will do their own publicity. Thinking that we will try to have this presentation in early May or late April, if possible.
  • Other ideas for presentations were: Resume writing and a presentation by Bethany to help employees better understand Human Resources issues within the law school.
  • Will still work on putting together a resource directory if that is needed. The directory will attempt to list the various resources available at the law school.

2015 CASI Board Meetings

December 11, 2015 Minutes

Present: Jeff, Bonnie, Danielle, Sumudu, Cheryl, Michael, Ben, Kim (minute taker), Bethany and Stacy

  • Bethany indicated that if we want to put on a presentation or other event, CASI would have about $1000 as a budget for those activities.
  • Bethany also discussed the DCF (Discretionary Compensation Fund) update – she indicated that if anyone wanted to be considered for a raise under this fund, they should contact Bethany. She and the Dean have already been working to try to increase the salaries of those who are seriously underpaid in the law school, and that includes some University Staff and one Academic staff member as well.
  • Cheryl discussed the ideas that the brainstorming committee came up with for 2-3 informational sessions. The idea is that if CASI can put on some informational sessions that the academic staff found interesting and useful, that could not only help with collegiality among the various groups in the law school, a problem that had been identified in a previous retreat, it would give CASI an opportunity to share our mission with academic staff, and seek input on issues and concerns that academic staff may have.
  • There were several ideas for informational sessions discussed, including: grant writing, HR 101, technology, research, resume help, understanding students, and presentation skills.
  • We decided to do two presentations: understanding students and technology.
  • Michael and Stacy volunteered to chair the “understanding students” presentation, sometime in February; Jeff and Bonnie agreed to chair the technology presentation, sometime in late March, early April. We agreed that the presentations would take place from 12-1 on a Friday and have some food.
  • Kim agreed to start working on putting together a list of resources in the law school that might be helpful to others.

November 13, 2015 Minutes

Present:  Kim (minute taker), Bonnie, Cheryl, Jeff, Danielle, Ben, Michael (on phone), Stacy

  • CASI retreat:  Jeff and Bonnie went – CASIs in other schools seem to deflect controversial issues – and provide a space to discuss those – so the school itself doesn’t have to.  Communication more difficult in other schools, not necessarily our school.  Some of their CASIs were doing work that the administration of our school is already doing.  Jeff – a lot of other groups were bringing in university staff, not just academic staff, to provide an umbrella group for all staff to band together in some way. 
  • Bethany –A university staff governance group has been created.  Josh is an alternate.  She likes idea of combining the two groups – makes is less hierarchical – more inclusive way to talk to each other. 
  • Cheryl – Can we provide a service to staff by having forums where we are sponsoring meetings where we can talk about substantive things about the nature of legal education, etc. careers our students are going into, etc.  
  • Bethany – Deans are working hard to ensure the law school committees include academic staff, not just tenured faculty.  Each committee has a charge, and there are academic staff on every one of the committees.  In that way, staff have a vote on what goes on in areas of the school. In terms of APC there is a representative of the academic staff on there – Eric G and Carrie and maybe Ursula. 
  • The committee agreed that we can be impactful by facilitating the integration of academic staff socially and personally, with the other employees of the law school.  We can remind staff that we have the responsibility to represent their concerns.  Way to do that is by one or more forms of programming, social events, brown bags, etc.  Best way to do this is to put together a sub-committee to list some possibilities with the idea that our next meeting will be where we can decide which we can tackle next semester. 
  • Kim – can we get together a list of who does what around the law school, to help facilitate some conversation among the staff and faculty?
  • Subcommittee members (to brainstorm ideas for get-togethers) – Cheryl, Kim, Danielle, Bethany, Stacy, Michael. 
  • Bethany – there are a whole bunch of new abilities to give raises (merit is new) others are not new.  Discretionary compensation fund – to give out money to lower paid folks.  Block grant – for tenure track faculty and academic staff who could be nationally recruited away. That is a bigger pot of money. There are other tools.  Can find this information about the pay adjustment tools, who is eligible, etc. on the HR website.  May not have money, but we have more flexibility. 
  • IF someone wants a raise – they can discuss with their supervisor.  Those supervisors will be learning how to determine whether they can give the raise.

