President’s Blog
ENTRY: 10-2-2023
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to you to offer updates about the work of the Faculty Senate, both in the month of August after the deficit announcement to our community and since the beginning of the semester. Please contact your Senator(s) for further detail on any of the information included here or visit me during my posted office hours, and I will be happy to elaborate where possible.
August:
As I shared with the Faculty Senate in my President’s Report at our first meeting on September 19th, shared governance leaders from all three governance groups were informed on August 2nd of the coming announcement about the university’s structural deficit; following that, we attended regular meetings with the Chancellor, as well as the Provost, in which we had opportunities to weigh in with comments, concerns, and suggestions about plans for institutional contraction. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee prepared a memorandum, which we circulated to the Chancellor on August 14th, that requested detailed budgetary data, advocated for a more progressive furlough plan, offered suggestions on how to avoid an across-the-board courseload increase, and asked questions about the administration’s plan for IAS contract nonrenewals.
While our suggestions about the furlough structure did result in a more equitable taxation progression, we have not yet received the budgetary data we requested, though we have been assured as recently as this past week that it is forthcoming. Additionally, while Provost Martini has expressed his commitment to our institution’s future as a research-enhanced comprehensive, we were not successful in provoking a granular discussion of either the current courseload increase or the methods by which IAS contract nonrenewals are being decided.
Prior to its distribution to our university community, the Chancellor also circulated the draft form of the Institutional Realignment Plan to shared governance leadership, and we were able to ask clarifying questions and make suggestions before it was widely shared in its current form.
September:
The Faculty Senate has met once so far this semester, on September 19th. In my President’s Report, I was able to provide Senate with unofficial 10-day census numbers delineating the state of our enrollment and our retention rates, which Amber Evans, our Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Marketing, supplied at a Provost Administrative Staff meeting that morning. I reported on the August 22nd Board of Regents meeting, at which shared governance representatives heard about UW System university budgets and learned that, in addition to the current structural deficits reshaping UW Oshkosh, UW Parkside, and UW Platteville, 10 of the 13 UW universities are currently projecting a structural deficit for 2023-2024. I noted that UW System Administration has hired the consultancy firm Deloitte to audit System universities’ structural deficits and to work with those schools to address their deficits and reduce their future reliance on tuition balances. I updated Senators on the status of the Pay Plan, and informed them that on September 8th I had been interviewed on PBS’s “Here & Now” to discuss the situation at UWO and state disinvestment in the UW System. And I asked Senators to consider requesting that a Faculty Senate update be included as a standing item on their department meeting agendas.
The Senate welcomed Provost Martini as its guest, and he provided us with a report that offered financial background for the current workforce reduction process in which he detailed UWO’s decreased revenues and increased expenses, broke down the structural deficit by fund, and detailed the Institutional Realignment Plan. He also updated the Senate on his ongoing work to finalize the membership for his Academic Planning Group, which will soon be announced to the university community. He offered detailed responses to Senator questions.
The Senate addressed itself to two discussion items, beginning with a statement entitled
“Expectations for Collaboration,” which was prepared by two Senators and circulated to the Senate in advance of our first meeting in order to allow for comments to inform its final shape. This document is addressed to both Chancellor Leavitt and Provost Martini and requests a response by October 1st, 2023. In our discussion, Senators expressed: frustration regarding a lack of communication about UWO’s financial health leading up to the announcement about the structural deficit; frustration that faculty no longer feel that they occupy the job into which they were hired; the belief that the university’s current situation was foreseeable; concerns about the role and perceived value of shared governance — especially in light of the considerable labor expended on policy documents last year, which process was in some cases not informed by clear communication from the administration; concerns about how to promote transparency between the administration and shared governance to enable collaborative work; concerns that the administration does not value the teacher-scholar model; concerns about protecting the university’s commitment to the liberal arts; and concerns that the university should uphold the values stated in UWO’s Strategic Plan. Senators voted to suspend the rules and elevate this discussion item to an action item, and in the subsequent vote on whether to endorse the document and share it with the Chancellor and Provost, it passed unanimously.
