University Committee Meeting Minutes 2014-06-30
approved July 7, 2014
June 30, 2014
Present: Fair, Broman, Farrar-Edwards, Meyerand, Petty, Wendt
1. Meeting called to order: 1:03 PM
a. Minutes of the June 23, 2014 meeting were approved (Document 130513)
b. Updates and Announcements
i. University Committee meeting July 7, 2014: Steve Smith will join the UC on his first day as Secretary of the Faculty
ii. University Committee meeting July 7, 2014: UW System President Ray Cross will be present
iii. University Committee meeting July 7, 2014 will include an update with Provost D. Bazzell on 150 funds
2. Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration update: Darrell Bazzell
Reviewed anticipated budget deficit, and discussion points for R. Cross.
3. Provost Update: Paul DeLuca
Regarding the campus-wide computer crash, June 16: wifi authentication went down but the hard wire connection was fine; the brownout fried the uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The problems were attributed to there being no redundancy: the data center has nearly all enterprise systems in one place.
4. Chancellor Update: Rebecca Blank
a. Appointments
i. Athletic board progressing well
ii. Labor licensing still in progress
b. STEM education there has been an almost 10% increase in STEM majors in the past 10 years, but NO change in teaching resources. She plans to develop a new budget model. Handout: Trends in Instructional Activity in STEM Disciplines at the University of Wisconsin—Madisonc. Budgets: Projections for the state are lower than expected. With a tuition freeze, the University gets another cut related to fringe benefits. Overall, it’s a very bad set of financial conditions. Looking to better communicate the damage of continual cuts.
5. Interim Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education (VCRGE): Marsha Mailick
Huge implications of separating out the leadership into VCR/DGS: every legal document has to be reviewed and revised. Informal communication is ingrained, too (e.g., 3rd floor is known as The Graduate School). University Communications (Tricia Dickinson) will look at branding; University Committee will be involved to work through details.
6. Farrar Edwards moved and Meyerand 2nd to convene in closed session pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c), and (f) to discuss personnel matters. Motion passes: 3:12 PM
7. Farrar Edwards moved and Wendt 2nd to reconvene in open session.
8. Meeting adjourned: 4:02 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Jane Richard
Deputy Secretary of the Faculty