Chancellor Rebecca Blank of the University of Wisconsin-Madison shared the following message by email with faculty on June 9 ahead of an emergency meeting of the Faculty Senate. The message was also posted on a web page maintained by the University and devoted to budget issues. As we prepare to meet, I want to again…
The following is the text of a statement released yesterday by Chancellor Rebecca Blank of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. It is encouraging that the Chancellor pledges consistency with AAUP policies. It remains to be seen, however, whether or not Wisconsin politicians will permit that. Chancellor Blank’s reference to AAUP should remind us of the…
The following statement was published yesterday (June 3) and as of this morning had acquired 361 signatures [UPDATE: As of the next morning (June 5) the number of signatories had climbed to 459. The additional names, however, have not been added to the list that follows the text of the statement]: We write as fortunate…
On Tuesday the Wisconsin State Journal published an op-ed piece by John Wiley, who was Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, from 2001 to 2008. Wiley pointed out that “In 1900, Wisconsin was one of only 14 research universities that came together to form the now prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU is now…
In a post yesterday entitled “The End of Tenure in Wisconsin?” I discussed proposals approved last week by the Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee that would remove tenure protections from statute, weaken shared governance, and modify layoff policies and procedures for faculty. While the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents will remain empowered to restore…
This week, Politico published an article by Matt Valentine titled “Texas Just Made College Less Safe: University Leaders Have Thought That Guns on Campus Are a Bad Idea since 1824. So Why Do States Keep Allowing It”—a very provocative title and slant for Politico. Here are the opening paragraphs: “When the founding fathers wrote that…
Last Friday afternoon the Wisconsin Legislature’s powerful Joint Finance Committee declared war on the University of Wisconsin’s faculty. By a vote of 12-4 the Committee approved an omnibus spending bill that would impose drastic budget cuts and, most important, eliminate tenure from state statute. The committee also approved adding new limits to the faculty role in…
Testimony before the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Higher Education Presented by Liz Marasco May 19th, 2015 Honorable Chairman Duffy and members of the committee, Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this morning. My name is Liz Marasco, and I am graduate of Ohio State University. I graduated summa cum laude with…
Testimony before the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Higher Education Presented by Alli Rigel May 19th, 2015 When I first entered college, I was wearing the rose-colored glasses of the American Dream. Having grown up in varied degrees of poverty, supported by a single mother that carried the economic stigma of bankruptcy and ongoing student loans…
Testimony before the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Higher Education Presented by Rachael Collyer May 19th, 2015 Honorable Chairman Gardner and members of the committee, My name is Rachael Collyer and I address you today both as a student with a personal stake in the issue and also as an educational justice organizer with the…