UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE

UNIVERSITY SENATE MEETING

VOL. 44, NO. 1

September 11, 2007

Members Present:

Robin Baker, Rose Battalio, Ned Beach, Judy Blackstone, Janice Bogstad, Jacqueline Bonneville, January Boten, Jennifer Brockpahler, Michael Carney, Barbara Davis, Patrick Day, Margaret Devine, Gary Don, Michael Dorsher, Jeff Erger, Leslie Foster, Mitchell Freymiller, Andrea Gapko, Susan Harrison, Ann Hoffman, Robert Hollon, Robert Hooper, Rosemary Jadack, Jeffrey Janot, Debra Jansen, Dale Johnson, Lia Johnson, Harry Jol, Fred Kolb, Heather Kretz, Amanda Krier, Kate Lang, Brian Levin-Stankevich, Bruce Lo, David Lonzarich, Barbara Lozar, Brian Mahoney, Karl Markgraf, Sean McAleer, Sue Moore, Mike Morrison, Jill Pastrana, Geoffrey Peterson, Donna Raleigh, Rick Richmond, Scott Robertson, Sherrie Serros, Earl Shoemaker, Nick Smiar, Linda Spaeth, Laurie St. Aubin-Whelihan, Jan Stirm, Steve Tallant, Troy Terhark, Charles Tomkovick, Charles Vue, Scott Whitfield, Marty Wood, Deborah Wright

Members Absent:

Larry Honl, Tim Lippold, Tarique Niazi, Jill Prushiek, Mehdi Sheikholeslami, Sharon Westphal, Rebecca Wurzer

Guests:

John Bachmeier, Mary Jane Brukardt, Donald Christian, Chip Eckardt, Marc Goulet, Gretchen Hutterli, Robert Knight, Jennifer Lee, Donald Mowry, Chris Nielson, Teresa O’Halloran, Heather Pearson, Andrew Phillips, Kathy Sahlhoff, Gail Scukanec, Andrew Soll, Donna Weber, Elaine Wendt

The regular opening meeting of the 44th Session of University Senate was called to order by Chair Wood at 3:04 p.m. on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 in the Tamarack Room of Davies Center.

I. Without objection, 44^th Session of University Senate to be conducted using Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 2000 Edition, 10^th Edition, with following Order of Business adopted: Approval of Minutes; Chancellor’s Remarks; Unfinished Business and General Orders; New Business; Chair’s/Faculty Representative’s Report; Academic Staff Representative’s Report; Reportable Items from Committees; Special Reports; Special Orders; Miscellaneous Business of the Body; Announcements; Program; Adjournment

Without objection, Order of Business changed for current meeting to accommodate university and senate elections.

II. Minutes of May 8, 2007 University Senate meeting approved as distributed

III. Unfinished Business and General Orders

A. University-wide Elections – Elections to fill vacancies on University Committees

1. Academic Staff Personnel Committee Election

· Nominees: Steve Spina, Philosophy and Religious Studies and Ernestina Ries, Foreign Languages

· No additional nominations from floor

Elected to Academic Staff Personnel Committee At-Large – Steve Spina

2. University Academic Staff Nominating Committee Election

· Nominees: Kim Wellnitz, Advising and New Student Initiatives; Rebecca Wurzer, Children’s Center; and Gene Leisz, Learning and Technology Services

· No additional nominations from floor

Elected to the University Academic Staff Nominating Committee – Gene Leisz

B. University Senate Elections – Elections for University Senate Committees

Motion 44-US-01

MOVED by Senator Hooper and seconded to postpone elections for the University Senate Budget, Physical Plant Planning and Technology Committees.

Debate

· None

Vote on Motion 44-US-01: Motion PASSED without dissention.

1. Executive Committee Election

· Nominees: Charles Tomkovick, Management and Marketing; Rosemary Jadack, Nursing; Ned Beach, Philosophy and Religious Studies; Mitchell Freymiller, Biology; Scott Robertson, Art & Design; and Linda Spaeth, Educational Support Services

· Brian Mahoney, Geology nominated since agenda printed

· No additional nominations from floor

· Steve Majstorovic, Political Science, resigned from senate leaving one additional University Faculty vacancy on committee

MOTION by Senator Stirm to suspend the rules to allow slate of nominees to stand as members on Executive Committee seconded and PASSED without dissention.

