Hard Questions About Teaching at UW-Madison

I received the following letter this morning from a colleague, and with her permission I am reprinting it because  the message it contains is a critical one for our community to hear and discuss.  

Dear Sara,

First, thank you sincerely for your courage to stand up for your convictions, and to air them at the Faculty Senate and in your blog.

Please allow me briefly to share my personal experience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison concerning attitudes toward undergraduate education and inequity in faculty salaries, and how, from my perspective, these affect the budget of the university, the future of our children, and the economics of our State/country.

I have been on the UW-Madison faculty of the School of Medicine and Public Health (Medical School) for twenty years.  The Medical School employs scientists with expertise found nowhere else on the campus (or even the world) and pays salaries that are considerably higher than those of faculty in many other schools here. 

Yet, amazingly, Medical School scientists, despite their unique expertise and high salaries, have minimal-to-no obligation to formally teach in the classroom and no obligation at all to teach undergraduates – in fact, we are discouraged from doing so.  Many of my colleagues earn in excess of $150K and carry out no classroom teaching (though, as suggested by our colleague at the Faculty Senate meeting yesterday, let’s formalize the data).

It is well known that undergraduate-level biology courses at the UW-Madison are bursting at the seams, and are often taught by non-tenured faculty who are outstanding educators. Nevertheless, is it my imagination, or is the university duplicating salaries to pay non-tenured faculty to teach undergraduate courses that salaried tenured faculty could teach, but do not? 

I do not understand the rationale for this. 

I feel that, were the public aware of this situation, they would embrace a solution in which every faculty member on this campus contributes something to undergraduate education, and in which every Department on this campus, whatever its School affiliation, allocates some portion of its budget to formal undergraduate classroom teaching. 

Why can’t we all roll up our sleeves and help undergraduates get more for their tuition dollars?  In the Medical School, a relatively small number of courses is taught to medical students- the hundreds of surplus science faculty within this School could contribute to the large undergraduate biology courses, bringing down class numbers from the hundreds to 20-30.  We can also carry out the jobs of teaching assistants, and/or offer tutorials to supplement lectures and labs.   I am not asking medical doctors to do this, but the scientists - we know this stuff.   

Unfortunately, there is great resistance in the Medical School to teaching undergraduates.  I spent two years chairing a task force within the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center (SCRMC) to develop an undergraduate Stem Cell Sciences (SCS) Certificate.  The SCRMC consists of a campus-wide faculty with expertise in various aspects of stem cell biology.  My committee decided that the most appropriate administrative home for the SCS Certificate would be my Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology within the Medical School. 

Our request for help to administer the Certificate was turned down by Deans Robert Golden and Rick Moss, on the basis that we do not have the resources to be involved in undergraduate education.  Yet, undergraduates work in our laboratories in the Medical School; their labor fuels our research programs and grants.

I then approached Interim Chancellor David Ward for help, who sent me to Provost Paul DeLuca who sent me to Dr. Aaron Brower.  Rather than support the Stem Cell Certificate for undergraduates, Dr. Brower’s suggestion was that we create a Capstone course, in which recent graduates would pay for a short-term course in Stem Cell Sciences. In essence, squeeze the recent graduates and their families out of more money post-graduation, having already diminished the value of their four years of tuition dollars by ignoring their need for a formal experience in Stem Cell Sciences as undergraduates.

Fifteen years after Dr. Jamie Thomson’s report of the isolation of human embryonic stem cells, there is neither a course in Stem Cell Biology for undergraduates at the UW-Madison nor a Certificate in Stem Cell Sciences.   It is not for want of trying; rather, it is because most of the stem cell expertise lies within a Medical School that does not support undergraduate teaching. Under the circumstances, my SCRMC Education Committee is offering the best we can to undergraduates in the hope that it will help them with job recruitment:  an unofficial letter from Dr. Tim Kamp, Director of the SCRMC, stating that a small number of courses was taken which included some reference to the concepts of stem cell biology.