The second discussion item considered by the Senate was titled
“Faculty Senate Essential Offices Working Document.” This document was prepared by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC) in response to discussions between shared governance leadership and the administration and identifies three programs and/or offices directly involved in student academic success and/or student retention that Senators felt might be at particular risk in the process of workforce reduction. Senators discussed the document’s function to advocate for programs and positions that can be shown to be directly connected to our academic mission and thus within the Senate’s purview. We discussed that it intentionally does not aim to provide a panoramic perspective on the university as a whole and its many essential offices, programs, and positions, but rather that its authors hoped that in focusing more narrowly, the document might meaningfully inform decisions that could affect student academic success and retention. An objection to the document’s narrow focus was voiced, and it was agreed that subsequent work might be pursued to provide a more encompassing recommendation. In the awareness that time is of the essence during this period of rapid decision-making, Senators voted once again to suspend the rules and elevate this discussion item to an action item, and it was passed by a strong majority in the subsequent vote.
Following the meeting, I shared both of these FS-endorsed documents with the Chancellor (including the Provost on the former). And as the deadline for the “Expectations for Collaboration” statement was today, I am here sharing the response I have this morning received from
Chancellor Leavitt.
Going Forward:
The Senate meets again this Tuesday, and we will be joined by AVC Evans, who will discuss her assessments and plans regarding enrollment and marketing. I will provide a report on the business of this meeting in my next communication, in late October.
I know that we are all awaiting the enactment of the next steps in the workforce reduction and restructuring, and I would like to take this opportunity to state unequivocally that I am in solidarity with all of my colleagues, and especially with those valued colleagues who are facing layoff and nonrenewal. The processes by which our university is being reshaped will require robust faculty engagement and response, and I look forward to continuing to work with the Faculty Senate, shared governance leadership, and university administration in ensuring that we do all we can to provide a platform for faculty engagement and, by these means, protect the university we will inherit as a result of these changes.
Respectfully,
Pascale Manning
Faculty Senate President
ENTRY: 5-15-2023
The Faculty Senate passed three important policies this spring. If they are adopted by Chancellor Leavitt, they will be in effect next year.
The Policy on Extending Faculty Voting Rights to Instructional and University Staff requires departments that wish to have their Instructional Academic Staff vote for department chair to have their faculty Tenure and Renewal Committee evaluate and recommend appointment/non-reappointment of those IAS. This solves two problems. First, it eliminates any conflict of interest that IAS have in voting for the person who recommends them annually for reappointment. Second, it provides a robust evaluation process for IAS, and one that is more aligned with the evaluation process for the faculty.
The Policy on Faculty Evaluation Criteria allows all tenured faculty to choose where to focus their work and therefore the criteria by which that work is evaluated as often as every four years. The UW Colleges (UWC) promotion criteria and Oshkosh college and departmental criteria (OSH) serve as our initial two evaluation pathways because these are the criteria under which the faculty were hired. For example, a tenured faculty member might decide to use OSH criteria requiring peer-reviewed outcomes for four years after tenure and be promoted to Full Professor under those criteria — and then they might choose to select the broader, more flexible promotion UWC criteria that embrace (but do not require) peer-reviewed outcomes for the next four years and be evaluated for Professorial Productivity Salary Increase (PPSI) under those criteria. This effort also ensures that the production of peer-reviewed outcomes is supported. Tenured faculty members who choose OSH criteria for a four-year cycle will have opportunities to apply for reassigned time for scholarship during that period. There are administrative and logistical hurdles to be overcome here — but we will work on those in the coming year.
Finally, the Faculty Salary Equity Technical Document recommends a salary equity process (in the event that money is available for that purpose) that places all faculty in the same (Masters Large) CUPA category for the purpose of salary equity and does not make tiered distinctions among faculty based on location.
We hope that these policies embrace the idea of what it means to be one university and honor the knowledge production inside and outside of the classroom that constitutes the work of our campus community. We want to promote positive discourse going forward.
