Tag: governance

UW System Special Regent Committee on Governance Issues

by Michelle Felber • August 30, 2021 • Comments Off

Earlier this month, University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents President Ed Manydeeds appointed six Regents to a special committee to examine governance issues. The creation of the Special Regent Committee on Governance Issues is the result of a resolution passed at the Board’s May meeting.

Manydeeds appointed the following Regents to the committee:

Regent Scott Beightol
Regent Héctor Colón
Regent Michael Grebe
Regent Tracey Klein
Regent John Miller
Regent Cris Peterson

Manydeeds and Regent Vice President Karen Walsh will serve as ex officio members of the committee, which will be chaired by Regent Klein.

The committee’s first meeting is at 2:30 pm, Tuesday, August 31. The full agenda is below and a link to join the Webex stream of the meeting is here.

After discussing the committee’s charge, the members will discuss the chancellor search process. UW System Interim Vice President Jeff Buhrandt will discuss proposed changes to Regent Policy Document 6-4, “Selection Process for System President, Chancellors, Vice Chancellors and UW System Senior Leadership Positions.” Changing the composition of the chancellor search committees is among the proposed changes.

Regents most recently made changes to RPD 6-4 in 2017 when they voted to add language to the policy that limited the size of search committees to ten — five Regents and five members of the university community, including two faculty members. Regents also added language to the policy that removed the requirement for a chancellor to have earned a terminal degree in their field.

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PROFS Asks JFC Co-Chairs for Budget Changes

by Michelle Felber • June 27, 2017 • Comments Off

PROFS President Judith Burstyn, incoming PROFS President Dorothy Farrar-Edwards, and PROFS Chair Anja Wanner sent a letter (below) to Joint Finance Committee Co-Chairs Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) and Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) asking for two important changes to the 2017-19 state budget.

The changes relate to requirements for the University of Wisconsin System President and chancellors and governance of the proposed UW-Madison Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

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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

Shared Governance Reception

by Michelle Felber • October 6, 2014 • Comments Off

UW-Madison will host its first-ever shared governance reception for faculty and staff tomorrow, Tuesday, October 7 from 3 to 5 pm in the Sonata Room of the Gordon Event Center, 770 West Dayton Street. Chancellor Rebecca Blank will deliver remarks at 3:30 pm.

Unlike some universities, shared governance at UW System institutions is codified in Wisconsin statutes and Board of Regent policy. PROFS is a product of shared governance, having been created by the Faculty Senate in 1976. We encourage faculty to attend the reception and learn more about shared governance and how to become more involved in governance groups and committees.

University Boards and the New Normal

by Michelle Felber • June 10, 2014 • Comments Off

Jane Wellman, the executive director of the National Commission on College and University Board Governance, will visit UW-Madison tomorrow and participate in a discussion on changes to college and university boards.

University Boards and the New Normal, a conversation with Jane Wellman will be held at 4 pm on Wednesday, June 11 in Room 159 Education, 1000 Bascom Mall. It is free and open to the public.

The talk is sponsored by WISCAPE, the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education.

The continued defunding of public higher education has put enormous pressure on governance boards, and in some cases, resulted in changes to shared governance. Wellman will discuss these challenges and explore ways in which to improve the functionality of public-sector governing boards.

Regents Look for Common Ground

by Michelle Felber • August 30, 2013 • Comments Off

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will use the first day of its regularly-scheduled September meeting to reach out to legislators and state officials. The special conference will be held at noon on Thursday, September 5 in Gordon…

Michael Bernard-Donals: University of Virginia’s Experience Resonates Here

by Michelle Felber • July 9, 2012 • Comments Off

English and Jewish Studies professor Michael Bernard-Donals offers his perspective on the University of Virginia crisis in the Sunday, June 8 Wisconsin State Journal. Bernard-Donals, a member of the University Committee, the PROFS Board of Directors, and the PROFS Steering…

Turmoil at UVA

by Michelle Felber • June 26, 2012 • Comments Off

The University of Virginia Board of Visitors voted unanimously this afternoon to reinstate its president, Teresa Sullivan, who was forced to resign earlier this month. The reaction to the forced resignation was strong and swift in Virginia and around the…

ASM’s Affordable Textbook Campaign

by Michelle Felber • March 4, 2010 • Comments Off

Associated Students of Madison (ASM) is working to reduce textbook costs for students, helping making higher education more affordable. As we all know, and as Jonah Zinn from ASM underscored at the February Faculty Senate meeting, textbook costs have risen…