Chief Administrators Steering Committee (CASC)
Steering Committee Charge and Guidelines
Charge
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Provide leadership for the Administrative Forum and CA group and act as conduit
to/from these groups including Divisional groups, College, other UM units
Review College-wide policies and procedures brought to the Committee,
providing input and feedback in the planning stages of policy changes and
implementation
Oversee Admin Forum and CA meetings, plan agendas and format of meetings
Anticipate, prioritize, and provide input on resolution of College-wide issues
Serve as resource for Dean’s Office and departmental administration
Represent Divisional group interests and concerns to Steering Committee
Organize subcommittees and task teams to work on special projects
Provide oversight and guidance to the LSA Dean’s Office Councils (HR, Finance,
Divisional Affairs, IT, Instructional Support Services, and Facilities).
Nominate a CA, each year, for the Robin Sarris Award
Membership
The CA Steering Committee consists of 7 members: 1 Chief Administrator (CA) from
each Divisional group, 2 CA ad hoc members from the Natural Science and Humanities
groups and the Senior Manager for LSA Units. Steering Committee members must have a
break of one year between any full two-year terms of service on this committee. A
member of the Dean’s Office staff will provide support to the committee. The staff
support will attend committee meetings and oversee the support duties associated with
the committee. One of the regular two-year term CA members serves as Chair. The Chair
is a full two-year member in their second year of service.
Divisional groups will select their representative(s) through an agreed upon process
which may differ from group to group. The 2-year term will be staggered so that 2
Steering Committee members are always in the second year of their term.
The purpose of the ad hoc members is to provide balance to the committee membership.
Divisional groups with 15 or more member departments will have one ad hoc member in
addition to the regular member. Ad hoc members serve for a one-year term. The Natural
Science Division and the Humanities Division will each select an ad hoc representative to
serve on the committee. If the Natural Science or Humanities two-year member is the
Chair of the Steering Committee the ad hoc member will chair that divisional group for
that year. The Natural Science Divisional group will select the ad hoc Natural Science
member and the Humanities group will select the ad hoc Humanities member
Membership will start on August 1st of a given year (officially the transition occurs
during the CA SC summer retreat). Divisional Groups should select new members by
May 15th to allow new members to participate in the selection of the ad hoc member
before the annual retreat, which is typically held at the end of July.
Members are expected to attend all bi-weekly Steering Committee meetings, monthly CA
and Administrative Forum meetings.
Chair
In the spring, the current Chair of the Steering Committee and the Senior Manager for
LSA Units jointly choose the incoming Chair from the second-year members of the
Steering Committee. Input will be solicited from current members of the full committee
via e-mail or written comments.
The Chair’s responsibilities include:
 Serve as resource/advisor to the Dean’s Office
 Facilitate Steering Committee meetings (agenda development, presenter choices,
etc.)
 Facilitate Administrative Forum and CA meetings
 Develop priorities for the Steering Committee and CA group and create work
groups and prioritize projects for each
 Write the annual CA Steering Committee Report
 Meet bi-weekly with the Dean’s Office Liaison
Relationship with Dean’s Office Councils
While each of these bodies is a separately operating committee, there should be a
relationship between the Councils and the CA Steering Committee as follows:
 College-wide policy changes proposed by the Councils will be reviewed by the
Steering Committee prior to implementation
 Preferably, a member of the Steering Committee will serve as a member on each
Council in a liaison role, with no obligation to participate in additional Council
assignments. Selection to the liaison role will be by self-nomination. The
Steering Committee Chair and the Dean’s Office Liaison will discuss and bring
final nominations to each Council for approval.
 The liaison will make regular reports to the Steering CA Group based on the
Council’s activities.
 If a member of the Steering Committee cannot serve, an existing member of the
Council will be asked to make regular reports to the Steering Committee on the
activities of the Council.
Current Councils:
 Human Resources Council (Meets Monthly)
 Divisional Affairs Council (Meets Quarterly)
 Finance Council (Meets Monthly)
 LSA Information Technology Council (Meets Bi-Monthly)
 LSA Instructional Support Services Council (Meets Quarterly)
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LSA MIS Council (Meets monthly)
Role of Dean’s Office Senior Manager for LSA Units
Serve as the liaison between the CA Steering Committee and the Dean, Associate Deans,
and Dean’s Office senior staff in the following ways:
 Solicit administrative update information from all areas of the Dean’s Office and
provide to Administrative Forum and CA group
 Forward information to the Administrative Forum and CA group via e-mail (e.g.
forward Chair/Directors e-mail messages as appropriate)
 Collaborate with the Steering Committee to propose recommendations on College
level management and policy decisions
 Provide input to the Steering Committee on task team projects
 Take a lead role in resolving concerns about College level service
 Serve as an ex officio member of the CA Steering Committee
 Attend and participate in meetings of the CA Steering Committee and monthly
Administrative Forum and CA group meetings
 Oversee activities of the Administrative Forum and CA Steering Committee
support staff
Revised December 2015