This afternoon, PROFS board member and Soil Science Professor Steve Ventura delivered testimony to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Revenue and Financial Institutions in favor of Senate Bill 563, legislation that would provide $1 million per year during the current biennium for extension services in applied agricultural research. PROFS is registered in favor of this bill.
His testimony is below:
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PROFS President Dorothy Farrar Edwards presented the PROFS Annual Report for 2018-19 at the Faculty Senate yesterday (below). The report outlines the governance structure of PROFS and describes the legislative and outreach efforts undertaken last year.
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This legislative update was distributed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Senate meeting today. The senate meets the first Monday of every month at 3:30 pm during the academic year, October through May, except in January. This semester, the senate will meet in Room B10 Ingraham Hall.
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The Senate Committee on Universities, Technical Colleges, Children and Families held a hearing on an appointment and several bills yesterday, including Senate Bill 403, legislation relating to campus speech. PROFS is registered against this bill and strongly opposes its passage.
The following statement was shared with the committee yesterday.
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The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents recently announced a public comment website for faculty, staff, students and others to offer input on the UW System President search.
In correspondence with UW System employees, Regent Vice President Michael Grebe also announced two video listening sessions at 11 am and 3 pm on Thursday, December 19. Those interested can register here.
Grebe writes:
To frame and guide these engagements, I am including a set of questions that I ask you think about:
What are the key challenges and opportunities facing the UW System over the next five to ten years? What particular characteristics and attributes would help the successful candidate address these issues?
What specific role and specific priorities should we expect the new President to carry forward with respect to that future agenda?
What are the characteristics, skills, and experiences we should be seeking in the search for the new President? Which characteristics are required and which would be nice to have? Which are the most important or essential?
What are the top three to five attributes of the UW System that should be exciting to candidates? More generally, why should candidates be excited about coming to UW System?
We look forward to hearing your thoughts and insights. Thank you in advance for participating and helping the Committee drive towards a successful result.
PROFS has previously expressed serious concern about the composition of the search committee and finds a comment website and online listening session to be poor substitutes for appropriate faculty, staff and student participation. These are not examples of shared governance. We again ask the Board of Regents to do better.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Senate voted unanimously yesterday to pass a resolution (below) objecting to the composition of the Search and Screen Committee for the new UW System President. The resolution also called for the Board of Regents to add faculty, staff and students to the committee. Similar resolutions have passed at every comprehensive and doctoral campus within UW System.
Regent President Andrew Petersen named members of the search committee in early November, drawing criticism from governance groups and legislators. The letter PROFS sent to Petersen urging him to include governance groups on the committee is here.
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This legislative update was distributed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Senate meeting today. The senate meets the first Monday of every month at 3:30 pm in Room 272 Bascom Hall during the academic year, October through May, except in January.
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Governor Tony Evers signed Assembly Bill 38 into law last Thursday, November 21. The legislation, named after the late UW-Madison Animal Science professor Mark Cook, streamlines the process by which University of Wisconsin faculty members can enter into research contracts involving the university and an organization with which the same faculty members are connected.
This bipartisan legislation was a top priority for PROFS and was the result of the work of the PROFS Entrepreneurial Work Group, which was led by Cook before his untimely passing.
UW System President Ray Cross said “This law will help accelerate the critical research UW System does to benefit Wisconsin and the world. We’re grateful to the Legislature and Gov. Evers for their bipartisan support of this new law.”
Thanks to Governor Evers for signing the bill and to Representatives Dave Murphy (R-Greenville) and Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) and Senators Dan Feyen (R-Fond du Lac) and Fred Risser (D-Madison) for authoring the bill.
PROFS sent the following letter to University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents President Andrew Petersen. PROFS is deeply concerned that the recently-named search committee does not include any faculty or staff members and urges Petersen to consider adding faculty and staff to the committee.
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