Chair’s Report for February
8, 2005
Senate update
1. Important links
to agendas, minutes, Chair's Reports and other sites of interest are available
on the Senate web site: http://www.uwec.edu/Usenate.
Senate Chair’s Report will be available on this site by noon on the day of the
Senate meeting.
2. During debates,
Senators may speak only twice to any motion or amendment. Each speaking term is
limited to 10 minutes. The Chair will add names of those wishing to speak to a
speaker's list upon recognition.
1.
Chair Selection
2.
Academic Staff Personnel Committee Membership and
Function
3.
2006-2007 Academic Calendar
Items discussed
with the Chair
1. Concern expressed that
the following decision was made without faculty consultation through the shared
governance process: Based upon a recommendation made by Student Senate, the
Chancellor's Executive Staff has approved elimination of the distribution of
paper class schedule bulletins. Therefore,
we will not be printing a Fall 2005 course schedule bulletin.
Faculty Reps
Meeting – February 4 in Madison. Next meeting March 4 via teleconference.
1. President Reilly met
with the Faculty Reps and shared details of the UW System Administration Restructuring
including his appointment of Chancellor Mash as executive senior vice president
for UW System. Discussion of the steps taken to ensure governance groups were
involved in the process of merging Extension and the Colleges was held.
2. Plan 2008 Phase II
plans were discussed. Questions were raised as to how faculty were informed of
and involved in the development of the campus plans. Reps expressed concern
that as more requirements for faculty involvement are made by the plans,
faculty must be given the time, reward, and recognition for such service.
3. Update on Inclusivity
Initiative. Reilly will talk with
chancellors later this month on how Domestic Partner benefits might be funded
with private funds. Discussion then focused on how LGBTQ issues are being
incorporated in opportunities, curriculum, and resources throughout the
campuses.
4. Office of Policy
Analysis and Research (OPAR) shared examples of the large data base available
to anyone to compare student data on enrollments, retention, graduation, etc.
Check it out at: http://www.uwsa.edu/opar/
Also look at The Education Trust’s new college peer tool: http://www.collegeresults.org/
5. During institutional
reports, Platteville reported concern over a new class scheduling
program that is taking over scheduling of all classes without regard to faculty
hours, needs, course sequencing, etc. Also noted need for mass faculty email
distribution permission. Milwaukee: working on discrimination
policy. Parkside: students are
concerned about lack of textbook rental system. Whitewater: senate
taking up resolution about trust fund issues. Colleges and Extension:
working on merger.
Board of
Regents Meeting – February 10-11 in Madison
Legislative
Update
1. Governor Jim Doyle will
deliver the 2005-07 State Biennial Budget Address at 7 pm on Tuesday, February
8. Wisconsin Public Television will
broadcast the address.
2. Sen. Scott Fitzgerald
and Rep. Dean Kaufert, Co-Chairs of the Joint Finance Committee, announced
plans to hold five or six hearings across the state on Gov. Jim Doyle’s budget
bill. While the dates and locations of
these hearing have not been set, the Co-Chairs expressed interest in holding
hearings in Madison, Milwaukee, and Central, Western, and Northern Wisconsin.
3. Rep. Debi Towns has
introduced AB-83, which would allow state employees who secure health care
coverage from another source to opt out of the state's health
plans. Employees who choose this option would receive a stipend
equal to 25 percent of the lowest premium amount that the state would otherwise
have been required to pay on his or her behalf. This stipend would be subject
to payroll taxes and withholding taxes.
For more information, please see http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2005/data/AB-83.pdf
4. The Senate will convene
at 10 a.m., Tuesday, February 8, but the Assembly will not meet in regular
session on that day. The Assembly has
been scheduled to be on the floor on Tuesday, February 15.
5. Article in Capital
Times by David Callender, February 7, 2005:
Gov wants UW partner benefits – says
they’re needed to be competitive. In what may be one of his most
controversial proposals, Gov. Jim Doyle will ask the Legislature to fund
domestic partner benefits for all University of Wisconsin employees in the next
state budget. Doyle says his proposed budget will include $500,000 in each of
the next two years for domestic partner benefits for UW System employees. …
Doyle acknowledged that his proposal would change state law and open the door
to domestic partner coverage for all state employees, although there is no
money included for that. The proposal would cover both same-sex couples and unmarried
heterosexual partners. State officials estimate it would cost about $6 million
annually - or about 1 percent of the $642 million the state spent on insurance
coverage last year - to provide domestic partner coverage to all state
employees. … The proposal is likely to encounter major opposition from the
Republican-controlled Legislature. … Republicans are backing a constitutional
amendment to ban same-sex marriages in Wisconsin. … Doyle acknowledged that
there will likely be "a lot of opposition and name-calling about
this," but said, "I hope people are ready to look at the facts and
not just play emotional games about this. You can feel strongly about the
definition of marriage. This does not overturn any kind of definition of
marriage. You can feel strongly about what your religious beliefs or moral
values are. But in the real world of living in a very competitive academic
environment ... we should not go out into that competition with one hand tied
behind our back," he said. …[See http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/
index.php?ntid=27625 for the complete
story.]
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Congratulations and best wishes
to Chancellor Mash!