AAIM Committee News

The AAIM’s Advocacy & Public Policy Committee releases quarterly Committee News alerts to inform the membership about governmental activities, social justice issues, and more. These brief reports are designed as conversation starters and bring up recent news from a variety of perspectives. The contents of these newsletters are not intended to be legally binding or to reflect the views of ARLIS. This information is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Further, the AAFEC’s views are not necessarily those of ARLIS or its leadership.

The Academic Staff Division’s committee discussed numbers from the last five years. The group decided that several trends need further study. As a result, Chair Rothfels will notify ASC Chair N. Oswald and request input from the ASC later this month. Further, the Arts & Humanities Divisional Committee received a communication clarifying departmental criteria. The communications will be shared with all the faculty members on the Departmental Staff Advisory Council (ASC).

The Academic Staff Committee reviewed the academic staff population at the University of California. Several trends were noted and discussed. The Academic Staff Committee will contact the ASC Chair to seek input from him. A committee member will serve on the ASC Human Resources search committee. The UC Registrar K. Hildebrandt visited campus this week to discuss proposed new standardized scheduling policy, which is intended to provide flexibility to students and better access to classes.

The UC Chair, N. Rothfels, reported that the DEI VC interviews were completed and that the committee will seek input from faculty members. The ASC has selected a faculty member to serve on its Human Resources search committee. Additionally, the UC Board of Regents is reviewing the new standardized scheduling policy, which is designed to improve student scheduling and flexibility. It also provides a more transparent process for UC employees.

In Committee News, Chair N. Rothfels reported that interviews for the Academic Staff VC were complete. The ASC VP of Human Resources was selected to serve on a committee for the next two years. The UC Registrar also visited the UC to discuss the proposed new standardized scheduling policy. This new policy is designed to increase flexibility for students and faculty, and allow UC to schedule needed classes. However, the new policy has been met with a number of concerns, which are being investigated.

A number of new committees were formed, including the Academic Staff Committee. UC Chair N. Rothfels reported that interviews for the DEI VC were completed. The UC Human Resources AVC was also selected. The UC Registrar visited UC to discuss the new standardized scheduling policy, which aims to increase the availability of class schedules for students. While this is a positive development, there are many questions and concerns with the new policy.