Minutes for February 3, 2025

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. with 170 voting members present (106 needed for quorum). Memorial resolutions were offered for Professor Emeritus Robert Giller Kauffman (Faculty Document 3203), Professor Emeritus Jack Rutledge (Faculty Document 3204), Professor Emeritus Walter Brandeis Raushenbush (Faculty Document 3205), Professor Emeritus Frank M. Tuerkheimer (Faculty Document 3206), and Professor Emeritus John Goodwin Webster (Faculty Document 3207). 

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin shared that the federal situation has come with a great amount of uncertainty combined with fast-moving and changing information. It has generated some potentially significant threats to important aspects of the university’s mission and operations, as well as concern within the university’s communities about long-held values, such as evidence-based research, academic freedom, pluralism, diversity and non-discrimination. Transitioning to a new administration often causes some period of change and shifts in direction; however, the scope feels unprecedented.

In 2023, federal research expenditures amounted to over $800 million of funding for UW–Madison, more than 20% of the university’s total budget. A great deal of the university’s life-changing research is funded through federal grants and the overhead from federal grants helps to fund general research and operations. The work and livelihoods of the university’s faculty and employees, along with hundreds of millions of federal dollars, are potentially at stake, and pose challenges with both compliance and logistics. 

In the first days of the new administration, there were executive orders targeting both diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) and the green new deal, followed by a memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which ordered a pause on federal funding, including grants, while each agency reviewed the matters under their authority for compliance with the directives. The OMB memo was broad and vague which produced public outcry and legal action, which led to a recission of the OMB memo, though the White House said the policy intent behind the memo would continue. On Friday, January 31, 2025, a judge in Rhode Island issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting these agencies from pausing their funding obligations while reviews are ongoing, and agencies are now required to release those funds during the pending reviews.

Starting a couple of days ago, the university started receiving directives from agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF) asking to remove all DEI activity in all NSF-funded projects and received specific stop work orders regarding specific grants across various agencies. The directives came with no definition of DEI. There is similar vagueness around the green new deal. Legal processes have delayed the university’s obligations to assess these matters right now.

There is a need to collectively recognize that the federal government and Congress have the ability to define what they deem to be appropriate areas for which to provide future funding. At a bare minimum, it seems clear that there will be meaningful changes in priorities for this administration going forward, compared to the last several, and the possibility of significant cuts to science funding. Any of these changes will have an impact to the university.

The new directives and policies may affect core commitments of the university. The university is bound by the law, and the university community must ensure that the core conditions for free academic inquiry, dignity, inclusion and a commitment to non-discrimination are protected and preserved. It is a time of uncertainty, and all research-intensive universities are facing uncertainty and risk right now. With the uncertainties, faculty and staff are being asked to be thoughtful and cautious about creating new commitments with federal dollars and to be cautious about expenses.

The university has created a working group on emerging federal issues with experts from both campus and Washington D.C., tracking and assessing relevant changes to keep up with the constantly shifting landscape and engaging with campus stakeholders. The group consists of representatives from across campus including Strategic Communication, the Office of the Provost, the Office of Legal Affairs, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the Office of Human Resources, International Division, Enrollment Management, the UW-Madison Police Department and others. The university is also connected to associations like the Association of American Universities (AAU), Association of Public and Land Great Universities (APLU), Big Ten and other peers to share information. Regular updates and guidance are available at: https://federalrelations.wisc.edu.

A new visioning committee has been established to begin the process of developing a new strategic framework to guide the university over the next years. The committee is co-chaired by Provost Charles Isbell and Professor Lauren Papp, a former University Committee chair. The university’s current strategic framework is not largely relevant to today. The committee’s first task will be to create a set of initial concepts and ideas for the framework, drawing on the diverse ideas and experiences of the university community. Opportunities for engagement will occur later this spring.

Dr. LaVar Charleston, who led the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement (DDEEA) for three years, left that role as vice chancellor and has returned to his backup position as a clinical faculty member in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis in the School of Education. Provost Charles Isbell will serve as the acting leader of DDEEA until an interim director is selected later this semester.

The new School of Medicine of Public Health dean and vice chancellor for medical affairs will be announced soon. The College of Engineering dean finalist CVs and presentation recordings will be available on the search website with an opportunity for feedback. The UW–Madison Police Department chief finalists visited campus, and there is an opportunity for feedback for that search as well.

Professor Li Chiao-Ping, University Committee chair, shared that the University Committee is monitoring the current federal situation, along with the workgroup convened by the chancellor.