As my daughter’s graduating class from West High School are about to enter college, neither she nor many of her friends will attend the UW-Madison, despite the counselors' best efforts to direct them to the UW System schools. Rather, they will spread out to private LACs, most on the East coast, where teaching is a priority. Thus, the statistics that you presented at yesterday’s Faculty Senate meeting on the ~10% decline in the number of Wisconsin residents attending the UW-Madison over the past decade was striking – what is the reason for that decline? Does lack of access to teaching by expert faculty, and thus, providing less for more money, have anything to do with it?

Now, as I am daring publicly to reveal that many of our faculty do not teach or teach very little, despite their large salaries, I wonder what action the taxpayers and our State legislators will take?  Are undergraduate tuition dollars at this university, which keep increasing, providing the most bang for the buck?  From my perspective, the answer is a resounding "no".   The State of Wisconsin can, and should, demand so much more from us.

Sincerely,

Karen Downs

Professor, Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology

University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health

Dear Chancellor Ward

The following letter from Chad Alan Goldberg, Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was delivered at today's Faculty Senate.

Chancellor Ward declined to respond, other than to say "Thank you for the letter. Yes, I agree."

                                                  ******

In regard to the nonacademic misconduct charges facing ten students who participated in a non-violent sit-in in the your office on April 29 to protest the university's refusal to terminate its contract with Palermo Pizza—

Wouldn’t you agree that political protest differs from ordinary cases of misconduct because protest plays a positive and constructive role in educating the campus community and drawing attention to campus problems that need resolution?

Furthermore, in light of the positive and constructive role that political protest plays on campus, wouldn’t you agree that the administration should avoid even the appearance of misusing the student code of conduct to punish and suppress political criticism, dissent, and protest?

Given that a range of penalties is possible in cases of misconduct, don’t you agree that the draconian punishments with which the students have been threatened, including suspension and expulsion, are disproportionate to the offense?

Wouldn’t you agree that faculty members, including colleagues like Lydia Zepeda who are involved in shared governance bodies like the Labor Codes Licensing Compliance Committee, should be able to speak out about troubling matters on campus and to criticize administration policy without being personally attacked in the press when they do so?

Lastly, don’t you agree that a wise administrator would avoid heavy-handed and unfair responses to student protest and faculty criticism that will only escalate the situation and deepen acrimony and bitterness on campus?

                                       *******************

I stand with these students, and with Chad and many other faculty who support them. Let Chancellor Ward know it's time to do the right thing (). And please support our students and communicate your concerns directly to Dean of Students Lori Berquam (lberquam@studentlife.wisc.edu) and Assistant Dean Bryan Bain (bbain@studentlife.wisc.edu).

Not in Our Names

I have said it before and will say it again:  Please do not conflate the beliefs and actions of University faculty, students, or staff with the beliefs and actions of the Administrators.

Today I am flat-out embarrassed by the possibility that anyone might think that the educators, staff, or students of UW-Madison uniformly support the latest shenanigans perpetrated by our administration.  Three such action are especially revolting.

1. Administrators sent threatening letters to our students who are working diligently to ensure that those "in charge" uphold the ethical code of conduct governing UW-Madison's business relationships, rather than kowtow to the business owners of Milwaukee.   More on that in the coming days.

2. The Interim Chancellor played "holier than thou" in a reprehensible letter published Friday about the words of a faculty member, Lydia Zepeda, chair of the shared governance committee on Labor Codes Licensing Compliance. He used the race card against her, calling into question a statement that makes complete and utter sense--and in doing so suggests that he is allowed to stand in judgement of what is "becoming" of shared governance leaders.

3. Tomorrow, Administrators will issue a press announcement in which it will attempt to deflect critique of UW-Madison's substantial rainy day fund, by asking campus "leaders" to show all of the ways in which the money is being used for "good cause." You can bet that the announcement will say nothing about the fact that the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates has failed to address students' major needs, including removing bottlenecks in course access, because the money has been distributed in non-transparent ways, including contributing to this rainy day fund.  Try to look inside Madison's budget-- try asking "what's the real cost of an undergraduate education" and how does this compare to the price being charged? You'll get nowhere.  Defensive budgeting may be expected given the behavior of the Legislature, but it remains detrimental to all of the university's publics.

