Campus Connection

Gow shares clear plans, possible surprises

Some university plans in the year ahead are clear. A new student union will be complete, a new science building will begin to form, and UWL will welcome one of the largest incoming classes in about 30 years. But the campus will undoubtedly see some surprises too, noted Chancellor Joe Gow during his All-University Address on Wednesday in the Brian and Lori Hesprich Auditorium in Graff Main Hall. Among the surprises is UWL’s budget in the coming year as the UW System advocates for additional funding and universities await the governor’s proposal. The chancellor also shared numerous faculty and staff awards and accolades. And he highlighted an area where faculty and staff need to be open to learning more — addressing racism on campus. Students shared a video they created that calls for deep-rooted change on campus to address racial inequality, and ultimately make UWL a safer and more inclusive place for students of color.

Budgetary surprises

UW System has asked for an additional $42.5 million in the next budget cycle after the System received a $250 million budget cut last year. But what the budget will be remains a question mark until the governor releases his budget proposal in January, and that, in turn, is approved by the State Assembly and Senate. “It’s safe to say we need to be planning for not an abundance of new money — and maybe some cutting,” noted Gow. Despite budget uncertainty, UWL officials will continue to advocate for better compensation to help attract and retain faculty and staff, said Gow. The university will also push back on a proposal to extend the UW System tuition freeze through the 2017-19 biennium. Caps on tuition, in a time of declining state support, limit the quality of education the university can offer, said Gow. “We want to provide a quality experience to students and provide them great value. If you have to stay an extra year, that’s thousands more you are spending on tuition and living expenses,” says Gow. “We need a more nuanced approach to this. We are happy to see President Ray Cross say, ‘let’s get the Regents back into setting tuition.’ We hope that will come out of this budget process.”

On the list of things UWL can anticipate in the year ahead:

• Keys to the new student center will be turned over at the end of September and the facility will open in January.
• The New Science Labs Building construction begins to replace the current science facility, Cowley Hall, which is deteriorating and does not meet program space requirements.
• Thanks to a gift from Ron and Jane Rada, the university is working with the UWL Foundation to pursue additional philanthropy to broaden and enhance the portfolio of student experiential learning opportunities. The Radas have pledged $100,000, hoping to leverage this gift as a challenge grant to generate a larger pool of $800,000 - $1 million in additional gifts over the next two years. To support the Margins of Excellence initiative, contact the UWL Foundation at 608.785.6803 or at foundation@uwlax.edu.
• UWL will continue a university-wide strategic planning process that was started after major cuts came to UW System in 2015. Several strategic priorities have already been identified and teams are beginning work on them. Those priorities include: providing transformational education, increasing community engagement and achieving equity and excellence.

[caption id="attachment_46654" align="alignnone" width="700"] Troy Richter, assistant director Residence Life, left, shakes hands with Chancellor Joe Gow during the All-University Address.[/caption]

Accolades for faculty, staff

Gow announced the Academic Staff Excellence Award Winner Troy Richter, assistant director Residence Life. Also, for the first time the university offered the University Staff Excellence Award, which was given to Laurie Collison, an academic department associate for Communication Studies. Provost Betsy Morgan shared quotes from students who nominated this year’s Eagle Teaching Excellence Award Winners. This year’s winners are:

• Matthew Andre, Exercise and Sports Science
• Bianca Basten, Psychology
• Roi Kawai, Education Studies
• Betsy Knowles, Economics
• Nick McGrath, Chemistry & Biochemistry
• Kate Parker, English

Read the full story. Gow also praised various campus groups and departments that serve the university inside and out. He gave kudos to groundskeepers for the beautiful landscaping on campus and to employees in Information Technology Services for their work in transitioning the campus to Microsoft Office 365 this summer. UWL’s Admissions staff helped attract talented students despite the declining population of high school graduates in the state, Gow added. Though enrollment numbers are not official until the 10th day of classes, UWL’s enrollment of new students for fall is approaching 2,100, he shared. “It is not just one of the biggest classes, but also one of the most diverse classes in the history of the university,” Gow added.

Students share video to address racial inequality

UWL students shared a video they created, “Inclusive Negligence: Helping Educators Address Racial Inequality at UWL.” The video calls for deep-rooted change on campus to address racial inequality, and ultimately make the campus a safer and more inclusive place for students of color. The video features UWL students of color sharing their experiences related to racial inequality on campus, and provides action steps for educators to help address it in their classrooms and beyond. It will be shared at college meetings as a professional development tool this semester and also more broadly with the campus community through programs, events and classes to spark conversations and greater understanding about racial inequality. Suggestions and resources from the video will soon be available on UWL’s Institute for Social Justice website and the video will be released later. The project was funded by a College of Liberal Studies small grant.