Over 160 comments were submitted regarding the proposed changes to the UW System Copyrightable Materials Ownership, Use and Control Policy and therefore, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman has asked the UW System representatives group to work through changes more thoroughly and to go through shared governance processes. The review will be completed prior to the start of the next academic year, and the policy will be recirculated through shared governance processes.

The unified Hostile and Intimidating Behavior (HIB) Policy was approved by the executive sponsors (provost, vice chancellor for finance and administration and vice chancellor for legal affairs) and became effective today. The three former individual HIB policies will be retired over the course of the spring 2025 semester. In summer 2025, the rollout team will reconnect with campus stakeholders for feedback on the new policy and process and make any necessary adjustments.

With the consent of the sponsors and authors, the two resolutions originally on the agenda for a first reading were removed. The bereavement leave resolution is pending changes by the academic staff, based on feedback they received.

The shadow calculations for the new budget approach were shared with the deans and chief financial officers in late January. The University Committee is searching for ways to measure instructional quality and unintended consequences and behaviors resulting from the new budget approach.

Graduate School Dean Bill Karpus shared information on Graduate Faculty Executive Committee (GFEC) actions, for graduate programs created, suspended, discontinued, renamed, moved or reviewed. The program review process originates in the Office of the Provost and is executed by schools and colleges. GFEC has a member on each program review committee to examine graduate education and programs, who then makes a report to GFEC for discussion. Those findings are shared with the school/college to help with a continuous improvement process that has resulted in the university’s graduate programs continuing to be top in the country.

There has been a continuous increase in graduate program applications over time, with admittance of PhD students at rates comparable to peers. The university is among the top seven in the country of doctoral degrees awarded. Masters and specialist degrees awarded continue to increase. For the doctoral program experience, about 91% of students would choose their program again.

The Graduate School reporting line changed from the vice chancellor for research to the provost in December 2023. This created a change from providing program updates to planning graduate education strategy with senior leadership and deeper engagement with vice provosts and partner units. The services that support graduate students, faculty and staff have not changed and interactions with the vice chancellor for research continue as in the past. 

During the question period, a faculty senator asked about what kind of leadership instructors can expect from university administration both before and after a government agent comes to the workplace, knowing a warrant is needed for government agents to enter non-public areas such as classrooms. The chancellor indicated that the university is an entity of the state and must follow lawful orders, such as warrants, as has always been the case.

A faculty senator asked about when people can expect the hesitancy on spending will go away, given that some issues may be ongoing. The chancellor indicated that we are likely entering a period of fiscal challenge. There is not a stop on spending in any category but it’s appropriate for deans and department chairs to think about these questions in relationship to their funding mix, the degree of other resources and priorities to make the best choices they can.

A faculty senator asked that given that a lot of the government directives are ambiguous in the definitions of the activities they wish to curtail, will the university make decisions based on the broadest interpretations of those ambiguities The chancellor indicated that it is not reasonable for the university to define vague terms; that should be the basis for legal challenge and clarification.

The minutes of the December 2, 2024 meeting were approved by consent.

Professor Mahua Dey (Neurological Surgery, district 101) presented the Campus Diversity and Climate Committee report for 2023-2024 (Faculty Document 3208). Professor Emerita Susan Ellis Weismer presented the Ombuds Office annual report for 2023-2024 (Faculty Document 3209). Professor Amy Trentham Dietz (Population Health Sciences, district 99) presented the University Libraries Committee annual report for 2022-2024 (Faculty Document 3210). School of Medicine and Public Health Dean Robert Golden presented the establishment of the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (Faculty Document 3211). Professor Annie Jones, University Committee member, presented the candidates for the faculty-elected committees for spring 2025 (Faculty Document 3212). There were no questions on these reports.

Mahua Dey (Neurological Surgery, district 101) moved approval to amend Faculty Policies and Procedures 6.27 to update the Campus Diversity and Climate Committee functions to match current practice and to align functions with similar committees (Faculty Document 3200). The motion was seconded and approved.

Professor Lisa Forrest (Surgical Sciences, district 112) moved approval to amend Faculty Policies and Procedures 6.31 to remove the Committee on Disability Access and Inclusion standing subcommittees, update office names and job titles in the membership and modernize language in the functions (Faculty Document 3201). The motion was seconded and approved.

Professor Annie Jones, University Committee member, presented a first reading of the academic calendar for 2029-2030 (Faculty Document 3213). A vote on this item is anticipated at the March Faculty Senate meeting.

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin adjourned the meeting at 4:41 p.m.

Heather Daniels, Secretary of the Faculty