Elected to Executive Committee – Charles Tomkovick, Rosemary Jadack, Ned Beach, Mitchell Freymiller, Scott Robertson, Brian Mahoney, and Linda Spaeth

2. Faculty Personnel Committee Election

· Nominees: Michael Carney, Chemistry; Patrick Day, Foreign Languages; and Jill Prushiek, Foundations of Education

· No additional nominations from floor

Elected to Faculty Personnel Committee – Jill Prushiek and Patrick Day

3. Academic Staff Personnel Committee Election

· Nominees: Laurie St. Aubin-Whelihan, Continuing Education; Earl Shoemaker, Educational Support Services; and Rick Richmond, Learning and Technology Services

· No additional nominations from floor

· Tie vote broken by run-off election between Laurie St. Aubin-Whelihan and Rick Richmond

Elected to Academic Staff Personnel Committee – Laurie St. Aubin-Whelihan

4. Academic Policies Committee Election

· Nominee from College of Business: Meg Devine, Accounting and Finance

· No additional nominations from floor

MOTION by Senator Freymiller to suspend the rules to allow Meg Devine to stand as College of Business representative on Academic Policies Committee seconded and PASSED without dissention.

· Nominees from College of Nursing and Health Sciences: Barbara Davis, Nursing and Debra Jansen, Nursing

· No additional nominations from floor

· Nominees from Any Area: Janice Bogstad, Library; Robert Hollon, Curriculum and Instruction; and Jeffrey Janot, Kinesiology

· No additional nominations from floor

Elected to Academic Policies Committee – Meg Devine, Debra Jansen, Janice Bogstad, and Robert Hollon

5. Compensation Committee Election

· Nominees from University Faculty: Jeff Erger, Sociology

· Additional nominations from floor: Mike Morrison, Computer Science; and Janice Bogstad, Library

· Nominees from University Academic Staff: Earl Shoemaker, Educational Support Services

· Additional nominations from floor: January Boten, Housing and Residence Life; and Rick Richmond, Learning and Technology Services

Elected to Compensation Committee – Jeff Erger, Mike Morrison, and Rick Richmond

6. Nominating Committee Election

· Nominees from University Faculty: Fred Kolb, Economics

· No additional nominations from floor

MOTION by Senator Freymiller to suspend the rules to allow Fred Kolb to stand as University Faculty member on Nominating Committee seconded and PASSED without dissention.

· Nominees from University Academic Staff: January Boten, Housing and Residence Life; and Amanda Krier, Housing and Residence Life

· No additional nominations from floor

MOTION by Senator Stirm to suspend the rules to allow January Boten and Amanda Krier to fill University Academic Staff vacancy and University Faculty or University Academic Staff vacancy on Nominating Committee seconded and PASSED without dissention.

Elected to Nominating Committee – Fred Kolb, January Boten, and Amanda Krier

IV. Chancellor’s Remarks – Chancellor Levin-Stankevich

· Welcome back to new year

· You know as much as we know about state budget in Madison

· No news not necessarily good news, but don’t have bad news either

· All institutions and UW System making concerted effort to produce editorial support for university system and editorial criticism of Assembly legislators

· Locally have seen number of editorials with Eau Claire Leader-Telegram counting number of days budget late

· Seeing some attrition from ranks of Assembly Republicans as people disassociate from hard core stand; legislators feeling pressure from key supporters in local areas

· Will take moderates on both sides of aisle to get budget through

· Suspect nothing will happen until governor back from trade mission to China

· Board of Regents approved faculty personnel rules changes on promotion eligibility that passed senate last spring

· New buildings, Davies Center and planning money for new academic building, tied up in budget process

· Local Assembly people support proposed buildings

· Last year, UW-System engaged in Equity Scorecard process with four institutions participating

· Considering outcomes and our focus on diversity, seems like ideal program to engage this campus as well

· Hoping to get involved by January; will work through Diversity Advisory Council to come up with good research-based projects

· For example, disaggregating by gender, race, and ethnicity previous studies of students that get grades of D, F, or W has been useful for improving retention among primarily first generation, low income students at other campuses; might improve climate on campus

· Have signed climate commitment – now 350 institutions have signed on to lead institutions in environmentally sensitive fashion

· Need to put together steering committee soon – now consulting on how to do that and composition

· Need expertise as well as philosophical interest

· In first year must do measurement of greenhouse gas emissions; see as ideal opportunity for faculty/student research

· Plenty of opportunities for community and student involvement

· Will channel all suggestions to appropriate steering committee

· With significant retirement of Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Services, appropriate to look at alternatives to refilling position on status quo basis

· Consultation by former colleague around Student Services particularly related to climate on campus for recruiting and retaining students of color and first generation students also completed

· Last summer asked group of three faculty, three academic staff, and one student to look at whole Student Affairs area to come up with alternatives and solutions that do not increase money spent on administration

· In short period of time groups provided nice summary and report with recommendations

· Study by senior scholar in education typing various philosophies toward student affairs and student development on campuses and matching philosophies with different organizational models proved useful to committee

