The academic staff employees at University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire include a broad range of professionals – counselors, academic advisors, student services staff, information technology staff, and researchers.

Academic staff who worked at the Wisconsin State Universities prior to the University of Wisconsin System merger could either be on tenure track or tenured as unranked faculty. Academic staff hired after the merger were not only provided none of the governance rights or job security of the faculty, but also not represented by the union that protected the classified staff.

In the early 1980s, the UW Board of Regents requested a review of policies and procedures concerning academic staff. In 1985, academic staff members were granted governance rights. Also in that year, the UW System hired a consulting firm (Hayes/Hill) to develop the Academic Staff Titling and Compensation plan. Ultimately, the implementation of this plan resulted in a court battle between The Association of University of Wisconsin Professionals, representing Richard Boyum of UW – Eau Claire, and the UW – System. In the “Frankel Decision” of 1989, the Dane County (Wis.) Circuit Court ruled in favor of Boyum.

At the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire, the Academic Staff Committee was absorbed into the Faculty Senate, creating a combined University Senate. Although they no longer had an independent governing organization, academic staff at UW—Eau Claire continued to push for pay equity. In the 1990s, academic staff worked to rectify gender-bias in academic staff salaries.