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Reminder: Shared Governance Forum

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PROFS, along with several campus cosponsors, is hosting a public forum on shared governance at 3 pm, Thursday, May 3 in the Wisconsin Idea Room in the Education Building, 1000 Bascom Mall (poster below).

Our panel:

  • Gary Rhoades, University of Arizona Professor, Director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education, former General Secretary AAUP
  • David Maxwell, Drake University President Emeritus, Association of Governing Boards Senior Consultant
  • Regina Millner, University of Wisconsin System Regent, Board President Emeritus
  • Thomas Harnisch, American Association of State Colleges and Universities Director of State Relations and Policy Analysis

Karen Herzog, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel higher education reporter, will moderate.

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The La Follette School of Public Affairs, the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership, WISCAPE (Wisconsin Center on the Advancement of Postsecondary Education) and ASPRO (Academic Staff Professionals Representation Organization) are cosponsors.

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Shared Governance Forum

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PROFS is pleased to sponsor a public forum on shared governance at 3 pm, Thursday, May 3 in the Wisconsin Idea Room in the Education Building.

Public higher education has faced enormous challenges in recent years — massive funding cuts, declining student enrollment, shifting perception on the value of a degree. Many legislative leaders have called for the University of Wisconsin System, and UW-Madison in particular, to operate more like a business, often citing shared governance as a major impediment to institutional efficiency.

Our panel of nationally known experts will guide our discussion.

  • Gary Rhoades, University of Arizona Professor, Director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education, former General Secretary AAUP
  • David Maxwell, Drake University President Emeritus, Association of Governing Boards Senior Consultant
  • Regina Millner, University of Wisconsin System Regent, Board President Emeritus
  • Thomas Harnisch, American Association of State Colleges and Universities Director of State Relations and Policy Analysis

Karen Herzog, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel higher education reporter, will moderate.

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Legislative Update

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The Legislature concluded its regular session work in March, passing several items key to Governor Scott Walker’s re-election agenda including a school safety passage, an overhaul of the juvenile corrections system, and a one-day sales tax holiday and $100 per child tax credit. The Legislature did not take action on the following:

“Mark Cook Bills” to Assist Faculty Entrepreneurship, Assembly Bill 758 and Senate Bill 671

PROFS worked with faculty experts to develop bipartisan legislation that would change state statutes that regulate how the university contracts with companies in which faculty or other university employees have a financial interest. AB 758 passed the Assembly, but was not scheduled for a vote in the Senate.

Bill Limiting University of Wisconsin OB/GYN Training, Assembly Bill 206

PROFS registered against AB 206, a bill that would restrict abortion-related activities of UW System and UW Hospitals and Clinics employees. This bill died in committee.

Bills Restoring Tenure and Shared Governance to State Statute, Assembly Bills 991 & 993 and Senate Bills 823 & 824

PROFS registered in support of legislation that would restore language relating to tenure and shared governance to state statues, provisions that were removed as part of the 2015-17 state budget. These bills died in committee.

Bills Limiting Scientific Research, Assembly Bills 83 & 549 and Senate Bills 422 & 423

PROFS registered agains SB 423, and monitored additional bills that would have limited the use of fetal tissue in scientific research. SB 422 received a public hearing but was never scheduled for a floor vote, the remaining bills died in committee.

Bills Eliminating Certain Reporting Requirements, Changes to UW-Madison Health Sciences Start Date, Assembly Bill 932 and Senate Bill 790

PROFS registered in support of this legislation that would eliminate several duplicative reports and allow graduate health science classes to start before September 1. These bills died in committee.

Federal Relations

PROFS President Dorothy Farrar Edwards and Legislative Representative Jack O’Meara traveled to Washington, DC last month as part of the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s UW-Madison Day. They met with members of the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation including Senator Tammy Baldwin and Congressmen Mark Pocan and Glenn Grothman, and staff from the offices of House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator Ron Johnson.