· Plan to move quickly to clarify roles because Vice Chancellor Soll operating with significant vacancy in his area; also worried about budget process

· Will discuss with Executive Committee when ready with proposal

V. New Business

· None

VI. Chair’s/Faculty Representative’s Report – Chair Wood

· Senate to respond by October 31, 2007 to new proposals for sick leave and colleague coverage

· Faculty and Academic Staff Personnel Committees to receive packets of information so can convene to get started on this business

· Academic Policies Committee to meet as usual next Tuesday

· Past Chair Susan Harrison willing to be parliamentarian for body

VII. Academic Staff Representative’s Report – Senator Brockpahler

· First meeting is September 20, 2007; will report more after that meeting

VIII. Miscellaneous Business

· Will recognize new senators at next meeting

IX. Announcements

· Seeking out members for faculty and staff hockey team to take on women’s hockey team on October 13, 2007

X. Special Reports

1. Report on the Higher Learning Commission Self Study – Interim Associate Vice Chancellor Phillips

• Campus visit now two years away

· Making good progress

· Study group chairs terrific and members of groups enthusiastic and efficient in getting things done

· Attitude everyone has taken has helped keep process moving effectively

• This summer completed several speed-dating focus groups – worked well for generating lots of discussion, collecting data and communicating with lots of individuals across campus

· Included alumni, classified staff, and administrative and professional academic staff

· In mid-October, will be focus groups with students and faculty and instructional academic staff

· Will be additional focus group sessions as year progresses

• Key aspect of Higher Learning Commission process is communication with and engaging entire campus

· Let us know if we have missed connecting with any group so we can correct omission

• Several study groups have begun to write drafts for their section of report on HLC criteria

· Steering Committee will review drafts looking for common themes that cut across criteria and write report that brings findings into a compelling story that addresses criteria

· As receive those drafts, will keep chancellor and leadership group informed of perceived strengths and shortcomings

· May ask for additional evidence to strengthen arguments as all findings must be supported

· Emphasis on evaluating effect of our actions and demonstrating our will to make necessary changes – all about assessment

• Will continue to bring you up to date on findings as come from study groups – probably will start in October to discuss our progress on issues cited in 1999 report
• Thank you for support of and participation in this important process

2. Report on Strategic Planning – Chancellor Levin-Stankevich

• Handing out Strategic Planning Process outline that came out of leadership symposium in August
• Began last spring with listening sessions; identified people wanting to be involved and held Saturday retreat

· Reached consensus around five topical areas which became basis for work groups over summer

· In midsummer added sixth area – diversity and equity as appeared none of groups would adequately cover that topic

· Not final proposals, but ideas colleagues put together based on best thinking, reading, and models

· Process now moves from brainstorming to discussion to develop strategic vision for institution

· Will affect student decisions, funding decisions, and well being as institution

· Need to build on what we do well and move forward with quality to reach potential as institution

· May be issues not listed in work group discussions

· Look at in context of how to move us to next level and define what that is

· Important to work through shared governance to develop a vision because need shared governance to implement

· Charrettes set up in Skylight Lounge provide opportunity for feedback; will also be more structured discussions, online forums, discussions and questions about direction, and information sessions

· Work groups will listen to feedback from faculty, academic staff, classified staff, students and community

· Will then refine and rethink ideas and give to standing University Planning Committee to draft strategic plan with goals, strategies, tactics and measurements we can use

· That will come back again for campus forums and feedback

· After final draft approved, will go back to Planning Committee for consideration of implementation

· What can be implemented by administration, what falls to shared governance

· Guided by couple principles

· Needs to be transparent inclusive process

· Prefer to invigorate existing groups rather than marginalizing them and starting new ones

• Don’t have plan written; will come by consensus of community building on strengths that we have, on reputation this institution developed as outstanding institution with unbelievable potential

· All about well being of institution into future and quality of education we provide our students

• Key, not only to indentify strategic vision and direction for institution, but also to develop budget process to make that happen

· Budget process will not solve all problems – flow charts or spreadsheets will not make decisions

· Decisions on resources will have to be made on basis of priorities with people making those decisions – will be part of process

· No budget process at system or state level to build incentive for institutions to develop clear budget processes

· Only opportunity for any differential budget is Decision Item Narratives (DIN)

· No excuse not to have something to guide decisions and move money to where most needed within institution

Discussion led by Mary Jane Brukardt

· Work group members here to answer questions and engage in discussion about ideas they spent summer working on

• Group 1 – Preparing Global Leaders – Bruce Lo and Karl Markgraf
• Group 2 – Transforming Learning – Kate Lang and Jennifer Lee
• Group 3 – Serving the Public Good – Gretchen Hutterli
• Group 4 – Enhancing the Campus Community – Marc Goulet
• Group 5 – Effectively Managing our Mission – Heather Pearson and Kathy Sahlhoff
• Group 6 – Fostering Equity and Diversity – Teresa O’Halloran
• All major ideas work groups put forward summarized in charrettes

