TO: Faculty & Staff

FROM: Susan Coppersmith

SUBJECT: Department Meeting, Friday, 1st December 2006, 12.15 p.m., in Room 5310 Chamberlin Hall

TOPICS:
• Announcements – Coppersmith
• Building Report – Huber
• Discussion/Decision of new Certificate in Physics
• Matters Arising
• Closed Meeting of the Tenured Physics Faculty to consider personnel matters

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1)  Recently the Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) of Wisconsin produced a report requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and UW System President on UW personnel policies and practices involving sick leave, vacation, "back-up" positions, the use of consultants, and sabbaticals. You may have read about the report in the newspapers (http://www.gazetteextra.com/uwaudit101306.asp) or received email from your Academic Staff Assembly district representatives about the report. You can find it at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lab/ (the report is dated 06-12 and entitled "An Evaluation: Personnel Policies and Practices, University of Wisconsin System" dated October 2006).

Among other things, the report found:
* Unclassified staff (including faculty and staff) within UW System, and particularly faculty, reported using considerably less sick leave than classified staff.
* UW System's unclassified staff, and particularly faculty, also convert more accumulated sick leave to health insurance credits than other state employees do. Statutes provide that unused sick leave is to be converted at retirement to credits that can help individuals pay post-retirement health insurance premiums.

Among other recommendations, these two are included in the report:
* consider modifications to policies for reporting sick leave use by unclassified staff
* consider modifications to policies for reporting vacation time use by unclassified staff The

UW Systems' response is given in a news release entitled "UW System committed to responsible employment policies" http://www.wisconsin.edu/news/2006/r061013.htm . Of interest to academic staff is how the Legislature will respond, and whether the response will affect their economic benefits.

There will be a hearing Nov. 29th on the report by the Joint Legislative Audit Bureau. We suggest that you not only read the report, but keep in touch with your district representative http://acstaff.wisc.edu/asa.html for further updates if and when they occur. If you do not currently have a representative or you have not been receiving updates from your representative, feel free to contact members of the CEBC directly.

Compensation and Economic Benefits Committee of the Academic Staff Assembly: Karen Tusack, Chair <karen@lss.wisc.edu> , Thomas Achtor <tom.achtor@ssec.wisc.edu> , Susan Crowley <sjcrowley@wisc.edu> , David W Drummond <ddrummond@fpm.wisc.edu> , Dennis Ray <djray@engr.wisc.edu> , Kay Schoenherr <kmschoen@facstaff.wisc.edu> , Miriam Simmons <msimmons@bascom.wisc.edu> , Bill Steffenhagen <wsteffen@wisc.edu> , Beth Workmaster <bworkmas@facstaff.wisc.edu>

2)  It was learned today that the University has decided not to go through with the major remodeling of Sterling Hall. The new plans call for the Psychology Dept. to remain in its current location (Brogden) until a new Psychology building is completed on the corner of Linden and Charter (across the street from Sterling). There will, however, be a 'minor' remodeling of Sterling (~ $16M) to install HVAC and bring the building up to code. During the remodeling period, Physics can continue to occupy the labs and offices in the basement area under the east wing (the corridor leading from the tunnel to the accelerator vault), and possibly other areas as well. It is also possible that Physics will pick additional permanent lab and office space in the basement of Sterling. The remodeling work is scheduled to begin in 2008.

3)  As you begin to plan your courses for next semester, please consider working with Writing Fellows--a group of highly talented, carefully selected, and extensively trained undergraduates who serve as peer writing tutors in classes all across the College of Letters and Science. How the Process Works: On two assigned essays during the semester, the Fellows will make thoughtful and copious comments on drafts of papers and hold one-to-one conferences with each of your students, in an effort to help the students make smart, significant revisions to their papers before the papers are turned in to you for a grade. Building on the special trust that peers can share, the Fellows help their peers not only to write better papers but to take themselves more seriously as writers and thinkers.

Meeting Minutes (pdf)