We discussed the current status of the UW-System Task Force on Tenure, which meets again on Oct 22 and is to report to the Regents in the second semester. At the campus level, UW Madison has also developed new policy language in light of Act 55, which is being considered by their University Committee and Senate. See their Secretary of the Faculty site for more: https://www.secfac.wisc.edu/.  We have been receiving updates from the UWM representative on this committee, Robert Smith and Kristine Surerus. Stay tuned.

Provost Britz joined us and we discussed how the university will weather a major budget crunch. The campus faces ongoing cuts in state tax support and two biennia of a tuition freeze. UWM enrollments have also declined as the pool of Wisconsin high school graduates has declined. UWM’s peak enrollment was ~30,000 in 2010. It is about 27,000 now, somewhat lower than the 28,000 average enrollment since 2000.

We also discussed the potential for campus reorganization and the work of the Chancellor’s Campus Organization & Effectiveness Team (CCOET). We expressed concern about the coordination between committees, especially CCOET and the Budget Planning Task Force. John Reisel, the UC Chair and Co-Chair of CCOET, gave an update of that group’s charge and planned meetings. CCOET committee has a plan for engaging campus faculty, staff, and students, which includes listening sessions and a webpage, though we are still awaiting more information on exactly how these large committees will address immediate problems we face or be able to fix them.

The Chancellor’s Campus Organization & Effectiveness Team website can be found at https://uwm.edu/chancellor/chancellors-campus-organization-effectiveness-team-ccoet/