October 23, 2015 Minutes

Present:  Eric, Sumudu, Cheryl, Michael K., Ben, Kim (minute taker), Bonnie, Danielle, Jeff G., Bethany

  • We have two new members:  Danielle Wampole - She is director of scholarships and recruitment – she travels to colleges, reviews applications, etc.  She is the academic staff position.  Jeff Glazer – clinical representative.  Assistant clinical professor.  Law and Entrepreneurship clinic. 
  • Approval of minutes of last meeting of 9/18 –
    • Move to approve – Kim
    • Second – Ben
    • Minutes approved.
  • Bonnie will post the minutes on the website.  Bonnie will be the web communication person
  • We will meet the second Friday of the month for the rest of the semester.  
  • Members were invited to a CASI retreat –  Jeff G. and Bonnie were going to try to go and will report back. 
  • Old business –
    • The Bylaws reference committees.  At our September meeting, we talked about whether we need committees.  We are a small group.  Committees seem unnecessary.
    • Ben agreed to put something together for the committee about the bylaws and whether we need the various subcommittees. 
    • Kim agreed to be the note-taker for the committee. 
    • Michael said he would review the subcommittee structure.  He can meet with Ben to see if a change in the bylaws is required as well. 
    • Eric created and is maintaining the Casi.board email list.  The list goes to everyone in Casi and Bethany and Eric. 
    • Bethany – minutes said she would call human resource to check on adjuncts – she was told that adjuncts are academic staff and could be on the committee if they want.  We can welcome them.  Keep in mind that if we calculate their FTE, it would be 25% or lower, which would entitle them to not the same benefits that we enjoy – so their issues are likely very different from ours, but no reason to exclude them.
  • New Business
    • Cheryl – One function of the committee is to be reactive – provide advice to dean on programs to effect opportunities, and things that lead to layoffs, etc. 
    • Other is proactive function.  We can define our own agenda of what is important.  In the past things that were done to promote conversation among academic staff and faculty included social events, like bagels around building.  The idea was to promote academic staff coming together and talking 
    • Next meeting Cheryl wants to have a conversation about what can we do to fulfill our responsibility to be advocates for academic staff.
    • Bethany said that her role is to provide the committee with the university’s thinking on a policy or issue that would affect academic staff, or if the university has already created a policy, she might ask how we implement it.
    • She talked last week about three new policies –
      • Onboarding- there will be formal training, orientation.  New folks have a peer partner.  Someone to go to lunch with.  Similar measures designed to help new employees adjust to the position and the university better.
      • With performance management – Employees need a formal meeting with their supervisor to discuss expectations and job description.  There should be a 30-day discussion, mid-year discussion and a final year-end performance evaluation.
      • Recruitment and selection – Bethany sees the biggest change here.
    • Started rolling out this policy verbally.  Several phases to recruitment:  First, get the position approved.  Second, you need post where applications should come in.  Then there needs to be a process for screening those applications.  Job criteria and interview questions can be discussed with Bethany.  This process provides more flexibility than before.
    • If we have time to provide feedback about these policies to Bethany, that would be great.

September 18, 2015 Minutes

Present: Eric Giefer, Ben Kempinen, Michael Keller, Kim Peterson, Cheryl Weston (Chair), Bonnie Shucha (minute taker), Bethany Pluymers

