Guest – Chancellor Leavitt: Chancellor Leavitt joined us for about an hour. He provided updates on the state of the University, including budgetary implications of a revenue shortfall due to lower than expected enrollment and retention this academic year. Chancellor talked about the demographic and economic pressures and opportunities of our location in the Fox Valley now and into the future. He fielded questions about enrollment trends, recruitment and retention efforts, and international student recruitment; and he highlighted the need for university engagement in collective conversations about how we will address the opportunities and challenges facing higher education generally, and specifically in our regional context, as we move forward.

Strategic Plan discussion: Provost Koker gave an update and overview of the process of reworking the UWO strategic plan in response to restructuring at our October 8th meeting; at that time he invited Faculty Senate to provide feedback. For the meeting on the 22nd we dedicated time to a broad and productive conversation about changes to the strategic plan. Comments focused in particular on our shared values, the nature of the educational mission, and the transitional moment. Feedback has been shared with the Provost and Chancellor both in writing and in person.