Faculty Senate Minutes 2026-05-04

Minutes for May 4, 2026

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin called the meeting to order at 3:31 p.m. with 166 voting members present (104 needed for quorum). Memorial resolutions were offered for Professor Emerita Lorraine Faxon Meisner (Fac doc 3312), Professor Emeritus Leonard Ellis Ross (Fac doc 3313), Professor Emeritus Charles T. Snowdon (Fac doc 3314), Professor Emeritus Willard Thurlow (Fac doc 3315) and Professor Emeritus David W. Tarr (Fac doc 3316). 

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin thanked outgoing University Committee members Annie Jones (chair) and Michael Bernard-Donals for their service, and thanked faculty senators for their participation in shared governance.

Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents President Amy Bogost and Universities of Wisconsin Executive-in-Charge Chris Patten appointed a 23-member search and screen committee to help identify the next UW–Madison chancellor. Interim Chancellor Eric Wilcots will transition into his role on May 17, 2026. Academic Associate Dean for Computer Data and Information Sciences Kristin Eschenfelder will serve as interim dean for the College of Letters and Science. With Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh's recent departure, Marcus Steadbury is serving as the interim director. The vice provost for enrollment management search is underway. Professor Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau has been named the founding dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence; the new college launches on July 1, 2026 and is supported by $100 million in philanthropic commitments from the Catalyst Collective, a group of alumni, industry leaders and corporate partners who are investing in the college's early success.

A new five-year strategic framework for UW–Madison was recently released, which helps to identify and advance shared priorities and define the university’s mission for the years ahead.

The Office of Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) is undergoing strategic planning, with a proposed new organizational structure that includes creating a small team of full-time associate vice chancellors who are responsible for strategically focused portions of the OVCR portfolio, while still having divisional representation as strategic advisors, and strengthening compliance and research security staffing. This also includes making updates and improvements to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs with the goal of creating a more streamlined and predictable experience for schools, colleges, departments and researchers and increasing communication and transparency.

Professor Annie Jones, University Committee chair, welcomed newly elected University Committee members April Haynes and Derek Johnson, and thanked University Committee members, Office of the Secretary of the Faculty staff and faculty senators and alternates for their participation and collaboration in shared governance.

In the context of the upcoming Resolution on Mass Surveillance and Shared Governance at UW–Madison, Professor Jones shared the University Committee’s support of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Police Department’s efforts to keep everyone safe and to support victims of crime and violence, and to center victims and support for campus safety in the meeting conversations.

University of Wisconsin–Madison Police Department (UWPD) Chief Bret Plisch stated that public safety is a shared responsibility, not just with the police department and first responders, but with the whole community. UWPD believes that the use of technology, especially when it's being used by the government, needs to be carefully researched, controlled and evaluated, and must be continuously audited to ensure that it is aligned with public safety and community expectations. Innovations carry with them some debate but have also contributed significantly to how police investigate crimes and seek justice for victims of crimes.

New innovations can come with risk, and consideration should be given to whether the benefits outweigh the risks and whether those risks can be managed successfully through policy, training and oversight. Also to be considered is the evaluation of the technology’s effectiveness, limitations and accountability.

Regarding automated license plate recognition (ALPR), there are strong safety concerns with this technology, especially if misused. At the same time, this technology, when guided by strong policy, oversight and accountability, has proven to be a powerful tool in seeking justice and resolving crimes for victims who live, work and learn on campus.

ALPR systems serve a distinct and limited purpose, providing vehicle-related data that is not discernible through regular video systems. The Flock ALPR system has provided significant time savings for UWPD officers and investigators and increased accuracy during investigations. Flock ALPR does not use any facial recognition technology and is not capable of identifying human beings or any human characteristics. Flock ALPR captures a license plate and observable-to-the-naked-eye vehicle features like color and body type. Flock ALPR is not connected to any other database, and the data cannot be searched in any way to identify a human being.

Courts across the country have debated and have consistently held that this technology does not violate reasonable expectations of privacy on a license plate or the visible characteristics of a vehicle as it is being operated on a public roadway. Courts have also noted that operators of vehicles have provided a level of consent to this type of oversight or viewing because the government has a right and responsibility to know who is operating vehicles on roadways through licensing agreements and requirements.

In just eight months, camera tools, including ALPR, have helped UWPD and partner organizations solve dozens of serious crimes, including a homicide, hit-and-run incident, multi-state burglary ring, abduction and significant assault. UWPD has a contract with Flock to outline expectations.

