Oshkosh Northwestern - UWO budget forum sparks controversy

Here is a very poor report of the forum that appeared in the Northwestern:

Oshkosh Northwestern - UWO budget forum sparks controversy

Oshkosh News report on the budget meeting

I didn't make it to the meeting, but Miles Maguire reports that Underheim blamed the system for being bad lobbyists:


Oshblog: Underheim to U: Take it from K-12

"Crisis in the Public University: Budget Cuts and Tuition Hikes in the UW System"

Attend the forum this afternoon in Reeve 202, at 3 PM to hear Dean Zimmerman, Rep. Underheim, and Legislative Director of the United Council of UW Students Renee Stieve discuss the crisis we face here!

Biology dept wins teaching award & ignores staff

Looking at Frank Church's Oshkosh in the news feature this morning, I was reminded of my nagging criticism of the way the biology department handled its reception of the award.

It is great for the University to win another Regents teaching award, but what I noticed was that the department did not acknowledge the people who teach a significant percentage of their classes.

I know that most lower level lab sections in the biology department are taught by academic staff. They are the initial contact that most students have with the department and free the t-t faculty to concentrate on the majors. However, these people, both full and part time, apparently don't count in the regents process. At the opening day ceremonies, only the tenure-track folks were invited up on stage (not to mention the picture in the program).

It seemed to me to be in poor taste not to acknowledge a large percentage of your teaching staff when you win a teaching award. (The department even refuses to pay for phones in many staff offices)

Strip faculty of right to share in governance -- argues a Republican from Menomonee Falls

Tony Palmeri saw this in the Madison paper and sent the link to the COLS list.

I am not sure what to make of it, except that the republicans love to assault us at every turn. How dare the faculty have input into the running of their own institutions. It is so un-American!


The Capital Times

UWM chancellor sounds alarm about budget cuts

In contrast to the bland opening day speeches here, the chancellor of UW Milwaukee lashed out at funding cuts and publicly argued that the cuts would hurt both the university and the region. He stressed that the only way to survive is to gain more external funding, i.e. become less of a state institution.


JS Online: UWM chancellor sounds alarm

here is the full text of his remarks.

Katherine Lyall talks of privatization

Former Chancellor of the system suggests there needs to be real debate about the direction that the relationship between the state and the UW system is taking.

Privatizing UW

U.S. Falling behind in education

This story is all over the news today, even getting a small story in the Northwestern.

We are getting a smaller percentage of our kids through high school and college. We used to lead the world in these statistics, but have now dropped to seventh.

It is not too hard to see why. Accessible higher education (and high school) is under assault by the anti-tax movement that dominates our politics. As we all know, students here face high tuition bills, less personal attention, and, I would have to imagine, a harder time completing their degree.

This report just highlights the problems we face--continuing attacks on higher education undermine our ability to create criticial thinking citizens and a work force that knows how to reason and adapt to the changing global economy.

Invest in education! Make sure Wisconsin citizens of the next generation get college degrees and can help keep our state prosperous.

This call, however, falls on deaf ears in Madison.

Inside Higher Ed :: International Erosion

Viscious Stew and Praise for diversity efforts

In a day of opposites, the local paper ran an editorial praising efforts to create a more diverse student body on campus, while Stew Rieckman attacked the bureaucracy of the university in his little rant.

Oshkosh Northwestern - UWO learning right lessons for building minority attendance

Rieckman, a bureaucrat himself if you think about it, attacks both the county and the UW system.

In the second half of his "column," he once again attacks UW for saying that universities provide backup jobs to senior administrators. One Regent says it isn't true, so Stew decides everyone else must be lying. Accusing everyone of arrogance and ignorance, he ought to look in the mirror once in a while.

Rieckman comment

He is really a pretty disagreeable character, and unfortunately, the voice of our local paper.


They also ran an editorial by head of system, Kevin Reily.

Regents support cutting backup jobs, paid leaves

Report on the regents meeting yesterday from the Journal-Sentinel. They want to toughen policies for back-up jobs and internal investigations.


JS Online: Regents support cutting backup jobs, paid leaves

Regents vow to curb backup jobs, leaves

Not surprisingly, the regents announced plans to revisit the issue of backup jobs, leaves, and due process rights.

A few troubling examples drive the whole process--no one has shown any wide-spread abuse of these policies. Before we throw the baby out with the bathwater, shouldn't we know the whole effect of these policies?


JS Online: Regents vow to curb backup jobs, leaves

Enrollment at UWO remains steady with mix

The northwestern ran a story this morning about our enrollment numbers.

The size of the U actually shrunk by a few dozen students (though as I remember this doesn't count interim), and there is slightly more diversity on campus.



Oshkosh Northwestern - Enrollment at UWO remains steady with mix

Chancellor Reilly's statement about back up jobs

JS Online: UW System strives to have its policies match its principles

WSJ on back-up positions

It seems most agree that these positions should be limited to academic faculty. I wonder how the current policy was put in place.

Wisconsin State Journal

Kreibich finds another excuse to assail university system

This guy must be planning to run for state-wide office on the basis of his hatred for the UW system.

JS Online: UW lashed for pricey new payroll system

Return backup contracts at UW to restricted use

There is even a reasonable editorial on the issue of backup contracts.

I hear that the rules come from system and state regulations, not from decisions made on our campus.


Oshkosh Northwestern - Return backup contracts at UW to restricted use

A few students displaced by Katrina make their way to UWO

At least one student from New Orleans is coming to UWO this fall to finish her degree. It is nice that UWO has found a way to help!

Oshkosh Northwestern - Katrina’s students

It is also nice to see the occasional positive story in our local paper!

Opening Day

Yesterday, the Chancellor, Dean and other administrators gave their opening day speeches. It was a strange group of speeches. No one talked about the real problems on campus, the budget cuts.

The chancellor gave perhaps his worst opening day address since I have been hear, almost mumbling through a list of planning initiatives. The speech was pure bureaucratese, devoid of substance or seriousness.

The bright spot is the new dean of student affairs, Petra Roter, who gave an amusing, spririted overview of the positives for students on campus. She completely avoided the parking issue, because it might mean realism would invade the sunny positive speeches.

Dean Zimmerman, in his address to the COLS, could not avoid a bit of negativity in his speech. Several times, he declared he didn't want to talk about the budget, though it was clear he did. Instead, he talked about some of his inititatives to convince a broader public of the need for liberal arts education. As usual, his remarks were cogent and interesting, but emphasized our weakness in self-promotion.

All in all, the event struck me as particularly empty. I was waiting to hear something substantial, but there was nothing but platitudes.

Oshkosh Northwestern - ‘Backup’ jobs for 39 at UWO

Here is the latest bad press for the university. It is hard to believe all of the people who have backup appointments. I always assumed that this was something done only for academic administrators.

I wonder how many people actually take advantage of these offers--there have been reports of a few, so one would suspect that the system isn't as excessive as critics will claim.

Still, it is unfortunate for all of us without backup appointments to watch our school get abused for it.

Mos

Oshkosh Northwestern - ‘Backup’ jobs for 39 at UWO

University issues around Katrina

The crisis that still exists in New Orleans, Mississippi and Louisiana is terrible and we should all do what we can to help.

It is astounding how ineffectual all of the government agencies have been in responding to this disaster. Apparently there had been almost no planning for such an event. Let us hope that someone can get a handle on this over the next weeks, before too many more people die.

In the meantime, here is a link to the Red Cross and a story about how New Orleans universities are trying to deal with Katrina.

Inside Higher Ed :: Finding New Homes or Temporary Homes