Feature Articles

Message from the Provost

Budget Forums and Meetings Schedule

UW-Eau Claire announces the creation of the English Language Academy

Campus Campaign: Investing in excellence through annual, quasi-endowed or endowed funds
This article continues a series discussing the impact of Campus Campaign contributions and the different ways faculty and staff can support the campaign.

UW-Eau Claire faculty and staff determining how to participate in Campus Campaign 2002-03 have several choices to make when deciding where to direct their gifts and pledges. The first step is to determine which of the following options best meets the faculty or staff member's giving goals:

• Directing a gift or pledge to support UW-Eau Claire's areas of greatest need (these gifts go to the university's Excellence Fund).
• Contributing to one of the UW-Eau Claire Foundation's existing annual or endowed funds, which support specific departments, programs and scholarships.
• Starting, perhaps collectively with other faculty and staff, a new annual or endowed fund through the Foundation.

A gift or pledge will support the Excellence Fund when an employee selects "Please use my gift for UW-Eau Claire's areas of greatest need" on the Campus Campaign pledge/contribution card.

To contribute to an existing annual or endowed fund, a faculty and/or staff member can simply indicate the name of that fund on his or her pledge/contribution card. The Foundation currently has 507 annual funds and 464 endowed funds that support departments, programs and scholarships across the university. To find out if an existing fund supports the cause important to you, contact the Foundation by calling 836-5630 or sending e-mail to fdn@uwec.edu.

To start a new annual or endowed fund, an employee or group of employees should follow the process outlined in last week's University Bulletin. In addition, the employee(s) should determine whether the new fund will be an annual, quasi-endowed or fully endowed fund.

Annual Funds
With an annual fund, the entire balance in the account is immediately available to support the purpose indicated by those who establish the fund. Any disbursements from the fund must be approved by the designated account contact person. An annual fund balance does not earn interest; the account grows only as contributions are made to the fund.

Endowed Funds
An endowment is a fund established to permanently support a specific need at the university. The donor or donors who establish the endowment can name the fund and designate its use to support the values they hold most dear. Disbursements then follow the fund's guidelines.

Unlike gifts received for immediate use, endowed gifts keep giving over time. They are placed in accounts from which the annual investment earnings are used for the purpose(s) specified by the donor(s). An endowment provides a sustainable source of revenue for its intended beneficiary(ies) at the university. The department, university program or scholarship fund supported by an endowment can count on its annual support when planning for the future.

An endowment is established when an account contains a minimum of $10,000 and when the donor or donors express their wish to endow the fund. A donor can create an endowment by making a lump-sum gift of $10,000 or more, or by making several payments over time until the minimum endowment amount is reached. Anyone can contribute to an endowed fund at any time. There is no limit to an endowment size.

There are two types of endowed accounts: full endowments and quasi-endowments. With a full endowment, only the investment earnings are used for the fund's specified purpose(s). With a quasi-endowment, the donor can authorize the use of a portion of the fund's principal to meet needs not sufficiently met with just the investment earnings.

Next week: What is the difference between restricted and unrestricted gifts, and how are both types of gifts used to meet the greatest needs of the university?

Provost Ronald Satz

My colleagues on the Academic Affairs Leadership Council, the Chancellor's Ad-Hoc Budget Group and I view the Jan. 31 submission as the beginning of a process rather than the culmination of one. The ideas presented by the deans and directors are being reviewed; they will be reviewed again when Gov. Doyle's budget is announced along with other ideas that emerge during the upcoming forums and meetings (see below); and they will undoubtedly be reviewed again when the Governor acts on the budget passed by the legislature. Even now, while we await word of the Governor's intentions, some modifications already have been proposed in some of the plans submitted to the Chancellor in order to take into account new circumstances and/or to correct some errors in calculations. Nevertheless, the important fact is that discussions have begun and ideas have been generated and revised based on those discussions.

The purpose of this letter is to solicit your thoughts and ideas on how to address the impending budget reductions while strategically maintaining our core mission. In order to share information about the planning that has gone on to date and to solicit additional ideas from members of the entire university community, I have scheduled a series of open meetings, and I call your attention to other meetings that will deal with the budget. It is my hope that these sessions will assist us in taking steps to protect our mission in a time of fiscal uncertainty. I look forward to and encourage your participation in the open forums listed below.

