Vol. 36, No. 101 / June 27, 2005

Last-minute budget amendment would force sale of heat/chill plant

Chancellor Bruce Shepard and Vice Chancellor Tom Maki are calling for reconsideration of a late-night amendment to the state budget requiring the sale of 32 state-run "power plants." Those plants include the Heating and Cooling Plant at UW-Green Bay. Some DOA analysts suspect the legislation is ill-conceived and, if allowed to stand, would result in new expenses far exceeding any supposed FTE savings. "For us," says Shepard, "this proposal is akin to selling the furnace in your home to a third-party vendor. Maki notes the plant operators here perform many additional duties across campus; privatization could be complex and costly. UW-Green Bay and other UWs are asking the state Senate to delete the provision and run a cost-benefit analysis before proceeding. See http://www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/archive/2005june.htm#heat.

Video of Laatsch, Malcore commencement speeches now on Web

UW-Green Bay is exploring new ways to use video on the University's Web site. The latest video features to appear on the Web are speeches from UW-Green Bay's May 14 spring commencement. To view a video clip of Prof. William Laatsch's commencement address, click http://www.uwgb.edu/commencement/video/laatsch.wmv. Student speaker Sylvia Malcore's speech can be viewed at http://www.uwgb.edu/commencement/video/malcore.wmv.

Ironwoman Terry runs/bikes/swims 70 miles in five hours

A friend told of seeing Prof. Patricia Terry swimming and running on campus as if she were training for a triathlon. She was. On Sunday, Terry finished 26th overall and sixth in her women's 35-39 age group in the 2005 Aurora BayCare High Cliff Triathlon. The race drew nearly 1,000 participants in relay, mini-triathlon and triathlon competition. Terry finished about 30 minutes back of women's winner Sandy David of Fox Point. The breakdown for Terry: a time of 25 minutes on the opening 1.2-mile swim, just shy of three hours on the 56-mile bike ride, and two hours on the closing 13.1-mile run. Her total time: an extremely impressive 5 hours, 28 minutes.

Madison Chancellor Wiley responds to 'torrent of criticism'

On Friday, UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley wrote to faculty and staff with an update on the Paul Barrows leave of absence. Wiley announced the University would investigate new allegations of misconduct. Wiley's statement was available earlier today on the UW news site at http://www.wisc.edu/.

Fact sheet on backups, accrued leave and due process

UW-Madison released a fact sheet Friday offering background on personnel rules relevant to the current controversy. The full text appears at the bottom of this column.

Regent statement: We're looking into 'backup' business

Regent President David G. Walsh announced late Friday that the UW System Board of Regents will address the issues of employment agreements, back-up appointments and administrative leaves across the UW System, along with other critical employment and competitiveness issues. In a prepared statement, Walsh said "With President Reilly's concurrence, I am directing the Board's Business and Finance Committee to include examinations of UW employee benefits, agreements and appointments in its in-depth assessment of competitive compensation that is currently underway and to report back to the full Board on their findings in October."

Look for coverage of watershed monitoring workshop

Check tomorrow's Green Bay Press-Gazette and you're likely to see coverage of this week's workshop for the high school teachers involved in the Lower Fox River Watershed Monitoring Program. A tour of the Oneida Nation's Duck Creek watershed is a particular area of interest. The workshop, hosted by UW-Green Bay, runs through Wednesday (June 29).

Reminder: Cookout and golf with Ken and friends

Ken Peterson, Shorewood course superintendent, retires Thursday (June 30) after 36 years of service to UWGB with the last 24 taking care of Shorewood Golf Course. An outing and cookout at Shorewood are planned for Friday afternoon, July 1. Golf ($9) is at 1 p.m., cookout and cake ($5) at 3:30 p.m. Contact Rick Warpinski at warpinsr@uwgb.edu

UW-Madison fact sheet on benefits

The following is the "State Benefits Fact Sheet" distributed Friday by UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley to faculty and staff on his campus:

I understand and appreciate that members of the public have legitimate questions regarding our actions related to Dr. Paul Barrows. The matter is complex, but I want to further reiterate that my actions conformed fully to personnel policy guidelines for state employees and state law. I also wish to provide more information regarding the issues of back-up appointments, sick leave and due process requirements that may prove helpful in understanding these decisions.

— BACKUP POSITIONS: Questions have been raised about why the university provides back-up appointments to a small segment of its employees. When an employee moves from an academic staff appointment to a limited appointment (which can be terminated at any time), state law requires that they be given a back-up position. These back-ups provide job security in a system that does not use employment contracts. Back-up appointments, or similar arrangements, are used in higher education across the country to attract employees in a competitive job market. The length of a back-up appointment can vary and is determined based on a variety of factors. Indefinite back-up status provides no more security than that of all permanent state employees. They can be terminated for reasons related to budget, program redirection or performance.

— SICK AND VACATION LEAVE: Like other state employees, university employees earn sick leave that can be used in a variety of circumstances, including an inability to work because of a medical reason, an illness or death in the immediate family, or family or personal medical appointments. Sick leave continues to accumulate if unused, and can be carried over and eventually used to pay for health insurance premiums after retirement. University policies governing sick leave are consistent with leave policies governing other areas of state service. The scope of an employee's personal activities while on medical leave is left to the discretion of the employee's physician in consultation with the employee. Employees also earn vacation leave, which can be banked in limited amounts after a specified number of years of service. Employees who, for whatever reason, leave a position are entitled to be paid for the balance of their remaining vacation hours.

— DUE PROCESS: The university must follow very specific rules regarding the protection of an employee's right to due process. Those rules include the need for an investigation of any allegations and the right of an employee to respond to such allegations. Based on that information, the employee's supervisor can make a decision about whether discipline, including dismissal, is appropriate. An employee may appeal the decision to a committee of fellow academic staff members, which can then make a recommendation to the chancellor or his or her designee. Further review of the decision may also be sought from the Board of Regents.

Briefs

Staff photographer Eric Miller, Marketing and University Communication, has had yet another image selected for prominent inclusion in a UW System promotional piece. His photo of two students on the UW-Green Bay campus is the backdrop for the System's newest admissions ad, which will appear in the ACT publication Get Set for College. About 500,000 copies are printed by ACT and distributed directly to high school juniors and seniors throughout the Midwest, and made available at education and career fairs. See the ad at http://www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/photoarch/people/coverpage1.htm.

Prof. Meyer Russ, Business Administration, is co-author of the paper "Knowledge-Based Strategies: A Foundation of a Typology" recently published in the International Journal of Information Technology and Management. Vol. 4, No. 2.

Kassie VanRemortel, director of government affairs and economic development in the Division of Outreach and Adult Access has been invited to serve on a state advisory board charged with assuring a competent public health workforce through better education and information exchange. The state Department of Health and Family Service (Division of Public Health) created the Training Advisory Committee (EdTRAC) to enlist the aid of academic programs and organizations in designing an efficient, coordinated system for continuing education for the public health workforce. The Emergency Management Certificate program developed by VanRemortel was the catalyst for the Department of Health and Family Services invitation of UW-Green Bay participation.

LOG ONline is prepared for University of Wisconsin-Green Bay faculty and staff by the Office of Marketing and University Communication. Employees may submit a Brief, a Publication, a news item, an announcement, or offer feedback; call ext. 2527 or e-mail us at Log@uwgb.edu.