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Report of the Committee on Academic Staff Issues
The Committee on Academic Staff Issues (CASI) advises the Dean on the formulation and review of policies and procedures concerning the Academic Staff members of the College. The committee also advises the Dean on Academic Staff promotional opportunities, participation in department governance, and performance recognition.
2006-2007 CASI Members
Barbara Clayton, Sharon Kahn, Liane Kosaki, Bill Heiss, Victor Macaruso, Ruth Olson, , Gary Sandefur (co-chair), Maggie Sullivan (ex-officio), Belinda Velazquez (co-chair), Sara Ziemendorf
L&S CASI Meetings :
The L&S CASI meets the first Thursday of every month. We are fortunate to have Dean Gary Sandefu as an active participant in all our meetings.
Committees :
Standing Sub-committees on Appointments & Elections :
Ruth Olson, Sharon Kahn and Sara Ziemendorf.
This committee is composed of all departing members and one continuing member. The committee's responsibility is to coordinate the election process, e.g., set timelines; to seek nominations for election to CASI. When there are appointed positions open on the CASI, the committee seeks candidates for the appointments. They are then submitted to the Dean for appointment.
Sub-committee on visibility :
Victor Macarusso, Ruth Olson, Belinda Velazquez
This committee was created to explore ways to increase our CASI's visibility among academic staff. It also seeks to encourage academic staff to inform us of how we can better meet their needs and on what we need to bring back to our Dean.
A d Hoc Committee on Performance Reviews:
Bill Heiss, Sharon Kahn, Sara Ziemendorf, Victor Macaruso, Maggie Sullivan
This committee was created as a result of the survey data gathered from academic staff in the spring of 2006. Survey results highlighted the need for a better understanding of the purpose for conducting performance reviews, the need for clarity of the review process, and documented the wide variation of performance review processes and methods currently used in L&S departments. The committee reviewed many performance review tools adopted by various departments and created a document called: College of Letters and Science Academic Staff Performance Review Procedures . The intent is to encourage more uniformity in the process and better communication between academic staff and supervisors. The committee completed their work in May, 2007, with the creation of a new document that the Dean will share with Chairs and Directors during their meetings. This will also be distributed to all academic staff in L&S via email and available on the L&S CASI web site.
Activities Accomplished :
- Posted Survey results on the Web
- Instituted two Listening sessions with the Dean, held once a semester
- Conducted L&S CASI Appointments & Elections
- Created the Document:
College of Letters & Science Academic Staff Performance Review Procedures
Activities for 2007-2008 :
- Participate in the Benefits Fair by having a table and answering questions for academic staff.
- Conduct a Listening Session with the Dean in the fall and the spring. Seek questions or topics of concern in advance.
- Sponsor a Brown bag on Promotions and Base Adjustments for academic staff.
- Share the document with Chairs and Directors; and disseminate to academic staff:
Annual Report in pdf form.
2005-2006 CASI Members
Barbara Clayton, Bill Heiss, Sharon Kahn, Liane Kosaki, Victor Macaruso, Ruth Olson, Gary Sandefur (co-chair),Maggie Sullivan (ex-officio), Belinda Velazquez (co-chair), Sara Ziemendorf .
Selected new Co-chair (to serve with Dean Sandefur): Belinda Velazquez
Revised our bylaws, and agreed to increase our CASI size up to twelve members, for broader representation of L & S Academic Staff.
Scheduled a Listening Session for L & S Academic Staff with Dean Sandefur in December 2005; our second Listening Session is scheduled for November 14, 2006.
Conducted a survey of L & S Academic Staff: 327 people participated, 47% of the AS. Issues of interest: many people don't know what kind of appointment they have (rolling horizon, indefinite, etc.). There was also a lot of confusion about performance reviews, merit reviews and how they are used. Because most departments have different procedures regarding performance and merit reviews, it is difficult to refer to a default policy. The survey showed that people felt they were part of the mission of their department, and mostly felt as if their job was respected by their department. A sub-committee will meet again to further formulate a report, to be placed on our website.
Established a number of subcommittees to allow us to work more effectively: Standing subcommittee on L & S CASI election is all departing members, plus one continuing member to be the tradition bearer (Barbara Clayton, Lian Kosaki, Ruth Olson)
Subcommittee to analyze and prepare report on survey results: Gery Essenmacher, Bill Heiss, Lianne Kosaki, Ruth Olson, Belinda Velazquez, Sara Ziemendorf
Subcommittee to increase CASI visibility: Victor Macaruso, Ruth Olson, Belinda Velazquez.