 

 

 

Legislative Update

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The Legislature is expected to wrap up the 2018 session this month and PROFS is closely monitoring several bills. More information on PROFS lobbying effort is here:

“Mark Cook Bills” to Assist Faculty Entrepreneurship, Assembly Bill 758 and Senate Bill 671

Directed by faculty experts, PROFS worked with a bipartisan group of legislators to introduce legislation related to University of Wisconsin research contracts. The faculty group, led by the late Mark Cook (Animal Science), identified the need to change state statutes that regulate how the university contracts with companies in which faculty or other university employees have a financial interest. AB 758 has passed the Assembly and PROFS is hopeful it will be scheduled for a Senate vote later this month.

Bill Limiting University of Wisconsin OB/GYN Training, Assembly Bill 206

PROFS is also registered against AB 206, a bill that would restrict abortion-related activities of UW System and UW Hospitals and Clinics employees. UW School of Medicine and Public Health Dean Robert Golden testified in July the bill would seriously hamper student training in obstetrics and gynecology and could possibly jeopardize the medical school’s accreditation.

Bills Restoring Tenure and Shared Governance to State Statute, Assembly Bills 991 & 993 and Senate Bills 823 & 824

PROFS is registered in support of legislation that would restore statutory language relating to tenure and shared governance to state statues. These provisions were removed as part of the 2015-17 state budget.

Bills Limiting Scientific Research, Assembly Bills 83 & 549 and Senate Bills 422 & 423

PROFS is carefully monitoring two bills that would limit the use of fetal tissue in scientific research and is registered against Senate Bill 423. Our statement is on the PROFS website and Facebook page.

Bills Eliminating Certain Reporting Requirements, Changes to UW-Madison Health Sciences Start Date, Assembly Bill 932 and Senate Bill 790

PROFS is registered in support of this legislation that would eliminate several duplicative reports and allow graduate health science classes to start before September 1.

Shared Governance Forum

PROFS is planning a campus forum on shared governance – what it is, how it works on a flagship campus that is part of a system, and why it leads to best business practices. A date and more details to come soon.

Federal Relations

PROFS President Dorothy Farrar Edwards and Legislative Representative Jack O’Meara will participate in the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s UW-Madison Day in Washington, DC on Wednesday, March 14. They will also meet with members of the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation during their time in on Capitol Hill.

 

Governor Walker Announces Regent Appointments

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Last week, Governor Scott Walker announced three appointments to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents. The governor reappointed Regent Gerald Whitburn to a second seven-year term and named Cris Peterson to a seven-year term and Jason Plante to the remainder of former Regent Margaret Farrow’s seven-year term, ending in 2020. Farrow announced her immediate retirement from the board in December.

Whitburn, former CEO of Church Mutual Insurance Company, also served as Secretary of the Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations and as Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services under Governor Tommy Thompson. Whitburn holds degrees from UW-Oshkosh and UW-Madison.

Peterson, a Grantsburg dairy farmer, has received several agricultural awards including 1997 Farm Woman of the Year and 2004 World Dairy Expo Woman of the Year. She served as a student regent while at the University of Minnesota, where she received a degree in education. She replaces outgoing Regent Tim Higgins of Appleton.

Plante, a UW-Eau Claire graduate, is Vice President of Market & Johnson, a general contracting/construction management company in Eau Claire.

Nominees must be approved by the Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges and full Senate. A public committee hearing on the appointments will be held at 2 pm this afternoon in Room 300 Southeast in the State Capitol.

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Video from La Follette WRS Seminar

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PROFS cosponsored a La Follette Seminar featuring Gary Gates, former Secretary of the Department of Employee Trust Funds. Gates spoke to faculty, staff and others about the history of the Wisconsin Retirement System on Wednesday, February 21 in Union South.

PROFS Registers in Favor of Senate Bills 823 and 824

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PROFS registered in favor of two recently introduced Senate bills. Senate Bill 823 restores tenure to state statutes and Senate Bill 824 restores university shared governance to state statutes. Both provisions had been in state law but were removed in 2015 as part of Act 55, the 2015-17 biennial budget. State Senator Fred Risser (D-Madison) and State Representative Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) are lead authors of the legislation (below).

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2017-18 Budget in Brief

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UW-Madison recently released the 2017-18 Budget in Brief, a publication designed to help people, including legislators and other government officials, better understand the university’s budget. PROFS encourages faculty and other university stakeholder to take a look and become more familiar with UW-Madison budget details.

