Campus Connection

[caption id="attachment_18722" align="alignright" width="555" caption="Chancellor Joe Gow gave his all-university address Wednesday, Jan. 23. He highlighted many faculty accomplishments, new initiatives and faculty and staff compensation challenges."][/caption] Chancellor Joe Gow praised faculty and staff for accomplishments while recognizing the ever-present challenge of inadequate pay during his All-University Address at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Gow said he has watched great faculty and staff leave UW-L because they can be paid more elsewhere. He says the model doesn’t make sense.

“Imagine if a business had a great year —customers were coming in larger numbers and they were very satisfied — and then the ownership turned around and cut the compensation of the employees who got them there,” explained Gow. “That is what’s happened because our salaries have not kept pace.”

UW System Board of Regents President Brent Smith, from La Crosse, also addressed the crowd briefly, noting compensation challenges. Smith explained better compensation for faculty and staff is a high priority as he nears the end of his term on the Board of Regents. The Regents are seeking more authority from the legislature on compensation; however, they will not know until the end of the fiscal year whether they will be granted that authority. Faculty salaries in the UW System have fallen more than 18 percent behind the national average. Gow highlighted various ways students, faculty and staff continue to perform despite compensation challenges. Among them:

• UW-L’s College of Business Administration recently received a national award from the prestigious Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) for Outstanding Institutional Practice in Student Learning Outcomes. The award is in recognition of the college’s exceptional work in developing and applying evidence of student learning outcomes. And in May 2012, CBA graduates scored higher than 94 percent of other business students from universities across the country on a test measuring their subject knowledge in business. “Our CBA is a national leader in preparing students to enter the world of business and does an excellent job documenting that,” said Gow.
• The UW-L Physics Department was one of only four colleges nationwide to receive the American Physical Society’s 2013 Improving Undergraduate Physics Education Award.
• More than 1,000 people have signed up for the MOOC (massive open online course) at the developmental math level, which a team of UW-L employees developed. The free online course will help students enter college and graduate in higher numbers, in less time and at lower costs. UW-L received a $50,000 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to develop the MOOC.
• UW-L was again chosen to host the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, this time, from April 11-13, 2013. The event will include 3,050 presentations from students and faculty nationwide, including 182 by UW-L students.
• UW-L ranked among Kiplinger’s Personal Finance February 2013 issue’s Top 100 Best Values in Public Colleges with “top-flight academics and affordable costs.” UW-L and UW-Madison are the only two Wisconsin public colleges on the list.
• After UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee, UW-L has the largest number of international students on campus with about 400 students from 44 countries.
• Recent staff awards include: Brad Quarberg, ’85, director of News & Marketing, who received the 2012 CASE V Distinguished Service Award and Al Trapp, president of the UW-L Foundation, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the La Crosse Area Development Corp.

Gow said sometimes people ask him what his legacy will be as chancellor. He ultimately wants UW-L to be a good place to work where the administration listens and people work together. Toward that end, he encouraged the campus to participate in a campus climate survey that will be available Feb. 4-March 2. A randomly selected survey participant will win dinner with Gow and use of his parking space, located near Graff Main Hall. [caption id="attachment_18741" align="alignleft" width="555" caption="From left, Regent Tim Higgins, Regent Tracy Hribar, Regent President Brent Smith and UW-L Chancellor Joe Gow. The three members of the UW System Board of Regents visited UW-L on Wednesday and attended the chancellor’s address."][/caption] UW-L has also just signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Defense to participate in a tuition and support program for those actively serving in the military or the reserves. The campus is also working to continue to attract high quality students. Gow embraced new branding efforts underway on campus in a ritualistic way — changing the pin on his suit coat to a pin with the new UW-L logo. The theme of the new branding initiative is “Surround yourself with distinction. Surround yourself with UW-La Crosse.” It captures three of UW-L’s most prominent qualities including: outstanding academics, the scenic beauty of the area and the strong sense of community. University Communications staff will assist in integrating the new material into print, online and other forms of communication. Learn more. [caption id="attachment_18732" align="alignleft" width="826" caption="Chancellor Joe Gow also announced Paula Knudson, assistant chancellor and dean of students, was promoted to vice chancellor of student affairs. Gow says Knudson has given outstanding leadership in Student Affairs, particularly in fall 2012 with the death of three students."][/caption] Gow announced UW-L is also in the process of launching a $15 million scholarship campaign. Anyone with ideas of people who may be interested in supporting UW-L student scholarships can contact: Greg Reichert, assistant chancellor for university advancement, at 608.785.8672 or greichert@uwlax.edu “We’re in a situation where state funding continues to decline and as tuition goes up, it is harder for students,” says Gow. “We want to make sure all students can take full advantage of this great educational experience we offer.” Additional events

• On March 1-2, the 4th Biennial United Nations Association Traveling Film Festival to be held at UW-La Crosse. This special two-day event will be held in Centennial Hall auditoriums 1309 and 1400 from noon-9 p.m.
• On April 4 and 5, UW-L will host the UW-System Board of Regents meeting