I wish you a wonderful summer!
Jennifer Szydlik
Faculty Senate President
ENTRY: 5-26-2023
Dear Faculty Colleagues,
We ran out of time at our Senate meeting on Tuesday, so here is a brief President’s Report.
The HLC Peer Team has sent us their report. They were very complimentary and voiced no official concerns. AVC Hill is grateful for our help with the site visit.
Commencement is May 13. We will have two ceremonies in the Kolf Fieldhouse. Regalia is still available! To sign up to walk in graduation, go here: https://uwosh.edu/commencement/faculty-and-staff/
Please do whatever you can to help get our students registered for fall. There are still a large number with registration holds. If you have not done so, please contact your advisees to be sure they are signing up for classes.
Provost Koker announced that he will retire on July 7, 2023. I think that makes this his 32nd year of service to UWO. John Koker is compassionate, thoughtful, and, above all, a problem solver. He has been a tireless advocate for the faculty. I (and all of us) will miss him. Please join me in thanking him for his unwavering support of shared governance.
ENTRY: 4-18-2023
What a tough week for us all! As many of you know, the Faculty Senate is attempting to craft policies that will 1) Honor the Tenure and Promotion evaluation criteria that each faculty member was hired under; 2) Recognize that across the academy, faculty salaries depend upon discipline, rank, and institution type (which is mainly defined by expectations for scholarship and creative activity, with R1 salaries at the top); and 3) Allow faculty to change their evaluation criteria with a declaration. It is worth noting that the Faculty Senate is advisory on the use of the Chancellor’s discretionary funds for salary equity. We are not the deciders.
I have attached (see below) the current drafts of the two relevant policies. Both policies are subject to change and will not be voted on until our May 9 meeting. If you have suggestions, please contact your faculty senator. The Equity Process Technical Document describes how we suggest the salary equity process should run, and the Policy on Changing Faculty Evaluation Criteria describes how to, well, change evaluation criteria.
ENTRY: 3-15-2023
Faculty Senate Leadership has been busy this week participating in HLC accreditation. HLC held a session to discuss shared governance structure and a session in which Faculty Senators answered questions about the work of the faculty at UWO. I also had an opportunity to talk about dual-enrollment programs with Regent Weatherly during his campus visit.
Faculty Senate is at work updating the Faculty Grievance Policy and the Faculty Complaint Policy to make them both more effective and to ensure they comply with UW System and Wisconsin State policies. I would like to thank AVC Carmen Faymonville for her expertise and assistance. We are also discussing how to resolve a conflict of interest with IAS voting for their supervisor (chair). Our current proposal is to require that departments that want their IAS to participate in Chair elections use their Tenure and Promotion Committees to evaluate and recommend the rehiring of eligible IAS.
At our March 7 meeting, the Senate endorsed the following Statement focused on Student Success:
Investing in the Classroom Is Our Best Strategy:
Faculty Senate and UFSO Joint Statement on Support and Retention of First-Year Students
As the elected shared governance representatives of the faculty and the elected leaders of the campus local of the American Federation of Teachers, we enthusiastically encourage all members of the teaching community to participate in the Student Success Initiative launched by Provost Koker and coordinated by campus leaders from CETL, COLS, and the USP. It is crucial that we acknowledge that the disruptions to education caused by the pandemic have left many of our students in greater need of support both pedagogically and emotionally, and that we need to recalibrate our classroom practices to these new realities. The Student Success Initiative provides a welcome spur to such reflection and innovation, affording us crucial opportunities to listen, discuss, and develop pedagogical strategies to support our students as effectively as possible.
With that said, we wish to register our urgent concern that no degree of pedagogical innovation, however well-implemented, will improve student success if instructors of our freshman students do not have adequate time and resources to build relationships with students and to provide them the feedback and support they require. We have gathered the following rough data on how several first-year courses were staffed in Fall 2022:
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Course(s)
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Sections
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% Taught by IAS
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% taught by Faculty
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COMM 111
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41
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75%
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25%
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WRT 110, 188
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41
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83%
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17%
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Quest 1
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65
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46%
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54%
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Math 100, 101, 103, 104*
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39
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90%
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10%
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*We acknowledge that these are not all first-year students.
