University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman appeared on WISC-TV’s For the Record. In an interview with Naomi Kowles, Rothman discussed continuing an in-state undergraduate tuition freeze, his support of incoming UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, plans to implement a modified campus free speech survey in the fall, and how he plans to work with members of the Wisconsin Legislature.
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The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will meet in Madison on Thursday and Friday, February 10 and 11. UW-Madison is hosting the meeting, which will be held in Union South’s Varsity Hall, 1308 West Dayton Street. Registration for the Webex videoconference of the meeting is here.
Regents are invited to a site visit and reception at the College of Engineering Wednesday evening. Regent business will not be conducted during this informational visit. A new building on the Engineering campus is top priority of UW-Madison, and Governor Tony Evers recently signed bipartisan legislation providing $1 million to plan and design the building.
Regents begin the two-day meeting with committee work on Thursday morning:
The Audit Committee will discuss several reports and consider a new policy relating to youth programs on UW System campuses.
The Capital Planning and Budget Committee will hear a presentation by UW-Madison on future facilities planning and consider granting authority for UW-Madison to sell two parcels of land to University Research Park and design and renovate two lab spaces.
The Research, Economic Development and Innovation Committee will hear a report from UW-Madison on recent biotechnology research and discuss corporate research and clinical trial contracting processes.
The Business and Finance Committee will hear a report from UW-Madison on strategic investments and consider approval of several agreements at UW-Madison and UW System. They will also hear updates on the budget and gifts, grants, and contracts.
The Education Committee will consider approval of a realignment of academic units at UW-Milwaukee, a transfer agreement between UW-Stevens Point and North Central Technical College, and ten new degree programs, including three at UW-Madison. Committee members will also discuss a change to the class audit policy and application fees waivers and reductions. UW-Madison will also host a presentation on student academic success.
The full board meeting Thursday afternoon includes updates from Regent President Edmund Manydeeds and a presentation from UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank. The Regents will move into closed session to discuss compensation agreements for three UW-Madison football coaches, an employee who earns more than 75% of the UW System President’s salary, and UW System chancellors and president. The Regents will also discuss crime prevention and detection strategies.
On Friday, the Regents will hear an update from outgoing UW System Interim President Tommy Thompson. Thompson has served as interim president since June 2020 and will step down March 18. Last month, Regents named Milwaukee attorney Jay Rothman as UW System President. Rothman begins his duties June 1 and former Regent President Michael Falbo will serve as interim president from March 18 until Rothman takes office.
The Regents have cancelled their one-day meeting on March 10.
The Wisconsin Legislature continues to propose legislation and hold public meetings, and PROFS is lobbying on and monitoring several pieces of legislation:
UW System Presidential Search and UW-Madison Chancellor Search
The UW System Presidential Search Committee met in closed session last week to discuss and interview semi-finalist candidates. Regents have said they hope to announce a new president in early 2022.
Last month, the Board of Regents voted to approve changes to Regent Policy Document 6.4, which outlines President and Chancellor searches. PROFS worked with UW System Interim President Tommy Thompson and the Regents, and successfully advocated for the changes which will allow for greater representation of shared governance groups on search committees. The UW-Madison Chancellor Search Committee was announced last Thursday. A list of committee members is on the PROFS website.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will meet in Madison on Thursday and Friday, December 9 and 10. The meeting will be held in the Gordon Dining and Event Center, 770 West Dayton Street. Webex coverage of the meeting is also available by registering here.
Regents are meeting in committee Thursday morning:
The Business and Finance Committee has many agenda items that relate to UW-Madison — a proposal to increase out-of-state tuition rates by 2%, generating an additional $8 million for the university; the approval of several agreements and contracts; the annual faculty turnover report; and a presentation that outlines a possible real estate strategy that would benefit the university economically.
The Education Committee will hear several reports, consider approval of 4 new degree programs at UW-Milwaukee, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stevens Point and UW-River Falls, and discuss extending the temporary suspension of the requirement for ACT or SAT requirements for admission to UW System institutions through 2024-25,
The Audit Committee will hear several updates and reports on compliance and annual audits.
The Capital Planning & Budget Committee will consider granting approval to plan or revise several building projects, including the new Data Sciences and Engineering buildings. The committee will also hear a number of reports, including a presentation on UW-Madison’s proposed real estate strategy for future economic growth for the institution (mentioned above).
The Research, Economic Development & Innovation Committee will hear updates on UW-Madison’s biotechnology research and university-industry partnerships that could grow Midwestern technology hubs.
The full board will meet at 1 pm Thursday. Regent President Ed Manydeeds will provide an update on the UW System Presidential search and the UW-Madison Chancellor search. UW System Interim President Tommy Thompson will also provide an update on winter commencement and legislative and staffing issues before the board moves into closed session.
The board will meet at 8:45 am Friday morning and vote on committee action from Thursday. The board will also recognize the service of Regent Emerita Olivia Woodmansee. An optional closed session rounds out the agenda.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents is meeting at UW-Oskhosh today and tomorrow. Registration for livestream coverage of the pubic portions of the meeting is here.
This morning, the board met in closed session before breaking to meet in committee:
The full board will meet at 1 pm and hear updates from Regent President Ed Manydeeds and Interim President Tommy Thompson. UW-Oshkosh President Andrew Leavitt will also speak on the role of the comprehensive university, and Dr. Eve Fine will discuss unconscious bias and assumptions when evaluating job prospects. Fine is Director of Curriculum and Development at UW-Madison’s Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute. The board will conclude its work this afternoon in closed session.
Friday, the board will consider approval of committee action, hear a presentation on the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and present the 2021 University Staff Excellence Awards.
The Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities is holding a public hearing on two bills this morning, including Assembly Bill 413, legislation that would prohibit instruction on systemic racism (referred to by some as Critical Race Theory) at UW System and the Wisconsin Technical College System. PROFS strongly opposes this legislation and is registered against bill and its companion, Senate Bill 409.
PROFS offered written testimony from PROFS President Michael Bernard-Donals to the committee:
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Last Thursday, University of Wisconsin System Interim President Tommy Thompson participated in a virtual WisPolitics luncheon and shared his plans to welcome students, faculty, and staff back to campus this fall. Thompson also reiterated his view that the Legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules does not have authority to require UW System to submit Covid-19 policies to the committee for its approval.
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:
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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Pushing back against a directive by the Legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR), UW System Interim President Tommy Thompson offered his thoughts in an op-ed released today.
Earlier this month, the Republican-led committee voted along party lines and ordered UW System to submit Covid-19 related policies to the committee as emergency rules subject to JCRAR approval.
Thompson said today he doesn’t believe the committee has oversight and does not plan to comply with the committee’s order. His op-ed is below.
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