  1.  Approval of August 11, 2015 Board minutes
    1. Correction – The August minutes noted that Bethany had stated at a previous meeting that adjunct faculty “are not designated as academic staff.”  Bethany clarified that this is not technically true – their actual status is more ambiguous.  Minutes will be corrected.
  2. CASI committee membership and subcommittees
    1. Per the bylaws, CASI should have nine elected members (4 clinicians, 5 others) but we didn’t get enough clinician volunteers to run for office (we are 2 short).
    2. According to Bethany, clinicians represent approximately 1/3 of all Law School academic staff.  This would mean that only 3 clinician representatives in the 9 member CASI body would be required to be proportional to their numbers.
    3. Therefore, the committee voted and decided to change the bylaws to reduce the number of clinician representatives to 3 instead for 4.  Cheryl will file the bylaws change with the Secretary of the Academic staff and ensure that the bylaws website is updated.
    4. This still leaves CASI 2 members short (1 clinician and 1 other).  According to the bylaws, vacancies shall be filled by appointment of the Dean based on recommendation of the Committee.
    5. Other – Committee suggested that we determine who was the next highest vote getter in the last CASI election (former CASI Chair Ursula Weigold should have this information) and then ask if they are still interested in serving.  If so, we recommend asking ask Dean Raymond to appoint them.
    6. Clinician – Committee suggested that we seek recommendations for representatives from either CPP or L&E for the clinician vacancy.  If someone agrees to serve, we recommend asking ask Dean Raymond to appoint them.
  3. Meetings
    1. Because there is much to discuss, Cheryl suggested that the Committee meet monthly rather than every other month.  The Committee agreed to schedule standing meetings on the 2nd Friday of the month at noon.  However, because of scheduling conflicts, the next meeting will be help on the 3rd Friday of October (Oct 16th).  Bonnie will reserve the Law Library conference room (3380a) for meetings through May 2016.
  4. Adjunct Faculty Status and Membership in CASI 
    1. Cheryl raised the issue of whether CASI does/should represent adjunct faculty.  Ben will review the bylaws for guidance.   Bethany will investigate the status of adjunct faculty.
  5. HR Design update
    1. Bethany gave an update on the Human Resources changes occurring on campus.
    2. Classified staff are now university staff.  The difference between university staff and academic staff is simply exempt v nonexempt (hourly v salaried).
    3. New/Changed policies:
      1. Recruitment and selection policy highlights:  must establish criteria for reviewing resumes (although will be flexible);   recruitment efforts plans will be required for specific vacancies including all underutilized (under represented) positions
      2. On-boarding policy highlights:  new employees receive such services as peer partners, tours and id card help, meeting with supervisor to establish responsibilities and goals
      3. Performance Management policy highlights:  University has established mandatory criteria including expectations & goal setting, informal conversations, mid-point conversation, and summary evaluation.  Law School will develop its own policy that meets University criteria.  This policy will allow for some flexibility in departments.
      4. Bethany shared Law School’s new performance review form with Committee to gather feedback.  Committee members should review and be prepared to offer comments at the next meeting.
  6. Committee Assignments
    1. Bonnie offered to serve as Website, Communication, and Outreach Committee Subchair
    2. Kim offered to serve as minute taker
    3. Ben offered to review bylaws
    4. Michael will review subcommittee chair structure
    5. Eric will give a standing report from the Academic staff Assembly
    6. Bethany will give monthly updates from administration

August 11, 2015 Minutes

Present:  Vicky Coulter, Eric Giefer, Michael Keller, Kim Peterson, Leslie Shear, Bonnie Shucha, Stacy Taeuber, Ursula Weigold, and Cheryl Weston.

