January 2016 Minutes

Council of Academic Professionals
Thursday, January 7, 2016, 314A Illini Union
Meeting Minutes submitted by Elizabeth Rockman

Attendees: Richard Gegg (1), Kristina Miller (1), Kathleen Booth (2), Todd Spinner (3), Maeve Reilly (4), Dustin Yocum (4), Wendy White (5), Theresa Steckler (6), Betoel Escobar (7), Tanisha King-Taylor (7), Tracy Parish (8), Mindy Spencer (8), Mike Bohlmann (9), Melissa Madsen (9), Ravi Ramrattan (10), Elizabeth Rockman (10), Beth Hall (11), Jeffrey Stein (11), Elyne Cole (ex-officio)

  1. Call to Order – Chair Mike Bohlmann called the meeting to order at 1:15 p.m.
  1. Public Comment – Hank Kaczmarski of the Illinois Simulator Lab noted that his entire unit (which is comprised of 5 APs with more than 20 years of experience each) is being eliminated,; he discussed that his unit, which directly does research, should not be the only place to make cuts and touched on the number of administrator salaries at higher levels. He asked that there be more consideration of attrition rather than overt elimination of contributing units. Mike Bohlmann re-requested that CAP be informed of when a full unit or department were being eliminated and what the numbers are as time goes on, in order to be more aware of what is happening so CAP can advocate for APs.
  1. Chair’s Remarks – Mike Bohlmann said the strategic planning consultants plan to submit a final draft in April for feedback; faculty had asked for more time to review.
  1. Review and Approval Previous Month’s Minutes – Jeff Stein made the motion to approve, and Ravi Ramrattan seconded; motion passed. Elizabeth Rockman reiterated that everyone should sign-in at the meeting, particularly in light of a new attendance policy being introduced into CAP Bylaws.
  1. Announcements:
    Report from Academic Professional Senators – None.

    Senate, Campus and University Committee Reports – None.

  1. Communications Committee – Publicity will be done to promote visits by the Chancellor in February and the Provost in June.
  1. Procedures and Elections Committee – All CAP members were asked to initial their own name by their election cycles; CAP members must self-nominate to be considered for reelection if their term is up. For districts who are Senate-eligible, that eligibility will be determined.

    The election for the rest of the term for the vacant seat for District 2 was taken to a vote (Jeff Stein made the motion and Ravi Ramrattan seconded): Neel Davis won to serve through this spring.

    The Senate Review Committee is working on implementation of recommendations, which includes a motion to cover 3 districts not covered by Senate eligibility. Special elections can be held once that is approved, rather than waiting another year.

  1. CAPE Awards – Kristina Miller noted that the 12 finalists’ 3 letters of recommendation all came in before the deadline; these will be evaluated by the committee the first Friday in February.
  1. Grievance Officer Update – Jeffrey Stein and Beth Hall had no report, though Beth noted she had been contacted, and had held 3 one-on-one meetings.
  1. Academic Human Resources Report by the Associate Provost for Human Resources
    Academic Professional Development Fund – The APDF has had 59 applications (2 denied for time submitted) for a total of $29,567.50; 2 were declined and $28,171.50 have been funded.

    Budget Update – Elyne said President Killeen said the day before that while he’d expected a budget in January, now it was more likely to be March or April. Campus are making their own decisions; departments/units are trying to decide their own budgets.

    Civil Service Audit – New CS Director and HR are having discussions rather than disagreements.

    Background Checks – These are being done, with the committee reviewing several items, and no employment has been denied.

    Questions were raised related to if no budget is approved, and if there was any central campus effort to help provide leadership about strategy for how to handle. Elyne noted that grassroots education by staff would be imperative to help put pressure on state legislators, and that there are students working on efforts in Springfield.

    Elyne noted there is a hiring freeze in UA, but not at the campus level, and that nothing has been done for retirement incentives to date, but there is no stricture on the campuses doing so; furloughs have been ruled out. The President did encourage freezes/attrition for cuts, but that is not a mandate.   Beth asked if it could be clarified if Terminal Contracts were being issued for purely programmatic reasons, and Elyne said that HR is only part of the process. Jeff said that CAP could be more helpful if more aware of what was happening, but Elyne said that often the termination information comes too late, after all the decisions have been made. Elizabeth reiterated that CAP is not questioning the decisions, clarifying that CAP is seeking information to best support APs.   Elyne acknowledged there could be 30% cuts, and Mike asked that Vickie be brought to a future CAP meeting to talk about bigger implications. Rich noted that it would be good to get in front of Deans. Mike asked to form a small group to work on action items related to what CAP can do for APs; Maeve noted CAP is an advisory group, and volunteered to lead this small group, which will include Tanisha, Tracy, and Mindy. Elyne will work with HR to ensure CAP has information to be a part of this conversation.

  1. Ad Hoc Committee on Provost Communications 22 – Discussion centered around a Final Report on Provost Communication 22 (separate item provided to CAP members):
  • A short survey was proposed (relating to whether departments were following guidelines), but general consensus was that information would not be submitted (or incorrectly communicated).
  • Kathleen asked for clarification about how the AP Advocate would interact with the CAP Grievance officer, since there is no specific Ombudsperson.
  • Melissa noted that supervisors should be reviewed on if they do the reviews (ie., supervise).
  • Mike asked Elyne for context and history on compliance with regard to annual reviews, which Elyne noted was previously an annual reminder.
  1. Ad Hoc Committee on Bylaws update – A few items will be dealt with before the final recommendations will be sent for consideration of a vote.
  1. Webtools Mass E-mail Training – Maeve Reilly provided this presentation.
  1. Unfinished Business – None.
  2. New Business – None.
  3. Closed Session for Privileged Information/Grievances – None.
  4. Adjournment – Kristina Miller made a motion to adjourn, and Ravi Ramrattan seconded; meeting was adjourned at 3:40 p.m.