Category: UW System

UW System Tenure Policy Task Force Update

by Michelle Felber • January 28, 2016 • Comments Off

The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents Tenure Policy Task Force concluded its work on December 23 and released updated layoff and post-tenure review language last week (below).

This language will be reviewed by the Board of Regents Education Committee at the February 4 board meeting. UW-Madison is hosting the meeting, which is open to the public, at Gordon Dining and Event Center, 770 West Dayton Street. Full board action on the tenure and layoff documents is expected in March.

The University Committee is holding a special meeting in Room 260 Bascom Hall at 10 am Friday, January 29 to gather feedback on the language. Comments may be sent to the Secretary of the Faculty, sof@secfac.wisc.edu. UW System is also taking comments online.

Post-Tenure Review

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Faculty Layoffs

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Faculty Tenure

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UW System Tenure Policy Task Force Meeting

by Michelle Felber • December 22, 2015 • Comments Off

The University of Wisconsin System Tenure Policy Task Force will meet tomorrow, Wednesday, December 23 at 2 pm. The meeting will be held in Room 1820 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Drive, and is open to the public.

The task force is expected to finalize layoff and post-tenure review language. Current draft language is below.

Recommendations from the task force will be forwarded to the Board of Regents Education Committee for consideration at its February meeting. Full board action could happen in March. UW-Madison will hold campus information sessions on the proposed policies in January.

Layoff and Termination Draft Language

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Post-Tenure Review Draft Language

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Hesselbein and Berceau to Introduce Legislation Returning Shared Governance to State Statutes

by Michelle Felber • December 22, 2015 • Comments Off

PROFS President Judith Burstyn and PROFS Steering Committee member Dave Vanness

State Representatives Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) and Terese Berceau (D-Madison) announced yesterday they intend to introduce legislation that would return strong shared governance to state statutes.

Shared governance for faculty, staff and students was changed from a participatory role to an advisory one in the most recent state budget. Hesselbein and Berceau have drafted legislation that uses the same statutory language that had been in place since 1973.

The proposed legislation states faculty “shall actively participate in institutional policy development” and gives faculty primary responsibility for personnel issues and academic and educational endeavors on campus.

PROFS President Judith Burstyn voiced support of the bill:

“Make no mistake about it. One of the reasons faculty stay at UW-Madison, despite pay well below out peers, is our strong history of shared governance.”

Hesselbein concurred:

“This simple step – to upgrade the faculty’s role from advisory to decision-making – will have a far-reaching effect on morale. It will give the University an important recruiting tool that was lost. It will build loyalty and improve the quality of decisions.”

PROFS statement on proposed legislation:

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Legislative Update

by Michelle Felber • December 21, 2015 • Comments Off

UW System Tenure Policy Task Force

PROFS continues to actively follow the work of UW System’s Tenure Policy Task Force and lobby for the best possible result. PROFS met with Regent Vice President and task force chair John Behling In late November to discuss the University Committee’s proposed changes to the task force draft recommendations and share information on existing post-tenure review practices. The task force will meet again on December 23 and is expected to forward recommendations to the Regent Education Committee for action in February. Full Board of Regent action is expected in March.

Possible Health Insurance Changes

The Wisconsin Group Insurance Board recently discussed a report recommending a change to self-insurance for state employees. The report’s author, Segal Consulting, maintains the switch could save the state $42 million, but in 2012 a different consultant found the change could cost the state $100 million. The board is scheduled to meet and vote on the recommendation in February. The legislature’s Joint Finance Committee must also approve any change.

Currently state employees can choose from 18 insurers, and state employees comprise 14 percent of the state’s health insurance market. Under self-insurance, the state would pay for benefits directly and assume risk. A private insurer would likely be hired to manage the program for the state.

Wisconsin Legislature

The Legislature finished its regular floor period on November 7 and held a one-day extraordinary session on November 16. While legislators are not expected to meet again in a floor period until January 12, committees continue to meet and hold executive sessions. PROFS is monitoring and lobbying on several items, including:

Assembly Bill 305/Senate Bill 260, Limits on Scientific Research

PROFS officially registered and delivered testimony against AB 305 and SB 260, proposals that would make it illegal to provide or use for experimentation fetal body parts. If passed, the bills would criminalize the research and use of scientific material previously derived from fetal tissue. Both bills have passed out of committee but have not been scheduled for a floor vote. PROFS will continue to strongly oppose the proposals, which have far-reaching negative consequences on campus.