Subcommittee to collect and review L & S performance reviews: Bill Heiss, Sharon Kahn, Victor Macaruso, Maggie Sullivan, Sara Ziemendorf
Highlights of 2004-2005
Completion of five-year report, sent out to other CASI members. Ready to post on CASI website ( http://www.ls.wisc.edu/casi/ ) (website shows it hasn't been updated since December 2004).
Decided to add an Advisor slot to committee make-up.
Co-chair established: Gery Essenmacher begins co-chairing with Gary Sandefur.
Discussed differences between Advisor and Student Services Coordinator title series, and considered training for L & S advisors.
Report on Lecturer/Associate Lecturer issues.
Joint lunch with Classified Staff Issues Committee in May
Prepared ballot for and conducted CASI election. Discussed consulting with the Office of Quality Improvement for advice on doing an electronic survey for future elections.
Determined we'd post an annual report on the website.
Discussed ways to do outreach as Academic Staff (pre-advising around the state, training sessions for talking to media, etc.)
2002-2003 CASI Members:
Laurey Martin-Berg, Distinguished Senior Lecturer, French & Italian
Cathy Middlecamp, Distinguished Faculty Associate, Chemistry
Bruno Browning, Associate Director, L&S Learning Support Services
James Ferris, Associate Faculty Associate, Communication Arts
Tori Richardson, Assistant Dean, Student Academic Affairs
Jeff Petersen, Associate Director, Sociology
Maggie Sullivan, L&S Dean's Office (staff, ex officio)
Phil Certain, Dean and Chair of the committee
The accomplishments in the 2002-2003 academic year include:
1. Academic Staff Professional Title Series
We completed and promulgated a document defining L&S policy in regard to the use of professional titles by members of the Academic Staff. We continue to track this issue closely, including the use of such titles by professors emeriti. The L&S guidelines contemplate the use of such titles by instructional as well as research staff.
2. Academic Staff Job Security
We continue to track how L&S departments grant rolling-horizon and indefinite appointments, and to discuss how they can be encouraged to do so. Five members of the L&S Academic Staff were granted indefinite appointments during this academic year, up from two the previous year and none the year before that. A key aspect of job security for L&S Academic Staff this year was the Dean's insistence, despite the fiscal climate, on a 'no layoffs' policy.
3. Merit Reviews
Policies regarding merit reviews for Academic Staff - and even the existance of such policies - vary widely around the College, an issue which we have continued to discuss. While circumstances around the College vary so much that it seems unlikely that a uniform policy would be useful, we continue to search for ways to improve the situation.
4. Salary Caps for Category A Academic Staff
Merit raises for many Category A Academic Staff in the College are constrained due to their being at the top of their pay ranges. We discussed the issue and met with Steve Lund, Director of the Academic Personnel Office, to learn more about it. As with many other issues discussed this year, the consensus was that the current fiscal climate precluded addressing this issue this year.
5. Academic Staff Role in Governance
Following the establishment, during the previous academic year, of College guidelines concerning participation of Academic Staff in governance, we discussed developments in this area. At least one L&S department (Physics) is adding an Academic Staff member to its Executive Committee. We started planning for another survey of the College to learn more about this issue, having concluded that the current year was not an appropriate time.
6. Training for Chairs and Directors
It is sometimes the case that new Chairs and Directors in the College are unfamiliar with Academic Staff issues, policies, and procedures. We have begun discussions of what can be done to help them get up to speed on these issues more easily than has been the case in the past.
7. Workload
The issue of teaching load for long-term instructional academic staff in the foreign languages remained on the CASI agenda. The Dean received a proposal for bringing these teaching loads closer in line with teaching loads in other humanities departments, but the state budget crisis put the issue on hold. Also related to the budget crisis, the Dean announced that beginning in Fall 2003, the base appointment for short-term instructional staff across the College would be at the Associate Lecturer (rather than Lecturer) level, with a 33% appointment for 3-credit courses and a 40% appointment for 4-credit courses.
8. Meetings
Three members of the L&S CASI (Laurey Martin-Berg, Jeff Petersen, and Bruno Browning) attended the all-campus CASI meeting in November of 2002
9. Elections
With the end of Spring Semester 2003, the CASI terms of Cathy Middlecamp and Laurey Martin-Berg came to an end, leaving two seats (one elected and one appointed) open. We prepared an election slate and Gery Essenmacher was elected. The Dean subsequently appointed Barbara Arnold to the other open seat.
10. Academic Staff Awards
The L&S Professional Development and Recognition Committee conducted the second round of L&S Academic Staff Awards. Five awards (one for Distinguished Service, three for Mid-Career Achievement, and one for Early Career Achievement) were granted, with funding provided by Dean Phil Certain. Jeff Petersen, CASI member and Chair of the L&S PDRC, made a presentation concerning the Awards at an L&S Chairs meeting. A list of award winners can be found on the CASI website.
