I received a breakdown of different data from my last meeting that I felt compelled to share. They are very remarkable and I’m very proud to have been part of this process. Look below at some of the great things we’ve been able to do in only a few short years. The full report can be found here.

• 54 projects funded of over 200 submitted
• 76 faculty hired: 31 new faculty are already on campus in 12 different departments
• 36 Academic staff hired: 24 new advisors constituting the largest influx of advisors at one time this campus has seen.
• 120 New 50% TAs: The equivalent of 10,000 new course seats available now
• Center for Pre Health advising: over 1000 student appointments
• Cross College Advising Service: additional 6900 student went through advising
• 80% increase (1100 students) enrolling in FIGs (First-Year Interest Group)
• 50% increase in enrollment in Residential Learning Communities
• 50% increase (430 students) in the number of students served by the Chemistry Learning Center
• Expansion of the Common Scholarship application

Financial Aid:

• $5.2 million (8500 students) given the held harmless grant.
• $8.4 million (2200 students) need based financial aid-. Average grant $3900 per student
• 36 students from rural Wisconsin received grants of $7000 each
• An additional lucky 350 students will be receiving grants of around $2000 each at the end of the semester. Talk about a great surprise Christmas gift!

I think it is quite clear that the MIU has met if not exceeded the goals and expectations laid out by former Chancellor Martin. With these types of numbers it is hard to believe there was a sizable, albeit often uninformed, chunk of the student population who were against the ideas behind the MIU.  Nevertheless this is not an end all be all fix to our University. We much continue to ask for a larger investment from the state and to be provided with the tools and flexibilities needed to run an efficient, competitive, and culturally rich university.

If you have a story about how you’ve been impacted by the MIU please share below.

I don’t think I have ever been more offended in my 4 years of service within ASM. Not only does he personally attack trusted friends and colleagues (Matt Manes, Brandon Williams, Sarah Neibart, Tyler Junger) he also bashes my entire constituency. (the students of Letters and Sciences)

In the document Duncan reveals why he has reservations regarding the creation of a Student Legal Service Center for all students at UW Madison:

 “Possible question one subquestion could be: were you fuckin’ wasted and did something adolescent?  Were you subject to your unchecked testosterone induced rage or lust and act inappropriate?  Will no one bail you out, again?  Did you trash the shit out of your apartment and expect someone else to clean up for you?

Are we really sinking this kind of cash in for 19 year olds who can’t handle their liquor or can’t present themselves relatively decent in public?”

As a representative of undergrads in L&S I have never and will never think of my constituency as ‘adolescent’ or having ‘uncheck testosterone induced rage or lust’.  The students of Letters and Science are the backbone of this institution and to belittle them and to deny them legal services are actions unbecoming of an elected representative.

On behalf of the students of the College of Letters and Sciences I am asking for Duncan’s full and sympatric apology immediately to the undergraduate students he offended. Additionally an apology is due to my colleagues, Manes, Williams, Neibart and Junger. Their service to the students of ASM has been unparalleled. As it was noted at NPS their combined service includes but is not limited to 3 SSFC Chairs, 2 SSFC Secretaries and 2 ASM Chairs.

On an aside, Duncan states  “I have serious reservations about this “service,”  because of its vague nature at this point, and I’d argue that we should employ stall tactic”.

Here you will find a link to the 51 page document outlining the plans for the Student Legal Services Center. Hope it’s not to ‘vague’

For coverage on this issue please see here and here for two different opinions which each take aim from different angles and take offence for slightly different reasons.

The protests were put on by United Council, and organization that UW Madison students just months ago voted to remain members of. In my opinion these tactics don’t work but moving beyond that disrupting a Special Olympics ceremony is simply inexcusable and something I do not tolerate. What was supposed to be a pleasant congratulatory ceremony for these athletes became a quick cheap shot for these students to gain 15 minutes of fame. Unfortunately those 15 minutes come with nothing but ridicule from what is now national attention.

To quote Ricky Ricardo: “United Council, you got some ‘splainin’ to do!”

They did hastily crank out a press release immediately trying to distance themselves from this incident. I’m just having trouble buying it. You?

In a recent meeting with Assistant Dean of Students Kevin Helmkamp, he expressed his frustration with the protests and added how he had been fielding questions from angry parents phone calls all day.

One thing that the lunches were meant to achieve was to explain to the various candidates how UW Madison’s Shared Governance process works. At each lunch the conversation turned to shared governance and a faculty member or ASEC member would explain what shared governance is and how and why we execute it here at Madison. And at every lunch students were never mentioned. The faculty members would explain how there are 3 groups that you must include in decision making policy: faculty, staff and unclassified staff. They would then go on to explain how it is very important to include them otherwise you get pushback on initiatives and the faculty are unwilling to support your mission. And every time I had to somewhat rudely interrupt and state how students also need to be included in the shared governance process.

This actually came to me at somewhat a surprise. I mean I know the faculty and staff at Madison have historically committed huge blunders if not egregious violations of shared governance policy codes. See here and here. But to not even mention them as a group you must include in the process is just absurd. I hope this is not indicative of how the entire campus feels towards student, for I have had some very good experiences with including students in shared governance.  As for now I’m left wondering what can be done to make it clear the faculty and staff here that students must be included in this process. As always I welcome your thoughts.

