Chancellor's Office
Chancellor's Communiqués
May 31, 2007
To: All UW Colleges and UW-Extension Colleagues
Fr: Chancellor David Wilson
In this Message:
- May Board of Regents Meeting
- Chancellors' Retreat
- Chancellor's May Travels
- Legislative Update: Visits with Legislators
- Visits with Regents
- Higher Education Business Roundtable
- Multimedia Awareness Campaign in Support of Campus Recruitments
- Chancellor's Awards Reminder: Nominations due June 8, 2007
- All That Jazz
Dear Colleagues,
Within the world of higher education, May is known as commencement month. This was certainly the case for us this year. I want to congratulate everyone who received degrees and/or certificates from the UW Colleges and UW-Extension this spring, and congratulate as well the faculty and staff who worked with these individuals to aid them in achieving these goals. I participated in a number of ceremonies and witnessed unbridled joy on the faces of so many parents, graduates, and family members. It is moments like those that sensitize me to the stark reality that our institutions are transforming lives and communities every day in this state. I wear these missions proudly, as I know most of you do as well.
May Board of Regents Meeting
The May Board of Regents met in Madison on May 10-11, 2007. In addition to attending committee meetings, I had the honor on Thursday night to have dinner with two members of our Academic Staff Council of Senators-Michael Maguire, vice chair, Wisconsin Public Television; and Michael Ceccarelli, lead senator, UW Marinette. The dinner was hosted by President Kevin Reilly at Brittingham House and honored all academic staff leaders across the UW System institutions. I very much enjoyed the evening and the personal time I was able to spend with our two colleagues. Mike and Mike (and I don't mean of the ESPN fame) are providing wonderful leadership in their roles and I commend them.
The Board of Regents voted unanimously to adopt a resolution calling for an ethics code governing financial aid officials at the UW Colleges and the UW four-year campuses. The decision begins a process that will establish guidelines to ensure that Wisconsin campuses do not have financial conflicts of interest in their relationships with lenders. Those guidelines will also address whether lists of preferred lenders currently offered by some Wisconsin schools are appropriate.
When students seek advice about how best to cover the cost of higher education, they should never have to worry about whether the UW financial aid officer who is giving them that advice is "on the take" personally, or is fronting for a campus that gets a cut of the revenues from recommended lenders. Based on our review of financial practices in the UW Colleges, we are in compliance.
Chancellors' Retreat
While many of you were undoubtedly enjoying the wonderful spring weather on April 28, I was participating in spirited conversations with UW System administrators and other UW Chancellors regarding some of the big questions that we as a System need to address going forward. President Reilly held a two-day retreat at the world headquarters of Epic Systems in Verona, Wisconsin, to discuss the beginning of the development of a strategic plan for UW System. Following the retreat, President Reilly gave a summary of the major points coming out of that retreat at the May Board of Regents meeting. See President Reilly's presentation on these discussions: http://www.wisconsin.edu/news/2007/05-2007/reillyGAandBeyond.pdf
Chancellor's May Travels
I was elated to participate on May 3 in UW-Fox Valley's Foundation Scholars Evening. As I sat on stage and listened to the biographies of each student being recognized, I was moved by the personal stories of the recipients. All showed how important access is at UW-Fox Valley, and the same is true for all our campuses and Extension offices. Individuals being recognized ranged from a working mother with small children to individuals who opted to go to UW-Fox Valley for the first two years instead of larger comprehensive campuses, because they realized they could flourish at UW-Fox. My sincere congratulations to all.
On May 17, I met with labor union representatives at the Milwaukee Labor Council and came face-to-face with the intractable challenges facing the city of Milwaukee. I am appreciative to Professor Corliss Olson of the UW-Extension School for Workers for arranging this dialogue. These union leaders spoke convincingly of the leadership education they receive from the School for Workers, and are very supportive of its work and mission.
Also on May 17 and May 18, respectively, I had the opportunity to give the commencement addresses at UW-Waukesha and UW-Fond du Lac. My message was simple: Education has a magical ability to transform lives. I used as an example the education being provided on our campuses to transform the lives of 12,500 students enrolled with us, and how we are using research-based strategies to transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of citizens every day in this state. It was warmly received by both audiences.
On May 22, I spent the day experiencing how UW-Extension is engaging the city of Milwaukee. Eloisa Gomez, Cooperative Extension department head in Milwaukee, arranged a full day of "education" for me. Milwaukee has innumerable challenges and our Extension colleagues are involved in many efforts from issues around adequate housing, African-American youth development, to neighborhood revitalization and life skills. The day ended with a very productive meeting with Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker.
