51猎奇

March 10, 2026 鈥� Academic Staff Senate – AS General Meeting 鈥� Minutes

Posted on:

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

Attendance

Present: M. Archer, R. Calkins, M. Rausch Camacho, C. Cho, J. Court, C. Driscoll, R. Edwards, K. Esguerra, C. Fleider, B. Freer, J. Herriges, B. Hinshaw, J. Johnson, T. Joosten, K. Korinek, S. Luelloff, A. Meddaugh, L. McGovern, B. Mueller, N. Oswald, M. Priem, J. Rotier, A. Schmidt, N. Simonson, A. Singer, J. Steinheiser, A. Stoddard, B. Trager, K. O鈥機onnell Valuch, E. Zahasky
Absent: C. Hayes, K. Scholz, S. Surach, D. Van Kerkvoorde
Guests: Dave Clark, Alyssa Conrardy, Andrew Daire, Makda Fessahaye, Thomas Gibson, Renee Joos, Melody Harries, Bill Mueller, Elizabeth Watson

Call to Order

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

  1. Minutes of February 10, 2026 meeting approved as distributed.
  2. SAAP 0-1: 51猎奇 Policy on the Creation of Selected Academic and Administrative Policies was approved by auto consent with no concerns raised.

Chair鈥檚 Report

J. Herriges reported on the following items: ASC welcomed academic staff wishing to be heard from PSOA and L&S. David Witzling, instructional academic staff (IAS), PSOA, shared concerns about the discrepancies in awarding probationary contracts among IAS and non-instructional academic staff and presented inconsistencies with what is occurring with appointments and non-compliance with ASPPP Chapter 104. He also shared concerns surrounding compensation for IAS. Matt Knachel, Teaching Professor, Philosophy, shared concerns over the recent changes to Faculty Policies and Procedures Chapter 1.01 鈥� Faculty Status. He spoke about Chapter 104.01 being violated by deans who are not granting IAS with 鈥渁ppointments at 50% time or greater for which there is reasonable expectation of continuing need shall be probationary or indefinite.鈥� ASC agreed to request statistics for the number of fixed term academic staff with over ten years of service who have not been offered multi-year contracts. Scott Gronert, Dean, College of Letters and Science, was invited to present the reality of academic staff contracts in the College. He stated that the College has not been offering probationary contracts for IAS for the past few years due to the budget deficit in the College. Long-term commitments don鈥檛 make sense because of the changes for instructional needs that may occur within departments. The College stopped issuing probationary contracts in the late 20teens and faculty haven鈥檛 been hired for the last three years.Gronert recognized that academic staff suffer the most during budget cuts. He has been trying to move the College to increase multi-year contracts for IAS. He encouraged the ASC to continue its advocacy for academic staff multi-year contracts and not necessarily probationary contracts. He is advocating for more uniform practices across colleges in regard to issuing academic staff contracts. Provost Daire presented rationale for layoff to the ASC and discussed the impact of budget cuts on IAS and the evaluation process for instructors. Provost Daire said he is a champion for academic staff. Herriges met with Provost Daire and he suggested talking with deans about contract types being offered. Herriges met with Chancellor Gibson and discussed the reduction in probationary contracts being offered. Herriges provided updates to the University Committee and attended Alignment Listening Session and a Campus Design Input Session on the restructuring of the student identity centers.

Guests

  1. Chancellor T. Gibson
    Chancellor T. Gibson reported on the upcoming changes to his leadership team (Provost Daire leaving 51猎奇, Deanna Alba retiring, and Brian Thompson leaving 51猎奇) and provided timelines for recruitments. He gave an update on the expansion of the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute (NMDSI) partnerships. Gibson attended the Alumni Awards event and will attend the annual Research in the Rotunda event where several 51猎奇 students are participating. He noted there have been ten listening sessions regarding the new student identity centers which will be designed to maximize student success.
  2. Provost A. Daire
    Provost A. Daire reported on four items: 1. The internal recruitment for interim dean of the College of L&S will conclude in April with the national recruitment launching in late August/early September 2026. 2. Working to ensure the IAS workload policy aligns with Act 15 requirements. 3. Provided an update on the Fall Grade Recovery pilot program. 4. With his upcoming departure from 51猎奇, Daire is working with his core leadership team on items to be completed before his departure, items for the interim provost to continue progress, and a list for the incoming provost.
  3. Associate Vice Chancellor (AVC) M. Fessahaye and Total Rewards Director R. Joos
    AVC Fessahaye reminded all about the deadlines for mandatory trainings (3/30), performance evaluations for IAS (4/30), and Outside Activities Reports (4/30). She shared current professional development opportunities and noted the legacy HR system (HRS) will be shut down April 30th. Employees are encouraged to download any historical data including W2s before that date. R. Joos shared updates on employee resources and March health and wellness events and programs. She asked employees to complete the Employee Appreciation Survey to assist with improving next year’s events.

 New Business

  1. Nominations from the Floor – A. Conrardy and B. Mueller, AS Nominations Committee members, solicited nominations for the AS Nominations Committee. Nominees included Justin Court, Thorsten Curcio, Lisa McGovern, Abby Rojas, Jessica Rotier, and Jessica Schuld. T. Howard will verify the eligibility of each nominee before adding to the ballot. A. Conrardy, incoming chair of the Nominations Committee, gave a committee activities report and shared the election timeline. The ballot will open on March 30th.
  2. SAAP 1-14: Course Evaluation Policy – D. Clark, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, presented revisions to SAAP 1-14. No concerns or questions were raised. B. Hinshaw moved and N. Oswald seconded approving SAAP 1-14 as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
  3. SAAP 10-1: Animal Care and Use Committee Investigation Procedures – Melody Harries, Compliance Director, presented revisions to SAAP 10-1. No concerns or questions were raised. A. Stoddard moved and M. Priem seconded approving SAAP 10-1 as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
  4. SAAP 11-2: Digital Accessibility for Digital Tools and Electronic Resources (new policy) – Elizabeth Watson, CITEE Director, presented background and overview of SAAP 11-2. No concerns or questions were raised. R. Edwards moved and K. Korinek seconded approving the new policy, SAAP 11-2, as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
  5. AS Document 155: Revisions to Academic Staff Personnel Policies and Procedures (ASPPP) Chapter 105 – Performance Management – No concerns or questions were raised. A. Stoddard moved and L. McGovern seconded approving the revisions to ASPPP Chapter 105 as presented. Motion carried unanimously.

Unfinished Business

  1. None.

Committee Reports

  1. Committees
    Tammy Howard, member of AS Codification Committee, reported the Committee met on February 13th to review ASPPP Chapter 105.
    Stephanie Surach, Chair of AS Orientation Committee, reported the next Orientation Session will be held virtually on April 9th.
  2. Subcommittees
    None.

General Good and Welfare

None.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 3:41 p.m.