University Committee Meeting Minutes 2026-06-15

Minutes for June 15, 2026

UC members present: Chui, de Leon, Johnson, Kendall, Mathieu, Johnson

Others present: Emily Beach, Michelle Felber, Becky Jacobs, Sabine Martin, Jennifer Noyes

Chair Kendall called the meeting to order at 1:00 pm.

Rob Cramer, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, gave a general overview of his portfolio. There are 2 different working groups looking at AI. OpEx will likely pilot a couple of uses of AI for administrative processes.

The budget approach will be implemented on July 1. The Board of Regents met recently and approved a 2% increase for UW-Madison tuition.

The minutes for June 1, 2026, were approved by consent.

Julie Scharm, Deputy Secretary of the Faculty, discussed the idea of restructuring reports to the Faculty Senate. In the last couple years, reports have often been delayed or shortened to the point of not being useful. One idea is to read reports into the record at the Senate and then allow longer reports of select committees. Julie will come back to the committee with a more formal proposal.

The University Committee spent time discussing issues they had dealt with in the last year that were ongoing. They discussed holding a big event every semester that could be called the “State of Shared Governance.” They also discussed possibly facilitating discussion spaces in school/colleges about expectations for tenure.

Harry Brighouse, chair of the Ad Hoc Academic Freedom Committee shared the committee had been meeting monthly since November. They are in the planning stages of developing some forums/panels to help campus to develop intellectual resources to have been conversations about academic freedom.

In regards to the protected and unprotected speech policy, the committee made three recommendations. One of the recommendations includes removing the list after “such as.” They also recommend expanding who is able to serve on a committee. They recommend changes be made to both policies. There was robust discussion regarding the first recommended change. The committee spent a lot of time considering whether to recommend this change. They did consider removing the whole sentence. Concerns about retaining the phrase and making the policy legal vulnerable and unlikely be used is what drove the committee’s decision.

Interim Chancellor Eric Wilcots provided updates on a number of searches including UW System President, UW-Madison Chancellor, and Athletic Director. The Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Search is also wrapping up with finalists visiting campus in June.

The new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence will launch in a couple of weeks with Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau as the inaugural dean.

In state and federal relations, there will be new legislative leadership following the fall elections. It is also a state budget year. On the federal side, there are proposed rules regarding duration of status for visas and OMB guidelines that include political appointees approving federal grants. There is also the possibility of federal legislation regarding college athletics.

Chui motioned, and it was seconded and approved, to convene in closed session pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c) and (f) to discuss waivers and committee appointments at 3:03 pm. One tenure clock extension and one leave of absence were approved.

Mathieu motioned, and it was seconded and approved, to reconvene in open session at 3:40 pm.

Liaison and committee assignments were finalized for 2026-2027.

Kendall adjourned the meeting at 4:34 pm.

Minutes submitted by Heather Daniels, secretary of the faculty.