  1. The Minutes of CASI’s May 12, 2015 meeting were approved with one correction: the reference in item #3 (CASI Board Elections) to “LTEs” was changed to “persons holding limited-term appointments.”  The minutes are now posted on the CASI webpage.
  2. Updates
    1. "Bagels Around the Building” – this social event was sponsored by the Communications Department on Aug. 6, 2015.  Approximately 20 people attended.  Thanks to Karen Koethe and the Communications Department for organizing the event!
    2. Outgoing board members – Karen Koethe, Leslie Shear, and Ursula Weigold are finishing their third year on CASI’s board.  Their terms end on August 31, 2015, according to CASI’s bylaws.
    3. Continuing board members – Ben Kempinen, Stacy Taeuber, and Cheryl Weston.
    4. New board members – Newly elected for the upcoming year are Sumudu Atapattu, Michael Keller, Bonnie Shucha, and Kim Peterson.  Welcome and best wishes to the new CASI board members!
  3. CASI Board Election Summary – Ursula Weigold
    1. We reviewed policies we had clarified before the election relating to eligibility to vote.
    2. First, we had determined that adjunct professors were not eligible to vote in the CASI election.  Heather Daniels, the Secretary of the Academic Staff, had stated that for certain university-wide committee work, adjunct professors were not considered eligible as academic staff.  For other purposes, each school or college could decide whether to include adjunct professors as eligible for participation in shared governance.  Associate Dean Bethany Pluymers had stated at a previous meeting that adjunct professors at the Law School are not designated as academic staff.  [Correction 9/18/15: Bethany clarified that this is not technically true – their actual status is more ambiguous.]
    3. In previous years, the administrative burden of maintaining accurate membership rolls that included adjuncts—given the significant turnover in adjunct professors at the Law School from year to year—was a factor in the decline of interest and participation in CASI.
    4. Cheryl Weston asked whether adjunct professors had an organization similar to CASI that could represent them and advocate for them.  She stated that adjunct professors needed someone to advocate for them and recalled issues she wished had been addressed when she was an adjunct professor.  She felt that CASI should be inclusive and should allow adjunct professors to participate.  She intended to speak with Associate Dean Bethany Pluymers again about the eligibility of adjuncts to be part of the Law School’s CASI. 
    5. It was noted that under CASI’s bylaws, our meetings are open, and anyone can attend.  However, the core purpose of CASI—as established by the university—is to represent and advocate for academic staff.  In 1998, the Academic Staff Assembly provided: “The academic staff of each school, college or division shall establish a Committee on Academic Staff Issues, which shall advise the dean or director on the formulation and review, and shall be represented in the development of, all policies and procedures concerning academic staff members of the school, college or division, including personnel matters."
    6. On the second issue relating to the election, we had decided that persons with limited-term appointments would be eligible to participate in CASI and vote in the election.  Some persons with limited-term appointments have back-up appointments as academic staff, and others do not.  (The university’s staff categories and titles are complex and nuanced.)  Eric Giefer noted that it would be unfair to treat persons differently who were otherwise similarly situated for shared governance issues.
    7. Vicky Coulter asked whether these clarifications should be added to CASI’s bylaws.  This was left for the new board to decide.
  4. New Business
    1. New chair –Cheryl Weston agreed to serve as CASI’s new chair.  The voting members present at the meeting approved this choice.  As background for a short discussion of CASI’s role and possible activities going forward, Vicky Coulter reviewed CASI’s history and role at the Law School.  CASI aims to provide helpful information to, advocate for, and promote social interaction among, academic staff at the Law School.
    2. [Although the bylaws specify a quorum as five voting members for any vote, that seems to assume full membership of the board at nine persons.  This year, the board had only six members, and four voting members were present at the meeting.]
    3. Filling clinician board-member vacancies – Even after the election, CASI’s board has two vacancies for clinic representatives.  The full board should have four clinician members and five non-clinician members.
    4. The new board will conduct outreach and encourage the participation of clinicians to fill those vacancies.  The bylaws provide that vacancies shall be filled by appointment of the Dean, based on recommendation by the Committee.

Regular meeting time for next year – Rather than use Doodle polls, CASI members will set a regular meeting time.  The date for the next meeting was set as the third Friday of September (Sept. 18) at noon.

May 12, 2015 Minutes

Present:  Vicky Coulter, Eric Giefer, Bethany Pluymers, Stacy Taeuber, Ursula Weigold, Cheryl Weston

  1. Minutes from February 20, 2015 approved.
  2. CASI Outreach - Ursula sent an e-mail about CASI to all academic staff on March 20, 2015, reminding staff members about CASI's mission and website resources, as well as encouraging contact with, or questions for, CASI's board members.
  3. CASI Board Elections - Because several members are completing their third year of CASI board service and will leave the board, we must hold an an election for new members to begin September 1, 2015. According to the bylaws, the full board should consist of four clinicians and five academic staff members from other departments or programs. We interpreted the bylaws to mean that clinicians should vote only for nominees for the clinician spots, and non-clinicians should vote only for nominees for the non-clinicians spots.
    1. We received eight nominations for the four open non-clinician spots. We received no nominations for the two open clinician spots, despite extending the deadline for nominations for an extra week.
    2. We considered a number of questions related to the election.  First, because adjunct professors are not academic staff, they are not eligible for CASI and will not be listed on our roll.  
    3. Second, because two candidates for the board hold limited-term appointments, we considered whether persons in that employment category (with or without academic staff back-up appointments) were eligible to run for a seat on the CASI board.  Each university CASI may decide this for itself, and the board voted to allow persons holding limited-term appointments to participate in shared governance through the Law School's CASI.
    4. We discussed the mechanics of CASI's online election process, and Eric Giefer graciously volunteered to set up the online voting website and counting process.  He also prepared a list of eligible CASI voters for access to the online ballot.  The board agreed that the four candidates with the most votes would win the non-clinician seats, regardless of the number of votes cast.  We also discussed possible ways to break a tie vote.
    5. We agreed to allow one week for voting.  Ursula will collect personal statements from all the candidates for the ballot, send out the ballot and link to the voting website to eligible voters, and send another reminder before the voting deadline. 