Sadly, you'll likely see little of our internal dissent revealed at tomorrow's Faculty Senate meeting because shared governance, constrained as it is by fear and conservatism all around us, will be a short and sweet "front" to what's really going on.  Amazingly, this is the last meeting we'll hold until OCTOBER, showing you just how seriously this system is taken.  In the meantime, a new Chancellor and her people will come in, take over, and make a million decisions while most of us are scattered elsewhere, working frantically to get our research done.  Come fall, no doubt more surprises will be revealed.

As he leaves this second term of office, I am left wondering: Why isn't Chancellor Ward choosing to leave the University the proud, ethical institution it has the opportunity to be?  Why not do right by the exploited workers of Palermo's? Why not praise his students and faculty for speaking truth to power in this terrifying age of attacks on academic freedom?  Why not push the subsequent UW Administration towards greater transparency, not teach them how to hide?  Why act like one of the crowd, rather than a leader for the greater good? Carpe diem, Chancellor.

A Letter to Chancellor Ward

This letter went to Ward this morning.  Yesterday's Capital Times noted that a key issue here is a failure on the Administration's part to listen and communicate with campus the same way it does with business. I couldn't agree more.

May 3, 2013

Dear Chancellor Ward,

We are deeply troubled by your latest statement on Palermo’s Pizza, in which you conveyed a continued refusal to acknowledge the findings of the National Labor Relations Board and Worker Rights Consortium. UW-Madison has a history of upholding our Code of Conduct, which the university adopted for a reason.

You have repeatedly claimed to not have enough information to take action toward Palermo’s. This is despite the fact that last November, the National Labor Relations Board found Palermo’s in violation of numerous counts of violating federal labor law, including worker intimidation, physically blocking workers from going on strike, and illegally terminating 11 workers. Though the NLRB may have absolved Palermo’s of other charges, the threshold for warranting a contract cut is one violation. Additionally, on March 11, another unfair labor practice charge has been filed to the NLRB involving the firing of a worker for their union activity.

In addition to the NLRB decision, the Worker Rights Consortium, after an investigation of the Palermo’s plant, determined the company to be in violation of our university Code of Conduct, which establishes a higher standard of labor practices than the NLRB. To be clear, the Worker Rights Consortium performs their inspections contingent upon international labor law, and not the National Labor Relations Act.

We would like to remind you that the Worker Rights Consortium, on February 5th, 2013 recommended: “The WRC concluded that the company must take two key steps to comply with university codes of conduct. First, Palermo must promptly reinstate the striking employees it terminated or permanently replaced employees, with full back pay.” Palermo’s has made no effort to remedy neither the charges of the NLRB, nor the Worker Rights Consortium.

While you claim to be ‘deeply engaged on this issue,’ and to ‘have discussed this issue repeatedly with students, faculty, staff, and campus governance,’ you seem to have a misconstrued impression of what discussion actually entails. Members of the Student Labor Action Coalition first approached you on this issue in a letter on September 24, 2012. In the over seven months that have passed since then, we have consistently written to update you on the situation, with no response from your office.

On Monday, April 29th, students sat-in in your office because for over 200 days you have brazenly ignored our attempts to engage in a conversation on this issue, but even then, you chose to arrest these students, rather than engage in a dialogue with them. This was also your response in 1999 and 2000, when students raised the issue of worker rights, and now you have successfully cemented your legacy at UW-Madison as an anti-worker, anti-student Chancellor. Despite your overly severe reaction to the students who occupied the anteroom to your office on Monday, we will continue to defend the moral compass of the UW-Madison from your efforts to tarnish it.

Sincerely,

UWMAD@Palermo’s Coalition

Student Activism Continues at UW-Madison

UW-Madison has a rich history of activism among its students, and that history evolves today as students stand in solidarity with the workers of Palermo's pizza and the good folks of Voces de la Frontera. 

What will outgoing Interim Chancellor David Ward do? Why not act, given widespread public support and his short remaining tenure?

 Here's what you need to know:

(1) UW-Madison's students have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to standing up for the rights of underdogs throughout the world.  It's no surprise they're ahead of the NLRB on this one.

(2) UW-Madison's code of ethics is independent from the rulings of the NLRB or any other entity and is supposed to reflect our values, not those of others.

