NOW TO BUDGET WATCH COVERAGE AND LATE WEEK MEETINGS BY THE UW BOARD OF REGENTS. TODAY THE BOARD VOTED TO PUT FACULTY TENURE PROTECTIONS IN REGENTS POLICY AFTER THE LEGISLATURE’S BUDGET COMMITTEE DROPPED THEM FROM STATE LAW. EFFORTS BY SOME REGENTS REQUESTING LAWMAKERS GET RID OF NEW LANGUAGE ON FACULTY LAYOFFS FAILED. THAT LANGUAGE INSERTED IN THE STATE BUDGET BILL BY REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS WOULD MAKE IT EASIER TO FIRE TENURED FACULTY. SYSTEM PRESIDENT RAY CROSS SAYS WHILE TENURE PROTECTIONS WILL BE STRIPPED OUT OF STATE LAW, THE REGENTS WILL MOVE TO PUT THEM INTO UNIVERSITY POLICY.

RAY CROSS:
NO TENURED FACULTY MEMBER SHOULD BE DISMISSED EVER WITHOUT A RIGOROUS PROCESS THAT IS — THAT IS RATIONALLY DEVELOPED AND IN CONCERT WITH STANDARD PRACTICES AROUND THE COUNTRY.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:
UW FACULTY PROTESTED OVER THE TENURE ISSUE AT THE REGENTS’ MEETING IN MILWAUKEE, WEARING DUCT TAPE OVER THEIR MOUTHS TO SIGNIFY A SILENCING OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM. THEY WERE DISAPPOINTED BY THE BOARD’S VOTE ON TENURE.

DAVID VANNESS:
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT REPLACING THE LAW THAT WAS STRICKEN FROM THE STATUTE ON THE DEFINITION OF TENURE, BUT IT’S ALSO THE EXISTENCE OF SECTION 39 WHICH GIVES THE BOARD OF REGENTS SWEEPING POWERS TO TERMINATE OR LAY OFF FACULTY INDEFINITELY FOR VIRTUALLY ANY REASON.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:
THE REGENTS ALSO ADDRESSED THE LIKELY STATE BUDGET CUT OF $250 MILLION TO THE SYSTEM. UW COLLEGES AND EXTENSION CHANCELLOR CATHY SANDEEN LIKE OTHER ADMINISTRATORS ACROSS THE SYSTEM IS WORKING TO IMPLEMENT THE CUTS AND DEAL WITH REACTION TO CHANGES IN TENURE. CHANCELLOR SANDEEN JOINS US FROM MILWAUKEE, BUT BEFORE WE BEGIN, WE SHOULD MENTION THAT WPT IS PART OF THE UW. CHANCELLOR, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US.

CATHY SANDEEN:
IT’S MY PLEASURE, FREDERICA.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:
FIRST, I WANTED TO ASK YOU IF YOU FAVOR REMOVING TENURE LANGUAGE FROM STATE LAW AND ADDING LANGUAGE ON LAYOFF AND FIRING OF TENURED FACULTY.

CATHY SANDEEN:
NO. I CAN’T SAY THAT I FAVOR THAT, BUT IT’S REALLY NOT MY DECISION. THE LEGISLATURE DECIDED TO DO THIS. AND I NEED TO POINT OUT THAT IT’S VERY UNUSUAL TO HAVE TENURE LANGUAGE STIPULATED IN LAW. IN MOST UNIVERSITIES, IF NOT ALL OTHER UNIVERSITIES IN THE UNITED STATES, TENURE POLICY IS DELINEATED AS A BOARD POLICY. AND SO THAT’S WHAT WE’RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO WITHIN THE UW SYSTEM. AS YOU KNOW, BOARD OF REGENTS WILL BE DEVELOPING THE POLICY ON TENURE FOR US GOING FORWARD. THE LAYOFF POLICY THAT WAS DELINEATED THAT EXTENDS THE CONDITIONS BEYOND FINANCIAL EMERGENCY, I DIDN’T EXPECT TO SEE THAT. AND, AGAIN, THE BOARD OF REGENTS HAS ASSURED US THAT THEY WILL DEVELOP A POLICY CONSISTENT WITH LAW THAT WILL ENSURE THAT THERE ARE NOT ARBITRARY LAYOFFS OF FACULTY AND SO THAT THAT ASPECT OF TENURE WILL STILL BE PROTECTED AS WELL.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:
AND YET THAT KIND OF AVOIDANCE OF ARBITRARY LAYOFFS OF TENURED FACULTY SEEMS TO ME LIKE THE LOWEST BAR THAT ONE COULD BE AT FOR TENURE PROTECTIONS, RIGHT, ARBITRARY LAYOFFS. BUT STILL WON’T THERE BE MORE LATITUDE TO FIRE OR LAY OFF BECAUSE OF THAT LEGISLATIVELY-INSERTED LANGUAGE?

