Chancellor Mone gave the following updates:
- UW Chancellors met before the Regents meeting and discussed budgetary matters. They haven’t decided to ask for a tuition increase yet but are likely to do so. Some of this increase would go toward the Wisconsin Promise program which will disproportionally help UWM students, due to their higher unmet financial need (compared to other UW students).
- Two UW Chancellor searches are ongoing (Whitewater and Platteville).
- He continues to advocate for the 4% + 4% pay-plan increase proposed by UW System.
- Regents passed the new Strategic Plan, which has some aspects directly supportive of UW-Milwaukee’s multi-faceted mission.
- New administrative appointments include Liv Watkins (VC Marketing and Communication), Beth Schaefer (interim CIO), and Brian Thompson (Interim Director of Strategic Partnerships).
Interim Provost Gronert visited the UC to consult about potentially offering a new faculty hire the option of a one-year tenure clock extension, due to anticipated construction disruption of lab facilities. The UC felt that this was appropriate.
In member reports:
- Boyland volunteered to draft a formal proposal for revising the SSEA process for evaluating administrators. He also reported (as a member of the PEC TPSC), participating in a campus transportation safety walk. Kenwood Boulevard would benefit from signage in the median to help drivers realize that this road is part of a UWM campus. Many University members cross back and forth, not always on marked crosswalks.
- Schwartz is unable to attend the December graduation, so Rodger will represent the University Committee in the platform party.