Charter Committee Annual Report to the Shared Governance Council

Committee: Family Issues Charter Committee
Report Year: 2025-26

Committee Chair(s)Hans Hoerschelman
Committee Members

Staff:  Mara Cheney, Lisa Schumacher, Skylar Stafford
Faculty:  Jacinda Bunch, Kay Ramey, Peggy Trosper
Students:  Claire Anonson, Maleeha Naseem, Hannah Schaufele

Liaison/Ex-officio Members: Erin Litton, Diana Kremzar, Michelle Kongable

Committee Charge

Review and make recommendations about the development and implementation of programs, plans, and policies that promote a positive climate for families of faculty, staff, and students throughout the life span.

Review and make recommendations about the implementation of university child or dependent care programs and plans.

Current Year Meeting Dates7/21/25, 10/2/25, 1/9/26, 4/8/26, 6/30/26 (handoff)
Please indicate the typical frequency of meetings (e.g., first Tuesday of month at 4 pm). If there are subcommittees, please indicate the frequency of those meetings, too.At least once per quarter, more if deemed necessary. Time is irregular due to diversity of individual schedules.
Current Year Activities
  • Received and discussed updates from HR Liaisons, such as
    • Paid parental leave
    • "You Need a Budget" pilot program
    • Annual population health update
    • Personal Health Assessment review
    • Live Healthy Iowa review
    • Academic caregiving fund
  • Completed audit of historical committee documents and activities. Created TEAMS site, improving the organization and accessibility of documents.
  • Committee charge review and clarification.
    • Move to discuss and promote existing and upcoming HR offerings that support family issues.
  • Discussions with UI Wild as a back-up childcare option on ICCSD non-school days.
  • New chair recruitment/handoff. 
Topics your committee will address during the coming year
  • Discussion and promotion of existing HR efforts in the Work-Life/Family Services and LiveWell areas. 
Other issues of concern
  • Continuing difficulty of university population regarding childcare coverage during workdays that fall on non-school days.
  • Resource navigation of basic needs support for UI community. 
What should we tell applicants for this committee regarding expectations of members (anticipated workload, existence of subcommittees, etc.)?The workload is typically no more than one-two hours per month outside of meetings.
Does your committee have a website? If so, what is the URL?https://president.uiowa.edu/family-issues-committee 
What is your process for passing on previous agendas and minutes to the new committee chair(s)?Teams channel: General | Family Issues Charter Committee | Microsoft Teams
Recommendations, if any, to the shared governance groups.Initiatives to expand communication and engagement regarding existing resources and ongoing well-being initiatives throughout the UI community.