August 8, 2017

The University Committee started with a visit by the Chancellor, who provided updates on the budget and the Strategic Opportunities Workgroup.  The Chancellor was cautiously optimistic about the budget for UWM, pending final approval by the legislature.  He also provided an update on the potential impact of Foxconn on growth of the College of Engineering to meet the future workforce needs.

In his report, UC Chair Reisel provided a summary of the last Chancellor’s Extended Cabinet Meeting.  Of interest were discussions regarding the placement of anonymous drug dropboxes on campus.  There is a search for a secure site on campus that would also afford anonymity.  The only current location is in the UWM Police headquarters.

UWM Police Chief LeMire attended the meeting to provide information regarding the deployment of body cameras on all UWM police officers in the coming months.  They are developing policies for their use, including when the system should be switched on and off.  In addition, the system will have the ability to automatically blur faces in recordings if necessary.  Chief LeMire also provide an update on three internals teams focused on expanded nighttime bike patrols, community policing efforts, and handling of sensitive crimes.

Under new business, the committee approved an Executive Committee augmentation request and discussed the consistency of the application of the campus workload policy across departments and colleges.  The committee will follow up with the Provost regarding campus information on workload consistency.

Finally, the University Committee bid farewell to John Reisel, John Boyland, and Michael Brondino as their terms on the committee ended.  Their efforts are greatly appreciated, particularly the work of Chair John Reisel.  Welcome to the three new members of the University Committee, Jennifer Doering, Enrique Figueroa, and Mark Schwartz.  Their tenure on the committee officially starts at the committee’s next meeting, August 22nd.