February 20, 2015 Minutes

Present:  Vicky Coulter, Eric Giefer, Karen Koethe, Bethany Pluymers, Leslie Shear, Stacy Taeuber, Cheryl Weston, and Ursula Weigold.

  1. Announcements & Updates
    1. Website – The website Karen set up for CASI contains great information about CASI and useful for academic staff, but it’s probably time for a reminder e-mail to make sure that staff are aware of the webpages.  Ursula will e-mail information about CASI and our upcoming election to the Academic Staff.
    2. Election eligibility – CASI in the past had issues maintaining a roll of Academic Staff eligible to vote in CASI elections because of uncertainty about whether adjunct professors were Academic Staff.  The Law School employs many adjunct professors, sometimes for a very short period.  Bethany noted that the Law School does not consider adjunct professors Academic Staff.  Additionally, Heather Daniels, the Secretary of the Academic Staff, has stated that individual schools at the university could decide themselves whether they wanted to allow adjuncts to participate in the school’s CASI. 
  2. Budget Update 
    1. Dean Margaret Raymond attended the meeting and gave the CASI board an update on the possible impact to the Law School of the governor’s proposed $300 million budget cut to the university.  She stressed there was still much uncertainty because the legislature would not approve the actual budget for several months.  The Law School’s 2-4-6-percent budget exercise last fall helped to identify some possible ways the Law School might comply with whatever cuts the university orders.
  3. Bylaws  
    1. Although the dean appointed members during one transition year, Vicky noted that CASI’s original bylaws provide for elections, rather than appointed board members, so the bylaws don’t appear to need amending. 
  4. Election  
    1. Ursula, Cheryl, and Leslie volunteered to make arrangements for the election of new board members.  Eric Giefer, who was invited to attend board meetings as a member of the Academic Staff Assembly, noted that he could set up an online election platform for CASI’s election.  After a call for nominations goes out and an election ballot is prepared, the online link simply needs to be included in the e-mailed ballot.  Eric agreed to talk more about this at the next meeting.
  5. Events 
    1. Karen and the Tech department volunteered to sponsor “Bagels Around the Building” this semester
    2. Bethany agreed to give an update on HR Design at the next meeting, including information about proposed performance reviews and report templates.

2014 CASI Board Meetings

July 25, 2014 Minutes

10-11:30 a.m., Room 3380A (in the library)

Present: Dean Raymond, Virginia Meier, Ursula Weigold, Bethany Pluymers, Karen Koethe, Leslie Shear, Scott Minter, Stacy Taeuber, Cheryl Weston, Vicky Coulter (recorder and chair)

Absent: Kempinen

  1. Minutes from Jan. 24, 2014, approved
  2. Committee reports:
    1. Website, Communication & Outreach (Karen) – Karen investigated the possibility of bringing in someone from OHR for a class or workshop for supervisor training.  There are several possible topics of discussion.  She’ll investigate further and will post links to OHR’s training page on the Law School’s CASI webpage.
    2. Recognition and Retention (Ursula) – Ursula will work on setting up bagels in the building for the fall semester.  Some possible locations include EJI and External Affairs.
      1. She is also looking into other sources of recognition.  Margaret mentioned that there are many award opportunities and application to them is usually at the same time each year.  Ursula will compile a list of awards and links on how to apply to be added to the CASI web page.  Margaret encouraged people to re-apply if they do not get the award as her experience has been that applying multiple times increases your chances of winning.
    3. Personnel, Policies and Procedures (Bethany)
      1. HR Design - the new HR Design was approved and will be effective July 1, 2015.  Some changes include changing the designation of classified staff to university staff.  We will be completely separate from the Office of State Employee Relations (OSER), giving us more flexibility to recruit and compensate.
      2. Annual Reviews - The method of ranking people in annual reviews on a number system does not seem ideal.  Bethany is looking at a more definitive “meets expectations” and “does not meet expectations”.  Any method is not without its problems but she continues to strive to improve the form and welcomes input.  One suggestion is if “expectations” is used in evaluation, then a definition of expectations would be helpful.
  3. Old business
    1. Rotation of members – last meeting for Scott, Virginia and Vicky
    2. Academic Staff Benefits Retirement Workshop, Nov. 14, 2014 (Vicky and Virginia) – Vicky is contacting HR to see if a similar workshop is available for Classified staff.
  4. New Business
    1. Peer buddies (Bethany) - new employees are given building tours and a “buddy” who is at a similar spot in their career to be able to lean on as a mentor in their first year.
    2. Memberships (Vicky/Bethany)
    3. 1% raises (Bethany) – everyone without a major position change would have received a 1% pay raise effective July 1.