In Ozaukee County on the evening of May 22 and then all day on the 23rd, I witnessed the excellent work of our Extension faculty and staff in the area of Smart Growth, and met four outstanding 4-H ambassadors and saw what is, arguably, the best video in the United States extolling the virtues and value of participating in the 4-H program. The video was produced by brothers Chris and Philip Leclerc. These kids are stars! I predict an Academy Award is somewhere in their future.
On May 24, I participated in the UW Colleges Colloquium and heard Margaret Cleek speak eloquently and openheartedly about the delicate balance of the intersection between the personal and professional world. We all know how frank and candid Margaret can be and she did not disappoint us in this setting. I also sat in on many presentations made by faculty and staff. All demonstrated the quality of our faculty and staff colleagues. I particularly want to send kudos to Tim Thering (History) and Peggy Rozga (English) from UW-Waukesha who presented "March on Milwaukee, a Memoir of the Open Housing Protest." I don't know how I missed the theater performance at UW-Waukesha, but this must have flown under the radar. The presentation at UW-Marshfield/Wood County showed me I really need to read more about Milwaukee during that turbulent period. Those two did a superb job talking about the play, which Peggy wrote and Professor Mark Lococo produced. Well done!
Legislative Update: Visits with Legislators
I continue to meet with legislators at the State Capitol as the Joint Committee on Finance gets closer to considering the UW System operating budget. This past month, I met with Finance Committee members and leadership from both houses. I met with Reps. Joel Kleefisch, Joan Ballweg, Stephen Nass, Jeff Fitzgerald, Mark Gottlieb, and Senators John Lehman, Mark Miller, Alberta Darling, Scott Fitzgerald, and Judy Robson.
The UW System operating budget will likely come before the Joint Committee on Finance the first week of June. This past week, they voted on the Capital Budget, which includes all of the new building, renovation and maintenance projects for UW System facilities. They voted to support all UW General Fund Supported Borrowing projects and the All Agency fund as recommended by the State Building Commission, which is good news indeed. The projects that did not gain approval of the committee will still be considered by the full Assembly and Senate as they begin work on their versions of the budget in the coming weeks.
Visits with Regents
As you know, I am engaged in an ongoing effort to meet with our Board of Regents to talk with them about the missions of the UW Colleges and UW-Extension, about what we do well, and to outline our shared vision going forward. This past month I met with Regents Jeff Bartell, Eileen Connolly-Keesler, and Michael Falbo.
Higher Education Business Roundtable
The Higher Education Business Roundtable is a group of committed business allies needed to advocate on behalf of the UW, while also providing advice on how we can be most effective and efficient in serving the public good. A few regional meetings and sidebar conversations preceded the meeting I attended on April 26, 2007. The Business Roundtable promises to be an important part of carrying the message of the UW's value to people in elected office who make decisions about the UW's future. Among other activities, the hope is that the Higher Education Business Roundtable will raise private money to carry out media campaigns in support of the UW.
President Reilly's intent is to educate this group about the role UW plays in economic development in this state, to emphasize the state's underinvestment in the UW, and to get the business community to advocate for UW initiatives. I thought it was a productive meeting and am looking forward to our continued dialogue and discussions in this area.
Multimedia Awareness Campaign in Support of Campus Recruitments
The UW Colleges will be creating awareness for its 13 individual campuses this June and July with billboards, newspaper ads, radio ads, and direct mail to potential returning adult students within driving distance of the 13 campuses. The coordinated campaign has goals of cutting through the higher education promotional clutter, creating awareness for the campuses, generating leads of prospective students, and helping to drive applications for fall 2007. The creative concept "Stuck in Life?" was driven by a long, thoughtful process that included a marketing plan and examined many different creative approaches. The marketing advisory group, made up of campus representatives, commented that the campaign could resonate with anyone, and especially people in the age 20-28 demographic who may have gone directly into jobs from high school, and are now looking for something more in life. The ability to start, continue, or complete an associate or bachelor's degree at any of our campuses can definitely be the answer to getting "unstuck," if people are looking to enhance their lives.
Chancellor's Awards Reminder: Nominations due June 8, 2007
To find nomination information, criteria and procedures, and a print nomination form, go to http://www.uwex.uwc.edu/chancellor/events/
In a similar vein, I encourage all of you to apply for awards and grants from UW System. For example, some of them include the Regents Teaching Excellence Awards: Individual and Department; OPID Conference Development Grants; and the UW System Institute on Race and Ethnicity Grants.
All That Jazz
Little did I know that there were so many opportunities in our state to enjoy some great jazz notes. A lot of you responded to my query in last month's communiqué for great jazz venues in Wisconsin. I'll give you an update periodically on the places I've visited and let you know what I think of them. Thanks for all of your recommendations.
Please accept my continuing appreciation for the work you do to make life better for the 1.2 million residents of Wisconsin who experience our programming every year.
Kind regards,
David