These numbers reveal that courses specifically aimed at first-year students are disproportionally – indeed overwhelmingly – staffed by IAS, a group that typically teaches 24 credits each year (those with a terminal degree) and 30 credits each year (those without a terminal degree). We now hear that teaching workloads for terminal-degree-holding IAS may be increased to 30 credits each year. We oppose this plan. First-year students are our most precarious students in terms of retention, and to increase the workloads of instructors with the most direct contact with this population as we move into a pivotal Fall 2023 semester is a disaster in the making.
More generally, we ask both the administration and the university community to consider whether any instructor should teach more than 12 credits per semester in this post-pandemic era, in which increased student support is paramount. We assert that student-instructor relationships are decisive in determining whether students stay and succeed at UWO. We remind our administration of the importance of continued robust support for research and creative activities, as enshrined in the university policy on Scope of Faculty Responsibilities and Workload. And we call for investments in the classroom that will promote and sustain the kind of relationship-rich education that will benefit all of us – students, instructors, and the university as a whole.
Endorsed at Faculty Senate 3-7-2023
ENTRY: 2-8-2023
UWO Updates
At our February 7 meeting, the Senate passed two policies related to expectations around teaching. The first is a Policy on Credits and Contact Hours that defines a credit hour aligned with HLC requirements. The second policy defines “regular and substantive interaction” and requires that instructors provide a minimum of 1 hour per week for 14 weeks per credit (or the equivalent) for all course modalities. This policy puts us in compliance with US Department of Education requirements for online and hybrid courses and clarifies the variety of activities that compose regular and substantive interaction.
Our Senate Committees are at work studying DFW rates, investigating ways to promote UWO among local businesses; advocating for faculty salary equity using CUPA data; looking at ways to make courses more accessible to a diversity of students; planning recommendations for displaying and summarizing SOS data for the purpose of tenure and promotion; creating an evaluation process and evaluation schedule for UWO AVCs, the provost, and the chancellor; monitoring budget planning for the coming year; and studying the grievance policy, the plagiarism policy, and the policy on department chair appointments. We will be discussing these issues at meetings in the coming months.
System Updates
UW System has formed a working group to study the expansion of dual enrollment courses across the state. They are also working on updating a policy on faculty professional development (I am a member of that working group) and one on intellectual property — this second policy is particularly urgent given the proliferation of online content.
System has released the results of a Free Speech Survey. As a mathematician, I note that the methodology of the survey is subject to significant non-response bias (12% response rate). This type of bias amplifies the concerns of respondents with strong feelings because they are likely overrepresented in the sample. All interpretations of results should be qualified by that fact. Here is a link to the results: https://www.wisconsin.edu/civil-dialogue/
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The University of Wisconsin System institutions share in the responsibility to create an environment where members of the campus community may freely engage with others. This includes upholding the legal […]
www.wisconsin.edu
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ENTRY: 11-17-2022
This semester, the Faculty Senate provided feedback to the Strategic Planning Committee and debated a Vehicle Idling policy and Credit and Contact Hours policy.
Our Senate Committees are at work studying DFW rates, investigating ways to promote UWO among local businesses; advocating for faculty salary equity using CUPA data; looking at ways to make courses more accessible to a diversity of students; planning recommendations for displaying and summarizing SOS data for the purpose of tenure and promotion; creating an evaluation process and evaluation schedule for UWO AVCs, the provost, and the chancellor; monitoring budget planning for the coming year; and studying the grievance policy, the plagiarism policy, and the policy on department chair appointments.
