March 17, 2026-University Staff Senate-Minutes

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Present:           J. Almquist, N. Brautigam, E. Cochrane, A. Dempsey-Fischer, P. Dixon, L. Eastman, P. Geraci, R. Harrison, J. Lessila, K. Morgan, T. Nation, C. Parks, K. Premeau, M. Renk, L. ross, S. Ruditys, K. Valerius, M. Vallejo, R. Wahl, S. Wagner, S. Wirka

Absent:             C. Fitzpatrick, C. Peterson

Guests:             K. Amato, T. Gibson, K. Hennemann, A. Myers, J. Tabak, J. Urdan

Location:          Microsoft Teams 

  1. Call to Order-The meeting was called to order at 10:01 a.m.
  2. Approval of minutes for February 17, 2026-The minutes were approved with minor edits. 
  3. Chancellor Update-Chancellor T. Gibson was on hand to update the Senate on the following items.
    • The Chancellor updated the Senate on changes in Campus Administration
      • Provost Daire will be leaving UWM.  An anticipated search will be in Fall.  An interim search has been conducted and will be announced in April.
      • Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications D. Alba is retiring.  J. Tabak will be interim.  The search is underway and is expected to finish in April.
      • B. Thompson has announced he too is leaving from his position as Chief Innovation and Partnership Officer and leads UWM’s Office of Strategic Partnerships.
    • Data Sciences and Partnerships is expanding.
    • Chancellor Gibson was able to attend the Alumni Awards celebrating UWM’s alumni.
    • The Chancellor answered a few questions from the Senators
      • Custodial Funding is being worked on to help increase staffing. 
      • Student Center Changes listening sessions have gone well.  Suggestions will be reviewed.
  4. Chair Update-Interim Chair A. Dempsey-Fischer updated the Senate
    • Retention goals set by System are quite high; increasing from 68% to 77%.  Campus will work towards the goals that System has set.
    • Working on better communication between University Staff Governance and Human Resources.  Will work toward increasing involvement from HR to the Senate on upcoming changes and needs of staff.
  5. Student Center Consolidation Effort-Senators were still very concerned about the changes and lack of transparency about the changes that occurred with the various changes on campus.  The Senate wanted to submit their concerns to the Chancellor and Campus Administration.
    • Explain why the changes occurred
    • Communications of the changes were not handled well.How can changes like this be better handled in the future?
    • Interim Chair Dempsey-Fischer will draft the letter and then submit to the Chancellor.
  6. SAAPS for review and approval:
    1. 5-2 Sexual Misconduct- University Legal Affairs-J. Urdan was on hand to answer questions about the revisions to the SAAP
    2. 7-03 Code of Conduct- University Legal Affairs- J. Urdan was on hand to answer questions about the revisions to the SAAP8-2 Fiscal Misconduct- K. Amato discussed the SAAP and was able to answer questions from the Senators.
    3. 14-05 Research Misconduct- University Legal Affairs- J. Urdan was on hand to answer questions about the revisions to the SAAP

      All SAAPs passed unanimously.
  7. 2026-2027 Meeting Options-L. Eastman-Scheduling meetings on campus can be difficult due to scheduling options available for the Senate.  The Senate discussed options available to them.  They agreed to meet in June as they have done in 2025-2026.  Meetings will remain online in 2026-2027 excluding the June 2027 meeting to meet with incoming senators and outgoing senators.  L. Eastman will put in the request with classroom services who reserves the room on behalf of the Senate.
  8. 414 Giving Initiative and Challenge-A. Myers & K. Valerius were on hand to discuss this initiative to engage campus in giving to a variety of areas of campus on April 13 and 14, 2026.  K. Valerius
  9. Committee Reports
    • Search & Screen for Marketing and Communications (MarComm) Vice Chancellor-K. Premeau updated the Senate on the search and screen.  The interviews will be in March and conclude the beginning of April. 
  10. Adjournment-The meeting was adjourned at 11:56 a.m.