January 13, 2026 – Academic Staff Senate – Minutes

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Time: Tuesday at 2:30 pm
Location: Microsoft Teams

Attendance

Present: M. Archer, M. Rausch Camacho, C. Cho, J. Court, C. Driscoll, R. Edwards, K. Esguerra, C. Fleider, B. Freer, J. Herriges, B. Hinshaw, K. Korinek, S. Luelloff, A. Meddaugh, L. McGovern, B. Mueller, N. Oswald, A. Schmidt, K. Scholz, N. Simonson, A. Singer, J. Steinheiser, A. Stoddard, S. Surach, B. Trager, K. O’Connell Valuch, D. Van Kerkvoorde
Absent: A. Follmer, R. Calkins, J. Johnson, M. Priem, J. Rotier, C. Sampson, E. Zahasky
Guests: Dave Clark, Makda Fessahaye, Thomas Gibson, Sara Luelloff, Melissa Spadanuda

Call to Order

Chair J. Herriges called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.

  1. Minutes of December 9, 2025 meeting approved as distributed. 

Chair’s Report

ASC has met twice since the last Senate meeting and discussed topics with regular guests Chancellor Gibson, Provost Daire, AVC Makda Fessahaye and UC Chair Melinda Kavanaugh. Topics included workload policy and Act 15 and GER implications, reduction in probationary and indefinite appointments, outcome of the VSIP, and other current campus activities. ASC also met with Lynne Jones and Thor Curcio, NIAS co-chairs, to discuss the future of NIAS. NIAS wants to provide meaningful and beneficial opportunities to academic staff and suggested working more closely with the recently reestablished IRAS. The ASC assigned the Subcommittees to gather data to learn more about how UWM’s appointment types and contract terms compare to our peer institutions. J. Herriges will continue to discuss the Committee’s concerns about appointment types with the Provost and Chancellor.

Guests

  1. Chancellor T. Gibson
    Chancellor T. Gibson reported that Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft is on campus today to present on AI and putting communities first. He was able to spend time with Smith earlier in the day. Gibson also provided updates: 1. Commencement recap – more than 1,500 graduates received their degrees. The Commencement speaker was Gale Klappa and an honorary degree was given to Lea Denny, founder of HIR Wellness Institute. Gibson’s first UWM Commencement went well and he noted there was very good energy. 2. VSIP – 36 employees from 10 divisions were eligible with 31 participated including 15 academic staff. The estimated savings is $2.8M. 3. UWM was ranked #1 college in Milwaukee by research.com and best 2 in Wisconsin by Travel and Leisure. 4. Panther Arena update: mayor neither vetoed nor approved proposal. Wisconsin Center District is going to meet and review the study. 5. Chancellor’s Report on WUWM included Michael Doylen, Associate Vice Provost and Library Director. The Libraries have saved students $1.7M in course materials. 6. Vice Chancellor for Marketing & Communication search is using national firm Witt/Kieffer. The committee has been established. 7. ACT 15 – JCOER approved Regent’s Policy 2025. General education requirements were reviewed and no approval is needed. 8. M-Cubed annual report – more than 1,900 MPS students toured UWM and MATC in the last year. Majority said they had a better understanding of higher ed and that they were likely to pursue a degree. Smart Start program has grown exponentially – 950 scholarships given. Retention rate is 78% for students in this program. Higher than the other students in MPS cohort. 9. Chancellor’s Inauguration Committee has been formed. The event will be in September 2026.
  2. Vice Provost for Academic Affairs D. Clark
    Vice Provost D. Clark provided updates on behalf of Provost Daire on the following: 1. Spring 2026 enrollment is 19,362, higher than last year at same time. He shared some of the strategies that Student Enrollment Management and Student Success are undertaking for re-enrollment. 2. ROAR Ready is launching officially this spring. ROAR Ready is an initiative designed to coordinate campus efforts of k-12 student engagement. 3. CETL is hosting the Teaching and Learning Symposium this week back in person for the first time since 2020. 4. Update on Academic Affairs efforts to reduce missing grades after the submission deadline and textbook adoptions. 5. An update on the Grade Recovery Pilot Program and the number of students (155 of 780 eligible) who have taken advantage of grade recovery. 6. Provost Daire is continuing to meet with individual units.
  3. Associate Vice Chancellor (AVC) M. Fessahaye and Total Rewards Director R. Joos
    AVC Fessahaye reported the new employee orientation sessions will start again on January 27th. She gave a summary of the professional development opportunities available to staff. 31 employees participated in the VSIP with 15 being academic staff. W-2 forms will be sent in late January and employees are reminded to opt in for electronic versions through Workday. R. Joos highlighted health and wellness opportunities and noted that all events are available on the health and wellness webpage. Employee Appreciation Week will take place February 9-15 with numerous activities including the Length of Service Awards ceremony. An announcement will be shared soon.
  4. Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Planning & Management M. Spadanuda
    AVC M. Spadanuda presented on UWM’s capital projects, reporting that UWM was awarded over $230M, and upcoming projects, repairs and long-range campus plan.

 New Business

  1. AS Doc 154 Revisions to Academic Staff Awards Committee (ASAC) Bylaws – No concerns were raised. R. Edwards moved and K. Korinek seconded approving the proposed revisions to the ASAC Bylaws as presented. Motion passed unanimously.

Unfinished Business

None.

Committee Reports

  1. Committees
    Sara Luelloff, Chair of AS Awards, reported that the Committee continues to brainstorm ideas for recognizing academic staff. She encouraged academic staff to submit news and accomplishments to the Provost’s newsletter.
    Tammy Howard, member of AS Nominations Committee, reported the Committee will meet January 14th to review preference form data and select candidates for the Spring 2026 election ballot.
    Mike Priem, Chair of AS Hearing and Appeals Committee, notified J. Herriges that ASHAC has not met since September.
    Stephanie Surach, Chair of AS Orientation Committee, had nothing to report.
    Elizabeth Jastrab, Chair of AS Codification Committee, had nothing to report.
  2. Subcommittees
    Lynne Jones, reported the Non-Instructional AS Subcommittee’s (NIAS) co-chairs met with the ASC in December to discuss its purpose and how best to fulfill the needs of academic staff at UWM. NIAS will meet on January 27th at 11 am to discuss further. Academic staff are invited to submit suggestions or feedback on future activities to L. Jones directly.
  3. Tammy Howard reported the Instructional and Research AS Subcommittee (IRAS) met today and discussed the structure of the Subcommittee. They decided to elect a four-person executive committee to provide leadership this academic year. The group shared potential topics and will meet in March and May. Interested academic staff should email tammyh@uwm.edu to be added to the Subcommittee’s email list.

General Good and Welfare

B. Trager encouraged attendees to participate in the MLK Day of Service at Lloyd Barbee Montessori School and to to join the Mission Possible: Building Community Gathering at UWM on January 20th.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 3:46 p.m.