At the System level, faculty representatives from across the 13 campuses provided feedback on the proposed UW System Strategic Plan and a free-speech survey that President Rothman hopes will “… shed light on our students’ understanding of the First Amendment, including their rights and responsibilities.” President Rothman has also announced the launch of a new website with resources to help faculty and staff promote and navigate civil dialogue across the System:
https://www.wisconsin.edu/civil-dialogue/
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UW System Policy & Legal Resources. Learn about civil dialogue policies and legal resources at UW System campuses such as off-campus speech and social media, posters, marches, use of space on campus, and uninvited speakers.
www.wisconsin.edu
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Jen Szydlik
ENTRY: 10-31-2022
The Fall 2022 semester brings Strategic Planning for both UWO and UW System. Know that your Faculty Senators and your Faculty Representatives at System have been busy providing input for these endeavors. For the latest draft of the UWO plan, look here:
https://uwosh.edu/strategicplan/. For a draft of the UW System plan, check this site:
https://www.wisconsin.edu/news/download/bor/UW-System-Strategic-Plan-Update.pdf
As Faculty Senate President, I am helping to write three sections of the HLC Assurance Argument for our visit in the Spring. Out of the effort I learned that more than 25% of our CAPP adjuncts have not yet completed the required 18 graduate credits in the discipline they teach for UWO. This prompted CAPP leadership and I to write guidelines that will assure that these instructors are supported in reaching HLC compliance by 2025 (our extended deadline for completing those 18 credits). I note that individual departments can require more restrictive guidelines (and deadlines) if they wish. Please reach out to me or the CAPP office for more information.
The Senate is currently considering a Vehicle Idling policy and a policy defining “Substantive Interaction” for asynchronous online courses. You are always welcome to join us.
ENTRY: 9-27-2022
This fall the Faculty Senate is focused on providing a strong faculty voice in the Strategic Planning process at UWO. We are hoping to discuss the latest draft with members of the Strategic Planning committee at our next virtual meeting on October 4, 2022. All are welcome.
In UW System news … System has completed a review of affordability. They found that while we compare very favorably to our peer institutions in other states, students from low-income groups are still unable to afford college in Wisconsin. In response, President Rothman has announced the Wisconsin Tuition Promise. This program will ensure, “underserved Wisconsin students can attend any UW System university without paying tuition or fees. The goal of the program is to increase the number of state residents who graduate with a bachelor’s degree – especially first-generation students and those from low-to-moderate income families throughout Wisconsin – thereby improving individual lives and communities and helping meet the state’s workforce needs. The Wisconsin Tuition Promise would provide up to four years of tuition and fee funding for students coming from families earning less than $62,000 annually and enrolling at the 12 public universities other than UW-Madison.” This program was funded this year by the UW System; in future years it will require a commitment from the legislature. For more information, check out this site:
https://www.wisconsin.edu/tuition-promise/UW System is also in the midst of strategic planning. While much of the earliest draft (released today as part of the Board of Regents’ agenda) was written in consultation with the Chancellors from across the state, President Rothman has had two meetings with shared governance (one in June and another on September 26) to elicit ideas. We hope to have even more involvement going forward.
The UW System is responding to a need for increased mental health services with new initiatives. They have signed a contract with Mantra Health for supplemental telehealth services for our students; they are implementing a well-being portal called YOU at College to direct students to resources; and they have created a new suicide prevention training for faculty and staff that will soon be available in Canvas. They have also launched a Healthy Minds app. You can try it at
https://hminnovations.org/meditation-app
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Dr. Richard Davidson “[The Healthy Minds Program app] is NOT simply a mindfulness app. While it includes mindfulness, it is based on research that identifies four key pillars of well-being that each need to be trained to establish enduring flourishing.
hminnovations.org
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ENTRY: 5-17-2022
The Faculty Senate finished the academic year by passing the Policy on Scope of Faculty Responsibilities and Workload. This policy codifies a structure for faculty to reassign portions of teaching load to substantive scholarly or service activities and supports UWO in becoming a research-enhanced comprehensive institution. We thank the Working Group led by Stephen Kercher for their work on this important policy, and Provost Koker and Chancellor Leavitt for their support.
At our final meeting, we endorsed a resolution from Oshkosh Student Association (OSA) declaring the first week of April to honor graduate and professional students at UWO. We thank our student governance body for giving us the opportunity to join them in honoring this important group.