Next meeting: Sept. 26, 2014 at 10am

January 24, 2014 Minutes

Present: Meier, Weigold, Pluymers, Koethe, Shear, Coulter (recorder and chair)

Absent: Kempinen, Minter, Taeuber, Weston, Moritz

  1. Minutes from Nov. 6, 2013 approved.
  2. Committee reports
    1. Website, Communication & Outreach (Karen) – Karen has made CASI a searchable link off the Faculty and Staff Resources page.
    2. Recognition and Retention (Ursula) – Leslie has offered to host the next bagels in the building (possibly the 4th floor hallway). Ursula and the subcommittee will arrange a date and the bagels.
    3. Personnel, Policies and Procedures (Bethany) –
      • Subcommittee – Bethany has agreed to serve as ex-officio reporter for this subcommittee. Leslie will continue to chair the subcommittee.
      • Promotions – For the purposes of promotions, there are 2 academic staff groups in the law school. The first are non-clinical academic staff: HR notifies the supervisor when a staff member is eligible for promotion.The second are clinical academic staff. HR also notifies the supervisor when they are eligible for promotion but additional paperwork needs to be filed for that process by October 1.In both cases, supervisors work with our HR dept. to process necessary paperwork for the promotion. Leslie suggested a template be created so eligible clinical academic staff know what steps are needed to achieve promotion.The Personnel, Policies and Procedures subcommittee will work with Bethany to develop the template.
      • Remington Center Director PVL – discussions are being held regarding this. Posting (Clinical Professor) should be by Feb. 1.CCF – Recommendations were made and those approved are in the process of being notified and entered into the system.
    4. HR Design (Bethany) – there is still hope that it will be approved in 2015.  If it’s not approved then, it’s likely never to be.
  3. Old Business
    1. Rotation of members -Vicky will stay on one more year as chair. Leslie will be a 3rd year member and so will be done after this year.
      Results of survey of academic staff for CASI discussion suggestions (Vicky).  Results available on request. 
  4. New Business
    1. Survey of academic staff for ideas - some ideas suggested from my survey and previously were:
      • Security for computers and data – Nick from DoIt came and gave a presentation on phishing and how to protect yourself from viruses. He will do an 8 minute presentation at a later faculty meeting.
      • Conversion to MS 365 – Gief has been sending email updates.
      • Annual reviews – a template has been distributed to supervisors from HR.  Bethany recommends supervisors use that form (or another one if that works better). Whatever is used needs to be consistent throughout the dept.
      • New employee handbook-(VC working with Justin on this)
    2. Strategic planning ideas that CASI might consider:
      1. Start a faculty movie or book club. The library has many law related DVDs available at the Circ desk.  Suggestion was made to have a Friday afternoon movie shown.
      2. Virtual tour of people in the building and what they do – this was deemed to be very expensive to produce.
      3. Standardize employee orientation for all – Vicky working on this.
      4. Bring Supervisor Training to UW Law School – Personnel, Policies and Procedures subcommittee will pursue this.  Possible topics of discussion: the promotion process, performance reviews, professional development, both on and off campus, campus resource sharing and best supervising practices (i.e. 10 things all supervisors should do or 20 things great bosses know or practices for effective management).
      5. More popcorn machines. Lubar?
      6. New employee coffee or lunch program – CASI members could take turns taking new employees for coffee or to lunch with a group of co-workers. Bethany and Justin will notify CASI of new academic staff hires in order to do so.
      7. Appreciation day for different groups
      8. Pot luck club
      9. Improve the Sidebar – limited by space constrictions.
      10. Tea at 3
      11. Law school scavenger hunt with each team playing for charity.

