UC Chair Kathleen Dolan reported she had her biweekly meeting with Provost Johannes Britz. She also had her monthly meeting with Chancellor Mone; they discussed the 2030+ Think Tank, which meets for the first time on 10/23. There are 15 members of the committee, which is co-chaired by Associate Vice Provost for Research Kristian O’Connor, and College of Nursing Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Jennifer Doering. The goal of the Think Tank is to develop recommendations for planning by mid-April. Also, Chancellor Mone, Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Tim Danielson and Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administrative Affairs Robin Van Harpen are discussing ways to improve clarity and consistency regarding family leave – there is currently no campus or system policy to address this, resulting in wide variation of practices between departments. Finally, there has been no news on the status of UWS Administrative Policy 1254.

Dean of the Lubar School of Business Kaushal Chari attended. He described challenges with student success and student recruitment and plans to address these issues, including establishment of a task force to examine undergrad curriculum and make recommendations for revision, and examination of reasons for declining undergraduate enrollments. LSB is looking at developing articulation agreements with several two-year colleges (e.g. MATC). Dean Chari has established a strategic plan for the School, called GREAT: Global, Relevant, Entrepreneurial, Accessible, and Transformative. The plan emphasizes student success, research with impact, global engagement, an open, welcoming culture and a distinctive identity. The school will work to market a distinctive identity of innovation and analytics. UC and the Dean discussed methods to encourage involvement of LSB faculty in governance.

UC Member Bettina Arnold reported that there was a delay in approving the materials for the HBSSW Dean search, but everything has now been approved and the position has been posted. The next meeting of the Search and Screen Committee is in early November, to create interview questions and finalize interview dates. She is also serving on a committee chaired by Mark Harris, the purpose of which is to brainstorm and discuss strategies to maintain our R1 status. UC identified topics for discussion.

UC Member Mark Schwartz reported that the Graduate Faculty Committee is assessing its processes and function. He has also updated links on the UC News page to provide current information on the Milwaukee Organization Representing the Faculty Senate (MORFS).

Secretary of the University Trudy Turner reported that the SecU office is offering a governance training for all faculty, academic staff and university staff governance committee chairs, committee members and department/executive committee chairs on 10/23 from 11 AM – 12:30 PM.