On the horizon: further participation in academic and strategic planning; work on a policy providing faculty oversight of our Cooperative Academic Partnership Program (CAPP); and participation in the development of policy and practices related to UWO+ (our suite of online asynchronous degree programs).
ENTRY: 4-13-2022
Faculty Senate election results are in! Congratulations to our new Senators and our returning Senators: Christine Tipps, Catherine Schmitt, Nathan Stuart, Anna Hersey, Pascale Manning, Evan Williams, Jim Feldman, Jason Belnap, Eric Matson and Mike Jurmu. I am also delighted to announce that Pascale Manning is our new President-Elect.
The Faculty Senate is hard at work on the Policy on Scope of Faculty Responsibilities and Workload. This policy incorporates the excellent work of a group charged last summer by Provost Koker and chaired by Stephen Kercher focused on reassigned time for scholarship and creative activities. We are also discussing proposed Strategic Priorities written by the Strategic Planning group. There will soon be an opportunity for all faculty and staff to comment on these priorities. Please do so.
The UW System Board of Regents (BOR) met on April 7 and 8. The BOR approved a transfer agreement between UWO and Fox Valley Technical College. FVTC may now offer an associate’s degree that we will accept. The BOR also approved our purchase of the Associated Bank building near Titan Stadium. The new building will be home to the Titan Thunder Marching Band as will provide needed storage and office space for our athletic programs.
ENTRY: 2-28-2022
The spring semester is in full swing, and the Faculty Senate is at work updating our committee structure to include all-campus Collegia on the Fox and Fond du Lac campuses, contributing to the UW System Presidential Transition Recommendations, providing feedback on Academic and Strategic Planning, and monitoring work on a Faculty Workload policy that will describe a process allowing faculty reassigned time for scholarship.
The UW System Board of Regents (BOR) met on February 10 and 11. The BOR approved two new UW Oshkosh degrees: the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Leadership and Organizational Development and the Executive Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.). They also voted to continue to allow our application fee to be set at $0.
Tommy Thompson will be on the UW Oshkosh campus on Monday, March 7 for the last time in his role as UW System President to meet with campus leadership. We appreciate his advocacy and leadership during the pandemic.
Faculty Senate elections are coming with a call for nominations on Wednesday, March 2. Faculty, please consider running. We need your voice.
Jennifer Szydlik
Faculty Senate President
ENTRY: 12-14-2021
Here is an end-of-the-semester update on all things Faculty Senate!
At our November 16 meeting, the Faculty Senate approved an updated charge and membership description for the Academic Policies Committee to better reflect their work. We also considered recommendations from Provost Koker’s working group on Total Title and Compensation (TTC) titles for Instructional Academic Staff (IAS). The working group recommended that UWO use two titles (Lecturer and Assistant Teaching Professor) for IAS. The working group also recommended that UWO not adopt “business titles” to create a structure for title progression outside of HR. The Faculty Senate declined to endorse both recommendations.
At our December 7 meeting, the Faculty Senate endorsed a letter addressed to UW System President Tommy Thompson, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Anny Morrobel-Sosa, and Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Daniel Chanen expressing our disappointment in the loss of title progression for our staff colleagues and our frustration with the TTC titling options for IAS.
The Board of Regents met on December 9. At that meeting, President Thompson reported that UW System has provided more than one million Covid 19 tests to students, faculty, staff, and the public. We will continue to provide testing through this winter. We have also led the way on vaccinations.
The UW System Presidential Search Committee has sent a list of finalists to the Special Regents Committee — but they have not released the names. There will be an opportunity for some Faculty Representatives to meet with the finalists in late January. I will try to be a part of that delegation.