· Work groups need to know what ideas you support as well as what needs to be changed

• Write comments and ideas, anonymously if you wish
• Also invited to send in comments online or by email

· Requirement of study abroad of three weeks or longer would be ambitious endeavor, but distinguishing

· Of all groups’ ideas, this might be lightning rod; are asking students to do more than majority of faculty

· Students now studying abroad at rate much higher than faculty have done – hope trend continues

• See this initiative as opportunity for more faculty to become engaged in programs abroad; would be necessary outcome and natural result of increased internationalization of campus

· Experience of other campuses found internationalization becomes comprehensive endeavor which spills over into curriculum encouraging more interdisciplinary approaches and ongoing cooperative projects with partners abroad; contributes to faculty going abroad for services, for research, and for academics

· Concerned about difficulty for students who are parents and nontraditional students

• Might eliminate that population of students from even applying here
• Same would hold true for lower socioeconomic portions of student body

· Working group recognized that concern as valid

• Would develop strategies to accommodate students, including more diverse range of opportunities than currently available
• Would also be exclusions and exceptions

· If this becomes reality on campus, would inevitably change kinds of students we would attract

· Not internationalizing curriculum only prepares students for local area; that is disservice to them

• Have spoken to Foundation about $2 million that would be needed to assist students; has not agreed but thought first public university in United States to set this requirement would give Foundation ability to fundraise beyond the Chippewa Valley

· Probable increase in number of majors in some programs would require resource reallocation

· Goucher College, the private college that now requires international experience, made change just two years ago, so no longevity to determine effect

· Costs a lot more for other offices around campus, such as records and registration, to support study-abroad students; wonder at what point in process of strategic planning that real costs, benefits, and drawbacks will be assigned to ideas

· Advantage of strategic plan is it doesn’t immediately happen after plan is written; some changes phased in or involve additional research

• Once plan is drafted, would have to develop reports for particular items involving significant additional costs or changes
• Strategic plan lays out institutional vision that work together as community to implement

· Also have to look at how to recruit these students – high ability students take more dollars to recruit

· Travel abroad only one way to have international experience and prepare global leaders – have partners all over world and technology to connect with them

• Creating classes or integrating teams made up of students from other nations could help our students to know how people from other countries see problems and how they communicate
• Would be less expensive

· Creating leaders takes more than global work

· Would like to see intentional curriculum approach based on international focus with leadership goals

· Idea behind student driven course scheduling is to provide courses that students want to take not just those faculty want to teach using some kind of advance registration to determine student demand

• Examining best practices at other universities to do a better job of matching what students want to take with course offerings

· Comment in report that current space is functionally obsolete comes from general impression prospective students get that campus is old and outdated

· Not having a new building in a while does not seem like best reason to build one

· Process for building new facility in this state very complex; might be changes that would be quicker to make

· Would not like UW-Eau Claire to be branded as experiential university – rather be branded along lines of international university

· Will look into possibility of posting comments online anonymously; charrettes are anonymous

· Interdisciplinary topical colloquia courses would be discrete courses proposed by individual or groups of faculty

• Would address same basic skills and be intensive around a theme (such as environment or global politics) that engages freshmen early with faculty and each other to get them fired up about university experience and interdisciplinary methodology looking at different problems
• Would be for all freshmen

· Very little in strategic planning process of modifying university that isn’t going to require reallocation of resources – that is what we are talking about

· Has been much research on bringing living/learning communities to tie into freshman/sophomore experience

· Need to look at recruiting students of color from Minnesota – three-quarters of summer diversity workshop students came from twin cities area

· Are three areas we looked at to increase recruitment

• Precollegiate programs
• Concentrated effort between Admissions Office and Office of Multicultural Affairs to target select high schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin
• Examine yield rate which has declined in recent years

· Chancellor observed conversation morphed quickly from specific recommendations to more fundamental questions about who we are, who we serve, who we want to serve and how to prepare those students

• These are real core questions need to answer as an institution
• Not many institutions have this dialogue; if we are successful and answer questions as a community, will be far ahead
• While may get stuck on specific details; conversation is leading us to where we need to go

· Chair Wood exhorted colleagues to pay attention to this process as serious examination of how we do things

• We made this up, not being handed to us by administration; we continue to make this up so where it goes from here is in our hands

Without objection, meeting adjourned at 4:58 p.m. to charrettes in Skylight Lounge

Submitted by,

Wanda Schulner

Secretary to the University Senate