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Legislative Update

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The Legislature is in the final weeks of the 2018 session and PROFS is closely monitoring several bills that could that could seriously affect UW-Madison:

  • “Mark Cook Bills” to Assist Faculty Entrepreneurship, Assembly Bill 758 and Senate Bill 671  Directed by faculty experts, PROFS worked with a bipartisan group of legislators to introduce legislation related to University of Wisconsin research contracts. The faculty group, led by the late Mark Cook (Animal Science), identified the need to change state statutes that regulate how the university contracts with companies in which faculty or other university employees have a financial interest. Both bills have passed through committee and PROFS expects them to be scheduled for a floor vote sometime this month.
  • Bills Limiting Scientific Research, Assembly Bills 83 & 549 and Senate Bills 422 & 423  PROFS is carefully monitoring two bills that would limit the use of fetal tissue in scientific research and is registered against Senate Bill 423. Our statement is on the PROFS website and Facebook page.
  • Bill Limiting University of Wisconsin OB/GYN Training, Assembly Bill 206  PROFS is also registered against AB 206, a bill that would restrict abortion-related activities of UW System and UW Hospitals and Clinics employees. UW School of Medicine and Public Health Dean Robert Golden testified in July the bill would seriously hamper student training in obstetrics and gynecology and could possibly jeopardize the medical school’s accreditation.
  • Campus Carry  Supporters of campus carry have said they intend to introduce legislation allowing concealed weapons on campus, but nothing has been introduced to date. PROFS is opposed to campus carry and continues to carefully monitor the issue.

Wisconsin Retirement System Seminar

PROFS is cosponsoring a La Follette School of Public Affairs seminar on the history of the Wisconsin Retirement System at 12:30 pm on Wednesday, February 21 in Union South. Wisconsin’s pension system is regarded as one of the best, and Gary Gates, the first secretary of the Department of Employee Trust Funds, will explain how the system was created and why Wisconsin has not experienced shortfalls like many other states.

Spring Primary

The Wisconsin Spring Primary is Tuesday, February 20. The only statewide race on the ballot is for Wisconsin Supreme Court where three candidates are vying for two spots on the April 3 general election ballot. More information on voting in Wisconsin is here.

Federal Relations

PROFS Steering Committee member Judith Burstyn recently met with Congressman Mark Pocan as a member of his Higher Education Advisory Group. Pocan gave the group an update on Congressional action related to higher-education policy and federally funded research.

February Board of Regents Meeting

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The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will meet in Madison Thursday and Friday, February 8 and 9. UW-Madison is hosting the meeting in Union South, 1308 West Dayton Street. The full board portion will be streamed live here.

Regents meet in committee Thursday morning:

The Education Committee will discuss several new degree programs and charter school contracts in Milwaukee.

The Business and Finance and Audit Committees will meet jointly in closed session to discuss the findings of an information security audit.

The Business and Finance Committee will hear reports on UW-Madison’s financial performance, UW System financial management, and gifts, grants and contracts. The committee will also consider proposals to raise non-resident undergraduate tuition at UW-Eau Claire and non-resident graduate tuition at UW-Milwaukee and UW-Stout.

The Capital Planning and Budget Committee will hear a reports from UW-Madison on deferred maintenance and UW Colleges on city and county financial support. The committee will consider approval of the remainder of two building projects at UW-Madison.

The Research, Economic Development, and Innovation Committee will host a discussion on successful student preparation led by UW-Madison College of Letters and Science Dean Karl Scholz. Regent Eve Hall will lead a discussion on UW System diversity and inclusion.

The Audit Committee will discuss several recently issued audit reports and consider approval of a new Regent policy document on ethics and conflict of interest.

The full board portion of the meeting begins at approximately 1:15 pm Thursday. Regents will hear an update on UW System restructuring and UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank will discuss UW-Madison’s partnership with the state. The board will also meet in closed session to discuss items including UW-Madison several coaching salaries and issues related to the UW-Oshkosh Foundation.

On Friday, the board will hear reports from UW System President Ray Cross and UW System Board of Regents President John Behling. UW-Madison will also present its annual NCAA Division I Athletics Report. The board will also present its 2018 Diversity Awards.