UW System has launched a Student Behavioral Health Initiative to address increased cases of anxiety and depression. They are working to provide help in crises, target vulnerable populations for services, and promote well-being and healthy working environments. UW System has implemented a digital mental health platform (SilverCloud) available to all faculty, staff, and students (Feel free to make use of the platform: https://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/well-being/mental-health/)
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SilverCloud. SilverCloud is an online, anonymous, self-guided, interactive resource that provides UW System students, faculty, and staff with no-cost, confidential help with mental health well-being and stress management.
www.wisconsin.edu
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The Joint Committee on Employee Relations (JCOER) of the Wisconsin Legislature has yet to schedule a meeting to endorse the pay plan. This means that UW System salary increases may be delayed.
Finally, the BOR Education Committee has lengthened the “temporary suspension” of the use of the SAT or ACT in UW System admissions until 2024. (Students may still test if they wish to do so.)
I wish you all a wonderful end of the semester and a relaxing holiday season.
Jennifer Szydlik
Faculty Senate President
ENTRY: 11-18-2021
Here on the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh campus, the Strategic Planning Working Group has begun “mission and visioning exercises.” They are now reaching out to shared governance for input. Contact Chad Cotti if you want to hear more about this project.
Provost Koker briefly considered a partnership with a for-profit company called Academic Partners to create asynchronous undergraduate degree programs for nontraditional students. After input from faculty and a study of financial implications, he has declined to partner with that group.
At our November 16 meeting the Faculty Senate expressed frustration and disappointment in the Total Title and Compensation (TTC) initiative from UW System Human Resources. Senators declined to endorse the recommendations of the TTC Working Group that 1) UWO use the titles of “Lecturer” and “Assistant Teaching Professor” and 2) that UWO discontinue the use of prefixes for IAS titles (e.g., “Senior Lecturer”). The final decision will be made by Provost Koker.
Jen Szydlik
Faculty Senate President
November 18, 2021
Board of Regents Meeting and UW System Updates
The UW System Board of Regents met on our campus on October 7 and 8. Chancellor Leavitt addressed the BOR highlighting University Studies Program, the Cooperative Academic Partnership Program (CAPP) and UWO’s success at leading the charge for testing and vaccinations in the community. He also stressed that our three campuses are positioned in an industry-rich part of the state, and this provides for unique opportunities.
A UW System reported on an initiative called “Pathways to UW” that invests in “college navigators” to work with high school students who might not otherwise consider attending college. President Thompson announced that seven UW institutions have made the threshold of 70% vaccinations. The deadline for the “70 for 70” campaign has been extended for two weeks. He noted also that UW System positivity rate last week was less than 1%, and about 80% of system courses are in person. Finally, President Manydeeds announced a 72-credit transfer agreement between technical colleges and the UW System.
The BOR will consider changes to Regent Policy Document 6-4 related to the search process for UW chancellors at their November 4th meeting. The draft is open for comments until Friday, October 22: https://www.wisconsin.edu/regents/draft-policy-proposals-for-comment/. Please comment. This is an opportunity to advocate for strong faculty representation on important search committees.
Jen Szydlik
Faculty Senate President
October 14, 2021
Welcome to our Sesquicentennial Year!
We are celebrating 150 years of excellence and opportunity here at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. If you missed the celebration on September 12, you can still visit the Gail F. Steinhilber Art Gallery on the third floor of Reeve Memorial Union to view the Humans of Oshkosh and Sesquicentennial Rephotography Project.
On Monday September 27, faculty have the opportunity participate in a listening session with Regent Karen Walsh regarding the search for a new University of Wisconsin System president. The session will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Reeve memorial Union Ballroom 227BC. Please attend! It is important that faculty help shape the search criteria.
Five finalists for the College of Letters and Science dean’s search are visiting campus during the next few weeks. Watch your email for opportunities to meet these candidates and to provide input to the search committee.
Join us for “An Evening With Tommy Thompson” on October 6 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Music Hall on the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh campus. Tommy Thompson is the current president of the University of Wisconsin System. He served as the 42nd Governor for our state and as the 19th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services in the cabinet of President George W. Bush.
The UW System Board of Regents will meet on our campus on October 7 and 8. Watch for opportunities to participate.
Dr. Szydlik, Faculty Senate President
September 23, 2021