Below is the actual language that the 17^th session voted and passed. It seems as if Representative Pan and Representative DeQuattro are against the following:

“Be it resolved that, the ASM Student Council supports the proposed public authority model so long as it:

• Maintains Shared Governance as articulated in 36.09(5), including control over the disposition of student fees and the right to organize as students see fit.
• Includes 2 students on the Board of Trustees.
• Maintains cost to continue for UW Madison
• Supports an increase in need based financial aid.
• Supports fairness in hiring and pay equity, unequivocally supports academic freedom, ensures fairness in agreements with private entities”

What’s more is that 18^th session CAN’T do this. What this legislation is essentially looking to do is rescind someone else’s opinion. According to simple parliamentary procedure this cannot happen. Given that not everyone is as up to par with parli pro I’ll give some slack there however I’m a little baffled by the logic in what they are attempting to do. How can you rescind an opinion that you never made? Seems like a purely politically motivated action to me.

Here is the legislation entitled “Save WISPIRG” in which the above council members are looking to add $128,378.59 into ASM’s internal budget in order to fund WISPIRG in full.

At first glance this seems to me to be highly illegal and could be some of the the most blatant corruption I’ve seen in my now 4 years being involved in the organization. After being denied funding through SSFC this year and then the Student Judiciary upholding this decision, two of the three bodies in ASM have ruled on this case and I see this as skirting the entire funding process and the checks and balances of the organization to take this to council.

If this is not illegal I see two possible options of council moving forward with this.

1)  Council will have to cut $128,378.5 from the budget from other services, positions, or grant money in order to pay for WISPIRG.

2) This would have to go to SSFC and seg fees would need to be raised. (something, if I remember correctly, these individuals campaigned against)

Regardless of all of this I would like to know where the transparency and outreach was on this issue? A majority of the elected council members this session ran under the “I will Vote” slate who shared a common vision. I’m not too sure if they are holding up to their campaign promises. What’s possibly the most ironic is that only a few months ago current ASM Chair, then WISPIRG Secretary Allie Gardnar criticized ASM for not doing outreach and not being transparent on big ticket issues.

As always please post your thoughts, reactions and questions below.

I implore you all to read all the emails in their full context. If you do you can note a few things. Without my email to Chancellor Martin’s Chief of Staff on that date regarding this issue a few things would have never happened. Most notably:

• An immediate meeting with Provost DeLuca, Dean of Student Lori Berquam, and Legislative Assistant to the Chancellor Don Nelson. (In which all the parties cleared the schedule for the day to meet with top ASM leadership)
• Vice Chancellor Darrell Bazzell, Dean Berquam, and Don Nelson present at a student council meeting to answer questions regarding the NBP.
• Chancellor Martin to come to the open forum on January 24^th

You know, I bet it’s really easy for Max Love to lob bombs from the sidelines. After all, when he’s not being caught by Jason Smathers anonymously commenting about campus politics, he’s too busy trying to create ASM drama. His position on the outside looking in lets him avoid producing a serious alternative vision to the Badger Partnership. By not engaging in a serious debate but instead, rushing to his favorite fetish – creating paranoid theories about student government – he has taken the serious debate and poisoned the well.  I’m the Chief of Staff to the Chair of ASM. I have to navigate the political waters to get things done. But Love and company need to take a serious look at themselves. This is how far they’ve come? They don’t have a coherent intellectual framework to oppose something intended to help UW-Madison so they came up with this. Another failed political attack. Look how far it’s gotten them over the years.

I’ll stick to getting things done.

The question is now, how will student council respond tonight when they take up a vote on Rep. Zinn’s poorly written legislation demanding just this? Zinn’s legislation is wrought with incorrect statements and overall shows a gross misunderstanding of the state budget process. I anxiously await for tonight. In the meantime I’m glad to have strong leaders like Williams and Johnson at the head of ASM.

The Division of Enrollment Management at UW-Madison is in the process of hiring a new University Registrar. This member of our campus community will play an important role in collaborating across campus to provide long-term positive educational outcomes for students, and will position the Office of the Registrar to take advantage of technology for the delivery of service, management of records and for access to and ensuring security of information. 

University Registrar Campus Forums are scheduled as follows:

Monday, November 15, 9:00-9:45 a.m., 1195 Grainger Hall

Tammy L. Aagard- University Registrar and Interim Director of Student Financial Aid, University of Wyoming

Wednesday, November 17, 10:00-10:45 a.m., 1195 Grainger Hall

Larry Lockwood- Assistant Provost and University Registrar, University of Iowa

Thursday, November 18, 1:00-1:45 p.m., Wisconsin Idea Room, Education Building

Heather A. Chermak- Associate Registrar, University of Idaho

Monday, November 22, 11:00-11:45 a.m., 2280 Grainger Hall

Scott T. Owczarek- Associate Registrar, Michigan State University

Additionally the candidate’s curriculum vitae are available at:

https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/groups/Registrar_Search_and_Screen/Finalist Curricula Vitae (NetID and password are required to access this through the UW portal in My WebSpace).  A copy of the Position Vacancy Listing for the University Registrar position is available at:  http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/pvl/pv_065088.html

I encourage your attendance at the forums, and welcome your feedback. Feedback and comments can be share using the simple survey at:  http://tinyurl.com/UW-Madison-Registrar-Feedback

• Who: Hosted by Dean of Students Lori Berquam and Megan Costello, Outreach Specialist for Letters & Science
• When: Thursday August 19th, 2:30pm – 4:00pm
• Where: Room 8417 Social Science

We are asking campus partners, faculty, staff and students to come and “Dream Big”.  We’re looking for ideas and ways that we can transform the affinity students have with UW-Madison and instill in them a sense of lifelong connection to the institution.  No idea is too big or too small.

This work is an initiative of the campus alumni/donor/friends projects.  The ELC will be making recommendations to Chancellor Martin later this year.

Hope you can make it. As always contact me if you have any questions.