Assembly Bill 480/Senate Bill 363, Campus Concealed Carry

PROFS is registered against AB 480 and SB 363, legislation that would require UW System and Wisconsin Technical College System campuses to allow concealed carry of weapons in campus buildings. Current law permits concealed carry on campus grounds, but allows individual campuses to forbid weapons in buildings. PROFS is vigorously opposed to this legislation telling legislators in a statement that “we believe that making it easier for people to carry firearms and bring them onto university property would make it more dangerous for the faculty, staff and student of the University of Wisconsin.”

December Board of Regent Meeting

by Michelle Felber • December 10, 2015 • Comments Off

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will meet at UW-Madison Thursday and Friday, December 10 and 11. All meetings will be held in Gordon Event Center, 770 West Dayton Street.

Regents meet in committee Thursday afternoon while the full board meets Friday morning.

The Education Committee will consider approval of several new degree programs and a reorganization at UW-Green Bay. The committee will also discuss a statement reiterating the board’s commitment to academic freedom and affirming the board’s commitment to freedom of expression:

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The Business and Finance Committee will consider differential tuition at UW-Stevens Point and an alumni tuition proposal at UW-Eau Claire, discuss trust funds and contractual agreements, and hear a report on faculty and staff salary adjustments in 2015. UW System chancellors reallocated $12.1 million of the salary base for adjustments in 2015. 2,338 faculty received adjustments averaging $5,163. At UW-Madison, 102 faculty members received additional compensation averaging $3,377.

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The Capital Planning and Budget Committee will consider authorization of a transfer of Vilas Trust funds for the UW-Madison Music Performance Building project, review changes to regent policy documents, and hear a report on State Building Commission action.

The Research, Economic Development, and Innovation Committee will hear an update from Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Secretary and CEO Mark Hogan. UW System President President Ray Cross will also share how UW System is helping with the state’s workforce needs.

The Audit Committee will hear a report from the chief audit executive.

On Friday the board will hear several reports:

Hospital Authority Board
Higher Educational Aids Board
Wisconsin Technical College System Board
Informational report on student debt and financial aid
UW-Green Bay NCAA Division I Athletics report

Updates on the work done by Tenure Policy Task Force and the Tuition-setting Policy Task Force will also be given.

UW System Tenure Policy Task Force

by Michelle Felber • November 30, 2015 • Comments Off

The University of Wisconsin System Tenure Task Force is meeting today at 2 pm in Room 1820 Van Hise Hall. The task force will discuss UW-Madison’s draft policies and updated draft recommendations of UW System policies on faculty layoffs and post-tenure review (below).

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Legislative Update

by Michelle Felber • November 3, 2015 • Comments Off

The Legislature finishes its current floor period Thursday, November 5 and will not meet again in regular session until January 12. PROFS is monitoring and lobbying on several items, including:

Limits on Scientific Research, Assembly Bill 305/Senate Bill 260, PROFS officially registered and delivered testimony against AB 305 and SB 260, proposals that would make it illegal to provide or use for experimentation fetal body parts.

If passed, the bills would criminalize the use of scientific material previously derived from fetal tissue, which includes cell lines that have been in use for more than 30 years. Both bills have passed out of committee but have not been scheduled for a floor vote.

PROFS will continue to strongly oppose the proposals, which have far-reaching negative consequences on campus.

Campus Concealed Carry, Senate Bill 363, PROFS is registered against SB 363, legislation that would require UW System and Wisconsin Technical College System campuses to allow concealed carry of weapons in campus buildings. Current law permits concealed carry on campus grounds, but allows individual campuses to forbid weapons in buildings.

PROFS is vigorously opposed to this legislation saying last month that “we believe that making it easier for people to carry firearms and bring them onto university property would make it more dangerous for the faculty, staff and student of the University of Wisconsin.”

UW System Tenure Policy Task Force PROFS continues to follow the action of UW System’s Tenure Policy Task Force, which met in Madison on October 22 to discuss proposed language on faculty layoffs and post-tenure review. PROFS has a long history of lobbying for strong tenure and met with Regents Millner and Behling earlier this year to reiterate support for tenure protections that meet full AAUP standards.

GOP Legislative Priorities Republican legislative leaders have identified several priorities, including:

Civil service reform: legislation passed, but does not include UW employees.
Government Accountability Board overhaul: proposed legislation would eliminate the non-partisan GAB and replace it with two commissions—one on elections, the other on ethics, campaign finance and lobbying.
John Doe investigations: legislation passed prohibiting the use of John Doe probes when investigating misconduct in public office.
Campaign finance changes: proposed legislation would make it harder to learn the background of individual contributors and allow unions and corporations to donate unlimited amounts to political parties and legislative campaign committees.

