LFA Exec - Minutes - Special Meeting - January 23, 2026
LFA Special Meeting
January 23, 2026
2:30 PM -3:30PM
Attending: Josh Bolick, Amanda Schlumpberger, Chris Pincock, Michiko Ito, Elspeth Healey, Tami Albin, Milton Machuca-Galvez, Samantha Bishop Simmons, Sara Morris, Jason Dean, Amalia Monroe-Gulick, Adrienne Sanders, Jill Becker, Jamene Brooks-Kieffer, Brian Rosenblum, Kate Stewart, Carmen Orth-Alfie, Sarah McCall, Rebekah Ramos, Amber Ovsak, Angie Rathmel, Kodjo Atiso, Geoff Husic, Ryan, Swartz, E Durham, Letha Johnson, Whitney Baker, Jon Giullian, Heather MacBean, Cecilia Zhang, Caitlin Klepper, Erin Wolfe, Gwen Geiger Wolfe, Trenton Keim, Sam Greeson, Paul Thomas, Miloche Kottman, Kelly Hangauer, Michael Peper, John Richardson, Andi Back, Sara Outhier
Absent: N/A
Note: Faculty members of the Libraries' Leadership Team (Associate Deans and Dean) were asked not to attend this meeting due to the particular nature of the focus of the discussion.
Minutes
- Overview of meeting structure covered by Chair
- Background, current state of affairs
- Background:
- Jan. 7th: stagnation of salary while raises for leadership was brought to Chair and vice chair attention
- Jan. 13th: Chair and co-chair met with Dean to understand the decision. Raises made by Dean from Library budget. Context the Dean provided:
- Initiated in Fall 2024
- Recoding positions led to some raises
- Retention offers were a couple of the raises too
- Finally, equalizing of associate deans needing adjustments in relation to the raises—equity raises.
- LFA counseled Dean to communicate context to the org.
- Dean mentioned a strategy to get everyone where they should be with pay, starts with getting leadership sorted
- Dean mentioned delays from KU at-large
- Jan. 14th: LFA exec. Met and discussed
- Jan. 15th: Colleague shared information with chair and Chair followed up again with Dean to encourage her to communicate to library
- Jan. 16th: Neato Burrito email
- Jan. 19th – 23rd: lots of messages and conversation in emails.
- Dean’s Response was vetted from higher powers at KU
- Wednesday: Meeting with Mike, Carol, Josh, and Elspeth
- Dean stands behind decisions made and supports strategy at play.
- Dean mentioned compression etc, and noted faculty salaries out of her hands because of Union
- LFA encouraged to engage and support Union
- Cited misc. staff raises that have been happening
- Mike and Carol expressed they are available to meet one-on-one or in small groups
- Chair encouraged everyone who is comfortable to take them up on that.
- Chair expressed perspective that the culture is broken, Dean did not agree
- Meeting didn’t end with any action steps
- LSA hosted special meeting as well.
- Background:
- Discussion, concerns, and questions:
- Concern raised about how difficult it is without a living wage, and the rationale that it couldn’t come from the library budget.
- Can we confirm if the libraries elevated to major division strategy?
- No—LFA exec will try to get some clarity on this
- Concern raised that there has been a lack of transparency for a while now
- Do we know if there was any discussion on setting raises aside when the environment turned to austerity?
- Not that we are aware of
- Do we know if the Dean has done any advocating for us to be paid as 12 month faculty or where that fits in the strategy?
- Others noted that the not wanting to use library funds for salary has been communicated before in multiple settings
- Concern about transparency raised by multiple individuals based on the lack of communication about the raises. Inequity of salaries has been going on in multiple iterations over the years
- Concern raised that we have heard for several years from KU Admin to address pay (compression and market pay) with little action. There is frustration that leadership raises are being prioritized over rank and file.
- Concern about the cannibalizing library budget for leadership raises, but not others. There is a disconnect in her communication about salaries.
- Concern that a staff member was put on leave
- Does Exec have a sense of how the Dean received the faculty letter? Concern that it could garner retaliation.
- Discussion of potential next steps--What actions can be taken in governance (LFA)?
- What has been done in terms of mediation?
- There is an office of ombudsman.
- Chair has talked to ombudsman about options—continuum from informal to formal processes.
- Mediation was briefly mentioned during a discussion with Dean
- Suggestions about an early review of Dean and ADs, and in general evaluating supervisors
- Question of how this relates to the work with SET and the SET model
- Request made for a timeline or other mechanism of accountability for Carol’s plans and the supposed changes related to staff pay. Leadership cites institutional policies and bureaucracy as barriers.
- Request to move Dean to a dialogue position
- No confidence mentioned; it is a serious action if we take it. Need to do research first, consider interim steps.
- Call to think about escalating steps we could take, around an outcome we want.
- Want to hear from Carol on her plan, especially on staff wages.
- Then, steps we can take if that is not met
- Formal call as a body
- Desire for action to be as a body and not individuals.
- Call for fast action as expression of sustained concern
- Motion: Draft a letter formally request a dialogue/special meeting with Dean, motion seconded
- Discussion: would it be more powerful from LFSA? That would have to go to that body.
- Discussion: make sure language has a deadline with it
- Discussion: Request the All-Staff be her chance to address it
- Vote: Motion passes
- Action item: get in touch with Chair if you want to help draft letter
- What has been done in terms of mediation?
- Conclude
- Motion to adjourn, motion seconded, motion carried, meeting adjourned at 3:46