Vol. 34, No. 73 / July 28, 2003

DOA, UW System sort through Doyle vetoes

The state budget Gov. Jim Doyle signed on Thursday included 131 separate vetoes, some with new and additional financial fallout for the UW System. The total amount of additional one-time cuts could reach more than $20 million. The exact amount will be determined once the Department of Administration decides how to apportion the largest of the proposed lapses (in funding for information technology) across state agencies.

Part-timers get good news on health insurance, but System faces lapse

Here's an update on an issue being watched closely by state employees working between 50% and 74% time: The immediate good news for those employees is that Gov. Doyle vetoed the requirement that these part-timers start paying one-half of their health insurance premiums, a substantial expense. Rather than target only this group for change, the governor said, any analysis or restructuring of insurance coverage for state employees should be systematic, comprehensive, and subject to collective bargaining where appropriate. Doyle's veto, however, left intact the estimated $21 million statewide that would have been collected in these proposed premiums, meaning state agencies including the UW System will have to account for the difference.

Regent president questions impact of vetoes

Toby E. Marcovich, president of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, issued a statement in which he questioned Gov. Doyle's vetoes and their disproportionate impact on the UW System. See http://www.wisconsin.edu/news/2003/r030725.htm.

Seg-fee issue also part of budget debate

A Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel report concerning the UW System and last week's budget vetoes addresses all of the above as well as the issue of funding student financial aid increases via auxiliary accounts including segregated fees. The story is at http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jul03/157525.asp.

Fleming begins Oct. 1; Brown is interim director

Oct. 1 is the start date for David W. Fleming, the new executive director of the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts. He currently serves as president and chief executive officer of the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin, Texas, and he formerly directed programs in New Jersey and Delaware. Fleming succeeds Tom Gabbard, who starts this week as president of the arts center in Charlotte, N.C. Joi Brown, Weidner Center general manager, will serve as acting executive director until Fleming begins his new duties. For more, click http://www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/archive/2003july.htm#fleming.

Review: Touring production of 'Millie' thoroughly entertaining

There's good news from Dallas regarding "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and the first stop for the locally supported touring Broadway production that held dress rehearsals at the Weidner earlier this summer. The good news is that the Dallas Morning News critic loved the show and star Darcie Roberts, calling both a big improvement over the actual Broadway versions. "Millie" opens in Green Bay Aug. 19, with tickets still available for the eight-show run. For ticket info, click http://www.uwgb.edu/weidner/season_info/broadway/0304_Millie.htm.

Lightning strike can't silence summer music camps

Mona Christensen in Outreach sends word of "one for the record books" this past weekend. The thunderstorm that knocked out campus power between 7:25 and 11 a.m. Saturday? For many of you, not a problem. For summer camps, a big problem. The outage played havoc with final concerts for the 500 middle school band, orchestra and choir kids scheduled to perform; with parents and grandparents, upward of 1,500 people were affected. The mad scramble started with students trying to find their instruments (stored in a dark University Theatre)... camp staff looking for large-enough practice space with just enough light (the SA band room had the brightest auxiliary lighting)... and ended with final concerts by natural light in the lobby/foyer of the Weidner Center, as parents crowded the main floor and lined the mezzanine overlook. Power was restored in time for the choir portion of the program to take place inside the main hall, ending a long day at about 2 p.m. Adds Christensen, "I think a tenacity and creativity award should go to (Music Prof.) Kevin Collins and his student staff. It was really unbelievable."

State budget provides boost to UW-Green Bay sports and events center

The plan to upgrade the Phoenix Sports Center remains on track after Gov. Jim Doyle signed the 2003-05 state budget. The budget the governor signed includes a provision that commits $7.5 million of state-supported bonding in two years toward the Student Sports and Events Center as long as other funding pieces are in place. UW-Green Bay officials praised the leadership of Assembly Speaker John Gard, Joint Finance Committee Co-chair Dean Kaufert, Sen. Dave Hansen, and Sen. Robert Cowles of the State Building Commission. For more, see http://www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/archive/2003july.htm#sports.

Watershed monitoring project is under way

UW-Green Bay's participation in a watershed-monitoring project involving Green Bay area science teachers and high school students was mentioned in a Green Bay News-Chronicle story last week. Check http://www.greenbaynewschron.com/page.html?article=121066.

Info session on Master's of Management is this Thursday

UW-Green Bay will hold an information session this Thursday (July 31) for individuals interested in learning more about the University's graduate program in management. The program will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. Thursday in the 1965 Room of the University Union. See http://www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/archive/2003july.htm#management.

Milwaukee, Stevens Point chancellors head elsewhere

UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Nancy Zimpher confirmed last week that she will become the new president of the University of Cincinnati. (UW System President Katharine Lyall named two people to temporarily replace her: the leadership team of Robert Greenstreet, dean of the UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning, as Interim Chancellor, and Provost John Wanat, to run day-to-day operations.) Meanwhile, in Stevens Point, Chancellor Thomas George says he's leaving for the University of Missouri-St. Louis. For a columnist's take on the Zimpher move, see http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jul03/156906.asp. For the George details, see http://www.startribune.com/stories/568/4007325.html.

Blohm will fly the Phoenix coop

Already posted around campus but not yet mentioned here is the cake-and-punch farewell gathering for Jason Blohm from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday (Aug. 4) in Room 1916 of the Student Services Building. A staff member in Career Services who is moving on to pursue an opportunity in Nebraska, he's perhaps as well known for his previous gig, during his UW-Green Bay student days, as one heckuva imposing Phoenix mascot.

More on Wisconsin Space Conference

"Our Changing Earth" is the theme for the 13th annual Wisconsin Space Conference to be hosted Aug. 14-15 by NASA's Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium based at UW-Green Bay. The two-day conference brings together the key players and students in aerospace and space science in Wisconsin to present their research and discuss partnering opportunities. Now online is a news release with all the details at http://www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/archive/2003july.htm#space.

Nationally, rising tuition is big story

Finally, from the You-Already-Know-This Department comes a story summarizing the fact that states across America are experiencing financial woes and double-digit tuition increases. It's not just Wisconsin. See Arizona and California, for example, with 40 percent tuition increases. The Washington Post story is at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25763-2003Jul21.html?nav=hptop_tb.

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