UWPD Chief Bret Plisch requested the consideration of five key points related to the Resolution on Mass Surveillance and Shared Governance at UW–Madison: 1) to remove any reference to facial recognition as it is not applicable in this case, 2) to reconsider language regarding UWPD’s use of ALPR, particularly as it does not reflect how these systems are currently used, 3) to consider adding language that clearly affirms that crime is not acceptable on campus or within the community; UWPD should be empowered to protect members of the community so that they can live, learn and work in a safe environment, 4) to acknowledge and support the work being done to provide victims with answers; sending a statement that we support individuals who work towards getting victims justice is important and 5) to recognize that victims, survivors and members of the community deserve justice.

During the question period, faculty senators and academic staff asked questions and provided comments about Flock ALPR cameras, including the use of video feeds in the stored data, the ability to use the video for stalking purposes, Flock cooperation with governmental agencies looking for the identification of individuals, immigration enforcement actions, potential use of data by partners organizations for immigration enforcement actions, agencies using data inappropriately, the decision by some surrounding municipalities not to use Flock cameras, Flock compliance with the UWPD contract and enforcement of that contract, and increased shared governance conversations.

In regard to immigration enforcement actions, UW–Madison will not disclose the immigration status of its students, faculty or staff unless required by law. UWPD will not participate in immigration enforcement actions conducted by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); this enforcement is not part of UWPD’s mission.

Both Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and UWPD Chief Bret Plisch welcomed additional governance conversations on this topic.

The minutes of the April 6, 2026 meeting were approved by consent.

Professor Douglas McLeod (School of Journalism and Mass Communication, district 61) presented the Athletic Board annual report for 2024-2025 (Faculty Document 3317). Professor Ajay Sethi (Population Health Sciences, district 99) presented the Health Care Advisory Committee annual report for 2024-2025 (Faculty Document 3318). Professor Jonathan Sencyhne (Information School, district 62) presented the Library Resources Committee for the Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities annual report for 2024-2026 (Faculty Document 3319). Carol Hulland presented the Retirement Issues Committee annual report for 2024-2025 (Faculty Document 3320). Professor Paul Barford (Computer Sciences, district 52) presented the report to establish the Department of Computer Sciences, the Department of Statistics and the Information School in the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence (Faculty Document 3321).

A faculty senator asked a question about University Libraries ending their affiliation with the Friends of the Libraries. Professor Jonathan Senchyne indicated that the Board of Regents has specifically prohibited the type of administrative arrangement that existed between the General Library System and the Friends. There were no other questions on the reports.

Professor Nancy Kendall, University Committee member, moved approval of the proposal to amend Faculty Policies & Procedures 6.40 LGBTQ+ Committee to change the committee name to the LGBTQ+ Affairs Committee and to remove the chief diversity officer representative ex officio seat due to university structural changes (Faculty Document 3308). The motion was approved.

Professor Sara McKinnon (Communication Arts, district 49) moved approval of the proposal to create a core general education requirements policy ( Faculty Document 3309 revised). Since the first reading, the definition of the “Civics and Perspectives” was revised to include a list of items beyond culture and contributions and remove the words “global community” from the same sentence. The motion was seconded and approved. 

Professor Ralph Grunewald (English, district 55) moved approval of the proposal to create a student feedback on teaching and learning policy (Faculty Document 3310 revised) with new amendments to reference that the policy applies to faculty, staff and students responsible for instruction when they are designated as a principal instructor of a course, striking the separate sentence regarding graduate students, and clarifying that the policy only applies to credit-bearing courses. Since the first reading, revisions were made to the principal instructor and academic division definitions, replacing “school and college” with “academic divisions,” and revisions were made to provide clarity in the scope as well as sections I, II, III and IV in the policy details. The motion was seconded. 

A faculty senator indicated that the College of Letters Academic Planning Council requested revisions to the proposal, which addressed governance and equity concerns, that have not yet been made. Professor Ralph Grunewald shared that the requested revisions were related to procedure and implementation and not policy.

Professor April Haynes (History, district 60) moved approval to table the proposal to create a student feedback on teaching and learning policy to the 2026-27 academic year. The motion was seconded and approved.

Professor April Haynes (History, district 60) moved approval of the Resolution on Mass Surveillance and Shared Governance at UW–Madison (Faculty Document 3311 revised). The motion was seconded. Due to the information given

Due to the information given and requests made by UWPD Chief Bret Plisch, Professor Michael Bernard-Donals, University Committee member, moved approval to table the Resolution on Mass Surveillance and Shared Governance at UW–Madison to the 2026-2027 academic year. Faculty senators shared comments on tabling the resolution. The motion was approved.

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin adjourned the meeting at 5:32 p.m.

Heather Daniels, Secretary of the Faculty