LFA Exec - Minutes - May 19, 2026

LFA Executive Committee Meeting         
May 19, 2026  

11:00 AM -12:00 PM    

       

Attending: Exec: Josh Bolick (Chair), Elspeth Healey (Vice Chair), Amanda Schlumpberger (Secretary), Scott McEathron, Angie Rathmel, Observers: Jason Dean

 

      

Absent: Samantha Bishop-Simmons 

   

Minutes:   

 

  • Welcome 
  • Approve minutes from 4/14/26 LFA Exec Meeting 
    • Scott motioned to approve, Elspeth seconded, motion carried, minutes approved
  • LFA Committee Liaison reports
    • LCPT (Elspeth) 
      • Ballot went out, and Carol indicated she will approve if they pass
    • SLPTR (Scott) 
      • Will remind them to do annual report
    • Ad Hoc Committee for Review of PT Criteria (Elspeth & Josh) 
      • Concluded work
    • University Senate Library Committee (Josh) 
      • Concluded work for the year
      • Will start in the fall again 
    • LSA (Josh) 
      • Working on wrapping up loose ends. Their ballot went out last week 
    • UAKU (Scott) 
      • Steward trainings and calls ongoing
      • Some grievances have been put forward
      • Office of Faculty Affairs will provide resources for policy work associated with the contract that will need to happen 
      • We have funding for food for retreats for this. $1200
  • Report on LFA Chair and Vice Chair/Chair Elect 5/11/26 meeting with Dean (Josh and Elspeth) 
    • Debriefed the assembly-Carol indicated she would approve the changes on ballot 
    • Talked about policy alignment and retreats related to Union and how to divide all the work that will need to be done 
    • Discussed the issue of being a supervisor and still in the bargaining unit and how that creates awkward situations, and that they would like some training like other supervisors on campus are receiving. Have been advised to reach out to Office of Faculty Affairs. Discussion occurred among executive members to potentially put a percent on how much supervising is part of their professional performance. It was suggested that those this affects in the Libraries should get together and have a conversation about how to move forward
    • The funding for food for policy work related to Union policy updating is only for food and not stipends, because it is unclear who will be doing the work, who should get stipends, and how to do it in an equitable way. 
    • There was also a discussion about stipends for service roles. Carol and others noted not in favor. Exec had discussion on if staff stipend would be appropriate, since they don’t have service as part of job descriptions. 
    • They discussed the way the merit and compression funds from the union was distributed, and that info has been communicated with faculty listserv via email. 
    • Brought back up the issue of what we can drop, and Carol said that conversation will come back 
    • Josh and Carol debriefed on the eval, and both felt it was a positive change 
    • Climate survey was briefly discussed. 
  • Updates to priorities for FY26 
    • Annual Evaluations (debrief) 
    • Ad Hoc PT Guidelines (placeholder; update provided in liaison reports above) 
    • See above notes for more info. 
  • LFA Spring Assembly debrief 
    • Happy with minutes as accurate reflection of events
    • Actions From Fall Assembly: 
      • LCPT new revised standing charge to be sent to ballot: “When requested by the Dean of Libraries, review new-hire faculty files to determine if awarding tenure and/or elevated rank is appropriate.” 
      • Academic Appointments in University Libraries revisions sent to ballot 
  • Election candidates and ballot initiatives 
    • Ballot out as of this morning; please vote and encourage others to do so. 
    • Expected to close on May 26; N&B inform folks elected and email results to KU Lib-L. Chair advance ballot initiatives (if approved) to Carol for review. If approved, send to Cmte on the Code (around June 1st)
  • Review of what’s left for shared governance this FY 
    • Wrap up elections/ballot initiatives follow through 
      • Everything is covered
    • Final reports and recommended charges 
      • There are some inconsistencies and such in the code that might need to be firmed up such as the standing charges for final reports and the formatting guidance that doesn’t align. 
    • Transition meetings 
      • Josh and Elspeth have one more meeting with Carol, and Josh will also join a July meeting for transition purposes 
  • New Business
    • Josh will draft the final report and will circulate it with us 
    • Amanda will reschedule June meeting for transition with new exec. 
    • Scott raised considering monthly meetings with Faculty to give updates on policy updates and such. 
    • All the policy changes will need to be wrapped up by Spring 
  • Conclude 
    • Angie motioned to adjourn, Scott seconded. Motion carried. Meeting ended at 11:45am.