September 21, 2026 – Academic Staff Committee (ASC) – Minutes

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Time: Monday at 9:00 a.m.
Location: Microsoft Teams and Lubar N440

Attendance

Present: S. Brysch, K. Esguerra, R. Trumbull Holper, C. Marifke, N. Oswald, A. Schmidt, N. Simonson, L. Sunwall
Guests:  Anna Dempsey-Fischer, Makda Fessahaye, Renee Joos, John Reisel

I. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Chair N. Oswald at 9:00 a.m.

The agenda was approved as presented.
The minutes of August 17, 2026, meeting were approved as presented.

III. Persons Who Wish to be Heard

None.

IV. Chair’s Report

N. Oswald reported that she had her first meeting with the Chancellor last week. He will try to be at Senate in the future in person. She also touched base with him on the draft of comprehensive compensation; just letting him know that this will be a main topic for the beginning of the semester for us. She also asked him what ASC and academic staff can help him with. Really wants to use it as a pipeline into campus and culture- tell him what is working well and what challenges we are seeing/hearing.

V. Guests

  1. J. Reisel, Secretary of the University, introduced himself and explained his role and how he can support us as needed. We also talked about issues he is seeing around contracts and student attendance.
  2. A. Dempsey-Fischer, Chair, University Staff Committee, reported on the recent activities and issues being considered by the University Staff Senate. Explained how the Senate and Committee work a little differently than Academic Staff. Inspired by the Academic Staff Panther Praise program, University Staff Awards Committee created the ROAR Recognition. Employees recognized in the newsletter. She also stated they have been meeting with HR about title review and pilot program.
  3. M. Fessahaye, Associate Vice Chancellor for HR, and R. Joos, Director of Total Rewards, reported on the Comprehensive Compensation Review Guidelines Pilot Program. They will also share this at the October AS Senate meeting.

VI. Unfinished Business

  1. Proposed revisions to Academic Staff Personnel Policies and Procedures Chapters 106, 109, and 110 – Item postponed until further notice from Legal Affairs.
  2. Review Academic Staff Appointment Types and Contract Term Comparisons to Peer Institutions submitted by NIAS and IRAS Subcommittees – No update.
  3. ASPPP Proposed Chapter 114: Instructional Academic Staff Workload – The IRAS Subcommittee met on September 14th and asked about the timeline for completing review of the proposed policy.

VII. New Business

  1. ASC appointment to Campus Space Planning Committee – R. Trumbull Holper moved and B. Freer seconded appointing Mark Mentele to the Student Government Senate Finance Committee. Motion carried unanimously.
  2. ASC appointment Campus Space Planning Committee – K. Esguerra moved and N. Simonson seconded appointing Randy Trumbull Holper to the Campus Space Planning Committee. Motion carried unanimously.
  3. Proposed Revisions to AS Nominations Committee Bylaws (by AS Nominations Committee) – ASC discussed the proposed change to the AS Nominations Bylaws to Section 2: Meetings to say that the committee will convene its first meeting in October (vs September). ASC unanimously supported the change.
  4. Confirm Proposed Revisions from AS Codification to Academic Staff Personnel Policies and Procedures Chapter 108: Notice Periods – ASC reviewed changes to Chapter 108, specifically references to ASPPP Chapter 101 definitions. Had one question still for Tammy Howard, so postponed a vote until next ASC.

VIII. Reports

  1. APBC – K. Esguerra reported they had their first meeting and gave feedback to the School of Education on their reduced-credit education degree proposal.
  2. Chancellor Inauguration committee – K. Esguerra reported that the Inauguration is Friday and to make sure to RSVP to attend.
  3. ARPC – K. Esguerra reported they had their first meeting and just did elections for the chair position and no other business.
  4. Nominations Committee – C. Marifke reported that they held their first meeting and that preference sheets will be distributed in November.
  5. Orientation Committee – C. Marifke reported that they met. They will be holding the usual “what academic staff means” presentation in November; they are working on updating the slides.
  6. Non-Instructional Academic Staff Committee – R. Trumbull Holper stated they will hold their workshop on October 15th from 9:30-11 and currently there are no files to review.
  7. B. Freer updated the group about upcoming student flu clinics on campus for October 6,15, and 21. Also, reminded the group about Doors Open Milwaukee this weekend.
  8. L. Sunwall updated the group on the various AI committees he serves on. The focus of the groups currently is reviewing contracts. Also stated that Copilot got updated over the summer.

IX. Personnel Matters

None.

X. Good and General Welfare

None.

XI. Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 10:56 a.m.