2001-2002 committee members:
Laurey Martin-Berg, Distinguished Senior Lecturer, French & Italian
Cathy Middlecamp, Distinguished Faculty Associate, Chemistry
John Sarff, Associate Scientist, Physics
Belinda Velazquez, Advisor, Cross-College Advising Service
Bruno Browning, Associate Director, L&S Learning Support Services
James Ferris, Associate Faculty Associate, Communication Arts
Maggie Sullivan, L&S Dean's Office (staff, ex officio)
Phil Certain, Dean and Chair of the committee
The accomplishments in the 2001-2002 academic year include:
1. Academic Staff Role in Governance
Building on work from the previous year, we finalized a document entitled "L&S Guidelines for Academic staff participation in service and governance activities outside of the department, program or unit". Dean Phil Certain presented the document to L&S Chairs and Directors for comment.
2. Academic Staff Professorial Title Series
We followed the development of this issue closely, both on campus and at the UW System level. Two members of the CASI met with Provost Peter Spear to discuss the issue; others attended Faculty Senate meetings. We prepared a draft L&S guidelines for the use of such titles that we will continue to work on in the coming academic year.
3. Academic Staff Awards
The L&S Professional Development and Recognition Committee conducted the first round of L&S Academic Staff Awards. Five awards (one for Distinguished Service, three for Mid-Career Achievement, and one for Early Career Achievement) were granted, with funding provided by Dean Phil Certain. The Distinguished Service Award was subsequently renamed in honor of its first recipient, Associate Dean Emerita Judith S. Craig. We coordinated efforts with the committee to promote the new awards, including making a presentation to the L&S Chairs and Directors meeting in November 2001. This included information not only about the new awards, but also about existing awards such as those given to L&S advisors, the Academic Staff Excellence Awards, and the SPA awards. A list of previous L&S award winners is posted.
4. Academic Staff Merit Reviews
We discussed how merit reviews are (or are not) conducted, and what can be done to help both Academic Staff members and departments to better understand their respective roles in the process. No actions were taken.
5. Academic Staff Job Security
We discussed the need to keep encouraging departments to make more use of rolling-horizon and indefinite appointments for their Academic Staff members. Maggie Sullivan prepared a list of 57 long-term academic staff members with rolling-horizon appointments (15 or more years of service) who do not have indefinite appointments. Of these, 11 are currently being reviewed in their respective departments. Two indefinite appointments were granted in L&S in the 2001-2002 academic year, and none was granted the previous year. In addition, Ann Wallace, Chair of the Academic Staff Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee, spoke with us about the differences in job security for rolling horizon vs. indefinite. We intend to revisit the issue of indefinite appointments (at least) annually.
6. Campus Climate
The Dean consulted with us on issues of campus climate, and how Academic Staff in the College are affected by - and participate in - campus climate. This was part of a larger campus climate discussion initiated by the Provost.
7. Workload and Teaching Loads for Academic Staff
The CASI was asked by a member of the instructional staff in the foreign Languages to examine the difference in teaching load (typical percentage of appointment per course) of staff in the foreign languages compared to Staff in other areas, including non-foreign language departments in the Humanities. The typical percentage of appointment in the foreign languages Is 33% per course (3/3 load for full-time staff); elsewhere it ranges from 40-50% per course (2/3 or 2/2 load for full-time). The dean asked the Department of French and Italian to serve as a test case and propose a model by which the teaching load some or all of its academic staff could be
8. Ongoing Meetings with other CASIs
Laurey Martin-Berg and Bruno Browning attended two university-wide CASI meetings on October 25, 2001 and March 21, 2002. Cathy Middlecamp attended another inter-CASI meeting hosted by the School of Education CASI in April 2002.
9. Elections
We solicited nominations and prepared the slate for the elections for vacancies on the L&S Academic Planning Council (APC) and the CASI. In Fall 2001, Jim Ferris was elected for a 3 year term to replace departing member Claire Rider, who was thanked for her service. In Fall 2001, Sandy Arfa also was elected to the L&S APC to replace departing member Laurey Martin-Berg.