Budget Forums and Meeting Schedule
Following is a schedule of forums and meetings to address the budget challenges. The open forums are in boldface type. Students also are invited to attend any of the following open forums:

• Monday, Feb. 10
  Chancellor's Roundtable with Students on the Wisconsin State Budget and Other Issues. Menominee Room, Davies Center, 4 to 5:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, Feb. 12
  Open Forum for all Members of the University Community. Phillips Hall, Room 7, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
  • Review planning principles and guidelines already in place. (Visit the Web at web.uwec.edu, enter your user name and password and click on the Academic Affairs Office link.)
  • General overview of budget reduction exercise submitted to Chancellor.
  • Solicit comments and additional suggestions regarding criteria by which we should make actual required reductions.
  • Solicit suggestions on specific areas in which reductions could be made.
  • Solicit ideas concerning ways in which we could increase revenue and/or utilize non-GPR to protect instruction and instructional support.
• Tuesday, Feb. 18
  Gov. Doyle's Budget Address
• Thursday, Feb. 20
  Department Chairs Meeting on Budget Planning. Library 2023 A and B, 9:30 to 11 a.m.
• Friday, Feb. 21
  Open Forum for the Campus: "Issues, Thoughts and Considerations for Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff on Budget Planning." Davies Theatre, 2 to 4 p.m.
• Monday, Feb. 24
  Open Forum for the Campus: "Issues, Thoughts and Considerations for Classified Staff on Budget Planning." Bring lunch trays or brown bag lunch; tables provided. Presidents Room, Davies Center, noon to 1 p.m., and Eagle Room, Davies Center, 5 to 6 p.m.

  University Planning Committee, Discussion of Five-Year Strategic Plan/Update for 2003-05. Clearwater Room, Davies Center, 1 to 3 p.m.

• Wednesday, Feb. 26
  Deans and Directors Meeting on Budget Planning. Library 2023 A and B, 8:30 to 10 a.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 27
  Open Forum for the Campus: "Issues, Thoughts and Considerations for Administrative and Professional Academic Staff on Budget Planning." Bring lunch trays or brown bag lunch; tables provided. Council Fire Room, Davies Center, noon to 2 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 4
  Chancellor, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Business and Student Services meet with University Senate Budget Committee to Report on Budget Planning. Location to be announced, 1 to 2 p.m.
• In Addition
  Individuals who are unable to attend one of the open meetings may e-mail Provost Satz at rsatz@uwec.edu, or, if you prefer anonymity, send your comments via campus mail.

UW-Eau Claire announces the creation of the English Language Academy
The Intensive English Program at UW-Eau Claire has undergone many changes during the past few years. Kate Mastruserio Reynolds joined the department of foreign languages as director of TESOL and campus coordinator of ESL Programming in the fall of 2001. The most profound changes have occurred in the development of an innovative new content-based English as a Second Language curriculum, program title change and recruitment and admissions procedures.

Currently, 14 courses have been approved through all appropriate channels and will be officially implemented during the fall 2003 semester. Due to the dedication and collaboration of the ESL staff during the past year, this daunting task has been realized. The state-of-the-art curriculum intertwines language learning with content-based instruction, which is the marriage of language learning and the study of subject matter such as geography. This marriage is viewed as best practice in the ESL profession and places UW-Eau Claire's English Language Academy on the cutting edge of the profession.

The program's new courses include "Integrated Language Skills (levels 1, 2, and 3) for ESL Learners," "Business English for ESL Learners," "Theater for ESL Learners," "Current Global Events for ESL Learners" and "Introduction to the Institutions and Culture of the USA."

Along with the new curriculum, probably the most noticeable change is in the name. The Intensive English Language Program and the Credit ESL Program have unified into the English Language Academy. This change signifies a cooperative effort between the department of foreign languages, Continuing Education and the Center for International Education, which brings under one roof all credit-bearing and non-credit bearing ESL instruction on campus. Furthermore, the ELA program has been customized to operate year-round.

Due to these modifications, revised recruitment and admissions procedures have been outlined for the university community. At this time, all inquiries about international students or non-native speakers of English should be directed to the Center for International Education at 836-4411 or inted@uwec.edu.

A joint brochure has been developed for members of the university community to take with them on overseas travel. If faculty or staff members are interested in obtaining copies for distribution abroad, contact the Center for International Education.

University Bulletin
Published weekly during the fall and spring sessions by the UW-Eau Claire News Bureau. News items and notices should be sent to the News Bureau, Schofield 201, by 10 a.m. Monday for publication in the following week's issue. E-mail submissions are encouraged. Faculty/staff news items are published on a space-available basis.