CATHY SANDEEN:
I THINK IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO GO BACK TO WHY WE HAVE TENURE IN THE FIRST PLACE. THE PURPOSE OF TENURE IS TO PROTECT THE ACADEMIC FREEDOM OF OUR FACULTY SO THAT THEY CAN RESEARCH WHAT THEY WANT, STUDY WHAT THEY WANT AND TEACH WHAT THEY WANT WITHOUT INTERFERENCE FROM POLITICAL AND OTHER FORCES. THAT WILL REMAIN INTACT. THAT PORTION OF TENURE WILL REMAIN INTACT. WE WILL SEE WHAT THE BOARD COMES UP WITH IN TERMS OF PROTECTIONS FOR FACULTY IN TERMS OF LAYOFFS. RIGHT NOW I THINK WE HAVE LATITUDE TO PROVIDE PROTECTION THAT IT HAS TO BE IN THE CASE OF A SEVERE ECONOMIC HARDSHIP OR REDUCTION IN STUDENT ENROLLMENTS BEFORE WE WOULD EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. AND THE OTHER THING IS WE CAN ENSURE THAT WE FIND OTHER PLACES WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY, OTHER DEPARTMENTS, FOR OUR TENURED FACULTY. SO THERE ARE MANY OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN DEAL WITH THE PROVISIONS IN THE LAW WHEN WE DEVELOP OUR OWN POLICIES OR WHEN THE BOARD DEVELOPS THE POLICIES FOR US.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:
AND YET WE’RE READING THAT ALREADY UW-MADISON PROFESSORS ARE REPORTEDLY BEING POACHED BY OTHER UNIVERSITIES. DOES THIS STRIKE YOU AS MORE LIKE “THE SKY IS FALLING,” OR COULD THIS, IN YOUR MIND, POTENTIALLY HURT THE REPUTATION OF PARTICULARLY THE FLAGSHIP, WHICH COULD THEN KIND OF TRICKLE DOWN TO THE REST OF THE SYSTEM?

CATHY SANDEEN:
FREDERICA, I REALLY THINK WE NEED TO WAIT TO SEE WHAT THE BOARD COMES UP WITH IN TERMS OF POLICY. I THINK WHAT WE WILL FIND IS THAT TENURE WILL BE STRONG AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, AND JUST AS IT IS AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS, AND THAT WE WON’T BE A SEVERE OUTLIER FROM OTHER INSTITUTIONS. IN FACT, WE’LL BE VERY SIMILAR AND WE WON’T SEE THE SORT OF POACHING THAT YOU’RE SUGGESTING IS HAPPENING NOW.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:
NOW, IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET CUTS, I KNOW THAT THEY HAVEN’T BEEN SPECIFICALLY DELINEATED FOR EXTENSION BECAUSE YOU’RE AWAITING THE FINAL OUTCOME OF THE BUDGET, BUT YOU EXPECT ACTUALLY THAT SOME COLLEGES IN THE SYSTEM WILL BE MERGED OR CLOSED?

CATHY SANDEEN:
NO. NO COLLEGES WILL BE CLOSED. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE UW COLLEGES. THESE ARE THE 13 TWO-YEAR LIBERAL ARTS TRANSFER INSTITUTIONS AROUND THE STATE OF WISCONSIN THAT I OVERSEE. WE STARTED OUT THIS WHOLE BUDGET SEASON WITH THE GOAL OF — OR THE ASSUMPTION THAT WE WOULD NOT BE CHANGING — OR WE WOULD NOT BE CLOSING ANY CAMPUSES. SO — AND THAT’S TRUE. WE WILL NOT. WHAT WE ARE CONSIDERING, HOWEVER, IS SOME CONSOLIDATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS. WE WANT TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO PRESERVE THE ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE AND THE ACADEMIC PROGRESS OF OUR STUDENTS. WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF CUTTING ANY FACULTY POSITIONS WHATSOEVER. WE WANT TO PRESERVE THE COURSES FOR OUR STUDENTS. WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT, HOWEVER, IN SOME CASES, ELIMINATING SOME ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BECAUSE OF THIS BUDGET CUT THAT WE ARE CONFRONTED WITH.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:
VERY, VERY BRIEFLY, CHANCELLOR, HOW DOES ALL OF THIS AFFECT MORALE?

CATHY SANDEEN:
OF COURSE THE LOOMING BUDGET CUTS HAVE BEEN HANGING OUT THERE OVER US FOR FOUR OR FIVE MONTHS NOW, AND BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF THE CUTS, MANY OF OUR STAFF REALIZE THAT THIS PROBABLY MEANS LAYOFFS IN OUR INSTITUTIONS. SO OF COURSE THIS AFFECTS MORALE. THE WONDERFUL THING ABOUT THE UW COLLEGES AND UW-EXTENSION IS THAT OUR FACULTY AND STAFF ARE LASER FOCUSED ON OUR MISSION AND THAT IS TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO HELP OUR STUDENTS. AND I KNOW THAT THAT WILL BE OUR TRUE NORTH AS WE MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THIS DIFFICULT TIME.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:
WE NEED TO LEAVE IT THERE. CHANCELLOR SANDEEN, THANKS VERY MUCH.

CATHY SANDEEN:
THANK YOU.