In Spring 2002, new members Jeff Peterson and Tori Richardson (both elected) joined the CASI, both with 3 year terms starting in Fall 2002. Departing members John Sarff and Belinda Velazquez were thanked for their years of service. Joan Hall was elected to the APC to replace Wilt Sanders (former CASI member)
2000-2001 committee members:
Laurey Martin-Berg, Distinguished Senior Lecturer, French & Italian
Cathy Middlecamp, Distinguished Faculty Associate, Chemistry
Wilton Sanders, Senior Scientist, Physics
John Sarff, Associate Scientist, Physics
Belinda Velazquez, Advisor, Cross-College Advising Service
Claire Rider, Faculty Associate, Mathematics
Maggie Sullivan, L&S Dean's Office (staff, ex officio)
Phil Certain, Dean and Chair of the committee
The accomplishments in the 2000-2001 academic year include:
Expanded the scope and mission of the L&S Academic Staff Professional Development Committee, appointing Laurey Martin-Berg as the 2000-2001 chair. As newly constituted, this committee will take a more active role in soliciting applications for the Academic Staff Professional Development Program, mentor academic staff in the application process, review the proposals and rank them in priority order, encourage departmental nominations for campus-level awards, and suggest other professional development opportunities as appropriate. A new series of awards for academic staff in the College will be announced in the Fall of 2001.
Constructed the CASI web site. With the help of Lucy Mathiak, we were able to construct the web page that you are viewing. She provided us with the templates that had the "look and feel" of the newly designed L&S web site, and set up the URL. Cathy Middlecamp created the html files.
Drafted a statement on academic staff participation in governance activities. The draft statement begins: "Academic staff are hired by a department or unit for specific tasks relating to research, teaching or service. For example, these tasks include carrying out the work of a grant, lecturing in a course, advising undergraduates, or helping students better develop academic skills. At the same time, all academic staff members are part of the academic community at UW-Madison - specifically, they are part of the College of Letters & Science and of wider campus initiatives. Their input and efforts are needed on College committees and initiatives, university-wide committees, mentoring programs for students and staff, and to serve as elected representatives to the governance process. These efforts benefit everybody - students, academic staff, faculty, administrators and classified staff.- as well as benefiting the individual who is contributing. They also lead to a more informed workplace. Thus, in the spirit of recognizing both the immediate needs of departments and the ongoing efforts of the wider campus community, we offer the following guidelines." The committee will continue to work on this document and supporting text in the coming academic year.
Surveyed L&S departments about the participation of academic staff in governance. Dean Phil Certain sent a letter to L&S Chairs and Directors that began, "I would appreciate receiving thoughtful commentaries from each department regarding academic staff participation in the various aspects of departmental governance, as well as an account of current practice. For example: Are academic staff members invited to departmental (faculty) meetings? Do academic staff members participate on faculty committees? Do academic staff members vote for department chair?.... I would appreciate receiving a response from you by Friday, December 1, 2000. This date is chosen in part to allow you to consult with departmental academic staff in formulating your response." The CASI will be working with the data submitted by the departments over the months to come. A preliminary report is available.
Organized our first CASI brown bag luncheon. The luncheon was held on March 5th, 2001, organized by Belinda Velazquez. The topic was "professional development", with two guest speakers: Don Schutt, Director, Human Resources Professional Development Office, and Bruno Browning, Associate Director, L&S Learning Support Services.
Discussed the possible instructional and research professor titles for academic staff.
Joined with other CASIs on campus periodically for meetings.
Advised the Dean on the CASI election process and the process for electing academic staff members of the L&S Academic Planning Council. Dean Phil Certain drew up a slate of candidates, and the elections will be held at the end of the summer.
Finally, ... we thanked departing CASI members Wilt Sanders (Physics) and Claire Rider (Mathematics) for their service to the committee over the past two years.
1999-2000 committee members:
Laurey Martin-Berg, Distinguished Senior Lecturer, French & Italian
Cathy Middlecamp, Distinguished Faculty Associate, Chemistry
Marilyn Orner, Lecturer, Women's Studies
Claire Rider, Faculty Associate, Mathematics
Wilton Sanders, Senior Scientist, Physics
John Sarff, Associate Scientist, Physics
Maggie Sullivan, L&S Dean's Office (staff, ex officio)
Phil Certain, Dean and Chair of the committee
Topics Discussed 1999-2000 Academic Year
- Organizational issues
We are creating a web page to facilitate sharing information with the L&S academic staff and with members of other CASIs.
- Academic staff professorial title series
The committee generally favors the creation of the proposed titles as a means of providing a more accurate description of the work performed by academic staff members and as a way of helping UW academic staff to better compete for grants.
- Academic staff role in departmental governance
Discussions centered on what might be the appropriate role for academic staff, and what steps could be taken to achieve that role. The committee is aware that there are large differences in the roles that academic staff currently play in different departments across the College.
- Academic staff voice in curricular decisions
We have not yet begun discussion on this topic except as it is related to the larger question of governance.
- Academic staff merit reviews
Discussion focused on how merit reviews, if any, are currently conducted, on academic staff representation in the merit review process, and on how to deal with the distribution of merit raises in small departments.
- Academic staff professional development
We have gathered resource material and have explored some of the constraints that limit academic staff members' ability to take advantage of available programs.
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