Approved Minutes for January 7, 2019       Approved January 14, 2019 

UC members present: Amasino (chair), Bowers, Campagnola, Warfield, Wolf

UC member absent: Ventura

Others present (in addition to those noted below): S. Smith, J. Richard, J. Smith, H. Daniels, G. Bump, M. Mayrl

Chair Rick Amasino called the meeting to order at 1:02 p.m. Secretary of the Faculty Steve Smith distributed a draft Senate agenda for the February meeting and some discussion followed. The minutes of the meetings of December 17, 2018, and December 27, 2018, were approved. PROFS lobbyist Jack O’Meara reported on the inauguration of the new governor, meetings with the transition, and a probable delay in the biennial budget from the governor’s office.

Police chief Kristen Roman updated the UC on discussions with ASM about medical amnesty. Current UW policy is that a person reporting an alcohol-related medical emergency will not be cited if they have also been drinking, but whether to issue a citation to the person with the medical emergency is at the discretion of UWPD. Students are seeking amnesty across the board and Roman is exploring the issue with then. Roman also reported on mental health efforts and interventions, emergency management (including her update to the BoR and our support of other UWS campuses), SOAR programming, and new concerns arising out of the acquisition of Upham Woods as part of the UWEX merger.

Paul Campagnola moved to convene in closed session pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c) and (f) to discuss personnel matters. The motion was seconded and passed at 1:31 p.m. The UC considered and approved four dual role waivers (one contingent on a clarification about funding), three clock extensions (one for a shorter time than requested), and one request to hire a former assistant professor as academic staff. The UC considered faculty for the HR director search and for the provost search and then discussed a memo from a dean about a pending appeal. Terry Warfield moved to reconvene in open session. The motion was seconded and passed at 2:10 p.m.

Chief Diversity Officer Patrick Sims provided an update on the target of opportunity program. There are three pathways into this program: specific recruitments, searches that yield candidates who are of interest but not a fit for the search, and unexpected “out of the sky” candidates. A team from the provost’s office has just completed review of the first set under the first pathway and authorized 27 pre-approval processes. How many of those will turn into hires is unknown. Sims spent the remainder of his time discussing a new project to highlight diversity and inclusion through stories of overcoming challenges and struggles.