University Committee Chair’s Message to Faculty on UW System Tenure Task Force

by Michelle Felber • October 25, 2015 • Comments Off

The following message was sent to UW-Madison faculty on Friday, October 23:

Dear UW-Madison faculty,

I know many of you have seen the letter that UW System President Ray Cross sent to the faculty representatives earlier this week. You may have also heard about some of the conversations that were held at the System tenure task force yesterday afternoon. I want to assure you that none of this changes our approach to developing tenure policies for this campus. Before Act 55, the state had a single statute that allowed campuses to develop and implement their own faculty policies and procedures. It has always been our assumption that the policy that will be developed by the Regents in response to Act 55 would similarly allow variations from campus to campus.

The documents that will be submitted to the Senate in November reflect input from the faculty listening sessions, as well as the written revisions submitted after the October Senate reading. We believe that our proposed policies are very strong. We have always been clear that we would draft UW-Madison policies that reflect the language in Act 55 and that are congruent with AAUP standards and our policies of shared governance and strong tenure protections.

I want to make it completely clear that nothing has changed in our approach and we look forward to discussing our proposals with you on November 2nd at the Faculty Senate.

Sincerely,

Beth Meyerand, University Committee Chair

PROFS Statement on Concealed Carry on Campus

by Michelle Felber • October 15, 2015 • Comments Off

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The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department and University of Wisconsin System issued statements on concealed carry Tuesday:

UW-Madison Police Department Statement

Recent school shootings have elevated discussions across the country about gun safety, protecting the rights of citizens, and protecting the safety of our schools. This is a serious issue and there are many questions to consider.

The UW-Madison Police Department and the University of Wisconsin-Madison support existing state law, which appropriately balances individual rights with community safety. We oppose any legislation that would allow citizens to legally carry concealed weapons inside university buildings. Current policies at UW-Madison allow concealed carry on university lands – but not in buildings.

To us, as law enforcement professionals at UWPD, the evidence does not support the idea that our campus would be safer if concealed firearms are allowed in our buildings. In states that allow concealed carry, these mass shooting tragedies have still occurred. According to 2014 FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) numbers, you are less likely to become a victim of a violent crime at UW-Madison – which currently does not allow concealed weapons in buildings – than you are in the state of Wisconsin as a whole.

Allowing concealed weapons inside a building like Camp Randall Stadium, filled with 80,000 people, creates a major security issue. The training required to obtain a concealed carry permit is minimal.

We urge our legislators not to change the existing law. Doing so would put the safety of our students, faculty, staff, and guests at risk.

UW System Statement

We take the safety of our campus communities very seriously and know that our legislative partners do as well. We have significant concerns and questions with this proposal and cannot currently support it. We are, however, actively engaged in a dialogue with the legislative authors, Regents, and campus police professionals to ensure our concerns are addressed.

October Board of Regents Meeting

by Michelle Felber • October 7, 2015 • Comments Off

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will meet in Madison Thursday and Friday, October 8 and 9. Meetings will take place in Gordon Dining and Event Center at UW-Madison, 770 West Dayton Street. Livestream coverage of the full board meetings is here.

Regents meet in committee Thursday morning:

The Capital Planning and Budget Committee will hear a report on State Building Commission action and discuss a resolution to fund maintenance and repair projects.

The Research, Economic Development, and Innovation Committee will hear a report on UW-Madison business outreach and an update from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).

The Business and Finance Committee will discuss several contractual agreements, receive the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Wisconsin Partnership Program Annual Report, and hear a report on faculty turnover in UW System.

The report on faculty turnover shows that UW-Madison had a turnover rate of 3.89 percent among tenured faculty and 3.58% among probationary faculty in fiscal year 2015. Half of tenured faculty who left UW-Madison cited salary as the primary reason for leaving.

The Education Committee will discuss a plan to waive non-resident enrollment limits at UW-Madison and hear reports on campus accreditations, high school to college success, and preliminary enrollment figures.

The full board meets Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. The regents will discuss the 2014-15 Program Revenue Fund Balance Report and credit transfers Thursday and work of the Tenure Policy Task Force and remedial education Friday. According to the fund balance report, UW-Madison held $52.25 million in unrestricted reserve funds — 13.8 percent of the total. All other unrestricted monies fall under the categories of obligated, planned, or designated.

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