2013 CASI Board Meetings

November 6, 2013 Minutes

Present: Virginia Meier, Bethany Pluymers, Ursula Weigold, Deb Moritz, Scott Minter, Leslie Shear, Vicky Coulter (note taker)

  1. Approval of the Minutes from the March 22, 2013 Meeting
    1. Approved: Unanimous voice vote
  2. New Academic Staff Assembly rep
    1. Deb Moritz has been on the Academic Staff Assembly and comes to CASI meetings to report.  We will need a new ASA rep as of next September.  It’s preferable if someone on CASI would also be the ASA rep and a request has gone out to gauge interest.  If no one is interested, a request will go out to the rest of the academic staff.  ASA meets the 2nd Monday of the month from 3:30 to 4:30.
  3. Subcommittees
    1. New subcommittees were formed from the new CASI membership.  Those absent were assigned to a subcommittee.  The subcommittees are:
      1. Bylaws
        Vicky Coulter
      2. Website, Communications and Outreach
        Karen Koethe (Chair), Scott Minter, Leslie Shear, Ursula Weigold
      3. HR Design Project
        Bethany Pluymers (Chair), Vicky Coulter, Virginia Meier
      4. Recognition and Retention
        Ursula Weigold (Chair), Deb Moritz, Ben Kempinen
      5. Personnel, Policies and Procedures
        Leslie Shear (Chair), Stacy Taeuber, Cheryl Weston, Vicky Coulter
  4. Rotation of members
    1. Tenure was decided as follows for the 3 year CASI term.  Those in their 3rd year would be the next to be replaced.
    2. 3rd year: Vicky Coulter, Virginia Meier, Scott Minter
    3. 2nd year: Karen Koethe, Leslie Shear, Ursula Weigold
    4. 1st year: Ben Kempinen, Stacy Taeuber, Cheryl Weston
  5. Amend By-laws: Appointment
    1. CASI members will be appointed by the law school each fall.  The law school will replace members based on the 3 year CASI tenure.
  6. Survey of academic staff for concerns/topics of interest
    1. Vicky will send an email to the CASI.list (after she gets it updated) inviting academic staff to submit topics they would like CASI to discuss.
  7. Critical Compensation Fund
    1. Monies are available again this year for a similar Critical Compensation Fund process as was done last year.  Guidelines have not been sent out yet but are forthcoming.
  8. Performance evaluations
    1. Bethany asked for input on a Performance Review she and Justin developed.  Suggestions were made for her to take back to her people.
  9. Upcoming events
    1. Bethany encouraged people to attend one of several HR Design updates coming up in November. (Nov.13, 19 and 21)
    2. Bethany encouraged people to attend the Dean’s summit on Nov. 8, 2013.

March 22, 2013 Minutes

Present: Sarah Davis, Aviva Kaiser, Karen Koethe, Virginia Meier, Mitch, Bethany Pluymers, Ursula Weigold
Absent: Vicky Coulter, Scott Minter, Margaret Raymond, Leslie Shear

  1. Approval of the Minutes from the November 20, 2012 Meeting
    • Moved: Virginia Meier
    • Seconded: Mitch
    • Approved: Unanimous voice vote 
  2. Bagels Around the Building Series
    • Mitch and Sarah will plan the next event. Ursula has graciously offered to host it. 
  3. Overview of the HR Design Project
    • Bethany reported that the plan (skeletal structure) was approved and that on July 1, all classified staff will become university staff.
    • Exempt university staff will have the option to become academic staff.
    • New title series will be developed. Recruitment and selection criteria will be developed.
  4. “Onboarding and Mentorship Program”
    • Mitch asked if the “onboarding and mentorship program” has been developed.
    • Justin filled in for Lee while she was on maternity leave, and is now starting to work on the program.
    • Bethany, Karen, and the Recognition and Retention Subcommittee will meet to work on the program.
  5. Performance Evaluation Tool
    • Evaluation/review forms used by the library, legal research and writing, and Bethany (in a past life) were distributed.
    • We will discuss performance evaluation tools during our next meeting.
  6. Community Training on the Many Aspects of Hiring
    • Bethany has asked us to send her suggestions for topics that should be included in community training such as writing job descriptions, screening, and keeping files.
  7. Amend By-laws: Election
    • The Committee decided that it would “stay” the election for one year to get some of the projects “off the ground.”
       Section 2 Membership of the bylaws would be amended to read:
    • 2. Terms: .... To initiate the process, terms of board members that begin in September 2012 2013 will expire at one, two and three-year intervals. ….

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