February 17, 2026-University Staff Senate-Minutes

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Location:  TEAMS

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

Absent:             P. Geraci, C. Peterson, K. Valerius, M. Vallejo

Guests:             Chancellor T. Gibson, E. Watson, M. Harries

  1. Call to Order-The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m.
  2. Approval of minutes for January 20, 2026-The minutes were approved as submitted via auto consent.
  3. Chancellor Update-Chancellor T. Gibson updated the Senate on several topics.
    1. Chancellor Gibson thanked all for participating in Employee appreciation week February 9-13, 2026.  The highlight of the week was the Length of Service Awards which celebrated over 700 employees and their many years of service to UWM.
    2. UWM remains a vital part of Milwaukee’s Downtown district using the Panther Arena. 
    3. UWM’s advising centers will be combined into a student focused advising center to optimize student success.
    4. Chancellor Gibson has been working with campus experts on the us of AI on campus and how that will move UWM forward including work with the Innovation and Data Science labs.
    5. The Chancellor attended several events that targeted incoming and potential students for recruitment such as student day for new students.
    6. Chancellor Gibson also discussed the ROAR Ready program which works with campus to prepare area students to attend UWM.  
  4. Chair Update-Interim Chair A. Dempsey-Fischer updated the Senate on issues for the Senate as she transitions into the role of Interim Chair.
    1. Continuing one on one meetings with the Chancellor. 
    2. Work on eliminating waiting periods for incoming employee benefits eligibility continues
    3. Compensation plan update is expected sometime this Spring from Human Resources.  Chair Dempsey-Fischer will follow up.
  5. SAAPS for Approval-Automatic Consent-The following policies were approved with no issues via automatic consent.
    1. 0-1 UWM Policy on the Creation of Selected Academic & Administrative Policies
    2. 1-14 Course Evaluation Policy
  6. SAAPS for review and approval-
    1. 11-2 Digital Accessibility Policy-S. Genung & E. Watson-E.Watson was on hand to answer questions from the Senate.  This was an additional presentation to the one from January.  E. Watson also supplied the Senators with answers to their questions from January in advance of the meeting. 

The Senate unanimously approved the policy.

  1. 10-1 Animal Care and Use Committee Investigation Procedures-M. Harries presented the policy and answered questions from the Senate.

The Senate unanimously approved the policy.

VII. Committee Reports

  1. US Nominations-L. Eastman announced that the Nominations committee met and that K. Valerius has been appointed to the Strategic Enrollment Management’s Retention Council at the University Staff Representative.  The committee will meet in March.
  2. T. Nation Announced that the Awards committee will be meeting soon to discuss the Awards documents so that the call for this year’s nominations can go out.
  3. A. Dempsey-Fischer discussed the University Staff Grievance Committee.  She will be leaving the committee and taking over as chair of the Layoff Committee.  The Grievance Committee will meet to elect a chair.
  4. C. Warneke announced that this was her last meeting at UWM.  She hopes to make a move to UW Madison.  The Senate wished her well and thanked her for her service.

IX. Adjournment-The meeting was adjourned at 10:58 a.m.