Chancellor Rebecca Blank called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m. with 168 voting members present (110 needed for quorum).
1. Memorial Resolutions were presented for:
Professor Emeritus Reid Bryson. faculty document 2473
Professor Emerita Gerda Lerner. faculty document 2474
Professor Emeritus Philip G. Kessel. faculty document 2475
2. Announcements/Informational Items
a. Chancellor Blank announced the following:
i. The search for the Dean of the School of Pharmacy was underway and Provost
candidates will be publicly named later in the week.
ii. President Obama recently announced that UI Labs has been awarded a
$320 million to develop a Digital Lab for Manufacturing initiative to create cutting-edge technologies to advance U.S. competitiveness in manufacturing. UW-Madison is a research partner with Digital Lab.
b. Michael Bernard-Donals announced that:
i. The Committee on Civility in the Academic Workplace is completing its work on recommending changes to Faculty Policies and Procedures (FPP). They hope to have a first reading of their recommendations yet this academic year.
ii.The University Committee and the Classified Staff Executive Committee are working on identifying changes necessary in FPP to insure classified staff representation on Chapter 6 shared governance committees.
iii. Work has begun to establish an Ad Hoc Working Group on Classified Research. There is a need to review existing policy and procedures and identify recommendations for change in this area.
3. Question Period
Jim Dewing, district #65, inquired whether department by department comparisons had been done on the effect of proposed increases in out-of-state tuition. The School of Music is concerned about possible implications on funding levels available for need-based scholarships. The Chancellor indicated that those comparisons have not been done. It’s not clear that such a proposal would go forward this year.
AUTOMATIC CONSENT BUSINESS
4. The Minutes of the 3 February 2014 Senate meeting were approved as disseminated.
REPORTS
5. Narra Cox, Continuing Studies, presented the proposal to merge the Dept. of Liberal Studies and the Arts with the Dept. of Professional Development. She reported that the proposal had received endorsements from all of the appropriate authorities on campus and that, within Continuing Studies, they were already functioning as one department. faculty document 2476.
NEW BUSINESS
6. The University Committee’s proposed revisions to FPP 5.30 pertaining to Chair Selection were given a first reading. The intent of the revision is to offer a clear process for what should take place when a dean decides not to accept a department recommendation for chair. It identifies the Chancellor as the final authority should an appeal go forward and adds consultation with the Provost and University Committee as part of the approval process. faculty document 2477.
7. In a first reading, Rebecca Scheller, Committee on Women in the University, offered its recommendations for revisions to FPP 6.56. The intent of these recommendations is to attain equity of representation of faculty, classified and academic staff and students and more accurately reflects what the committee does. faculty document 2478.
SENATE as COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
8. A motion was made and seconded to convene the Senate as a “Committee of the Whole”to discuss the proposed recommendations of the Working Group on Changes to the Leadership Structure of the Research Enterprise. Motion carried. faculty document 2479.
The Working Group provided an overview of their report and its recommendations. A lengthy
discussion ensued. Senators were reminded that later in the week, three town hall meetings will
be held in locations across the campus to facilitate faculty input on the report and its
recommendations. Based on feedback from faculty and other stakeholders the report will be revised
and come back to the senate for a vote on the recommendations.
There being no further discussion, a motion was made and seconded to “rise and report”. Motion