(3) It is abundantly clear that moral leadership is lacking on both the so-called Left and the Right in Wisconsin, especially when it comes to standing up to corporate interests seeking to keep wages low and profits high.  It is far harder to battle these interests than to cede to them.

I have the great admiration and respect for students who take the time to educate themselves on the political economy of universities and challenge administrators to do the same.  I have no doubt that if Chancellor Ward doesn't soon take action, these students will begin to expose the private interests that appear to inhibit him from doing so.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2013

Students Occupy UW-Madison Chancellor’s Office

12 students storm administration building demanding termination of school’s contract with Milwaukee frozen pizza firm

Students will remain in Bascom Hall until Chancellor David Ward agrees cut the contract

Contacts:
Sam Klepfer, soviet.thriller@gmail.com, 608-772-4415
Claire Hintz, clairehintz@gmail.com, 651-955-8370
Maxwell John Love, maxwelllove@gmail.com, 724-557-6269

WHAT: Rally outside the ongoing occupation of UW Chancellor David Ward’s office
WHO: UWMad@Palermo’s, a coalition of student groups; labor and community supporters
WHEN: Monday, April 29th at 4:30pm
WHERE: Outside Chancellor Ward’s office, 161 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI

At 2:15pm today, 12 students entered Chancellor Ward’s office to protest his refusal to uphold UW-Madison’s code of conduct for companies that produce goods using UW logos. The students are demanding that the university cut ties with Milwaukee-based frozen pizza manufacturer Palermo Villa Inc over the company’s labor practices.

The sit in comes after a 200-day campaign by a coalition of students, workers, and concerned Wisconsinites. The Labor Licensing Policy Committee, the campus shared governance body designated to make recommendations on these issues, determined in November that Palermo’s was in violation of the university’s code of conduct, and recommended cutting ties with the company.

“We’re occupying the office until Chancellor Ward agrees to cut ties with Palermo’s,” said Claire Hintz, one of the students occupying the office. “It’s outrageous that the Chancellor still refuses to enforce our code of conduct by cutting ties with this irresponsible company.”

In January, the Dane County Board of Supervisors joined the chorus of groups calling for a contract cut, passing a resolution of support. Then in February, the Worker Rights Consortium, an independent worker rights monitoring organization the university is affiliated with, reported that “Palermo has committed serious violations of worker rights and that these violations remain ongoing,” and therefore was in violation of the university’s code of conduct and international labor rights standards.

“Chancellor Ward has abandoned the Palermo’s workers and callously ignored the moral standards that UW claims to uphold,” said Cornell Zbikowski, another of the occupying students. “The Palermo’s workers have been on strike for 11 months as David Ward hides and counts the days until retirement. I’m ashamed to call David Ward my Chancellor.”

At 4:30pm, supporters will rally outside of Bascom Hall. At 6:00pm, the Solidarity Singers will lead the crowd in song.

UWMad@Palermo’s is a coalition of student groups dedicated to ending UW-Madison’s contract with Palermo’s Pizza, including the Student Labor Action Coalition, Working Class Student Union, United Council, ISO, and TAA.

###

WHY: It has been over 200 days since students first confronted Chancellor Ward to uphold the university's code of conduct and cut the contract with Palermo's and he has yet to take any action on this issue. Students have already utilized University channels including receiving recommendations from shared governance groups such as the Labor Licensing Policy Committee in November, receiving a resolution from County Board to support the UW-Madison cut, and having Palermo’s workers come to campus to meet with the Chancellor, and publicizing findings from the corporate investigation by the WRC (who found 4 separate code violations: health and safety, harassment and abuse, work hours, and freedom of association). Yet Ward has remained unmoved on this issue. Over 10,000 signatures have been gathered supporting UW-Madison cutting their contract with Palermo’s. Students will sit-in until Chancellor Ward agrees to uphold the University’s code of conduct and cut the contract with Palermo’s. Students and community members are joining together to hold Ward accountable for his lack of action in protecting and upholding the rights of workers who are directly connected with our university.

******* UPDATES*********************

This was more than a handful of students today.

Students were arrested. I am awaiting details.

Students' Rights: The WISPIRG Debacle

I had the privilege of serving alongside a representative from U.S. PIRG during Senate testimony yesterday, and so today, in support of the hard work they are doing on behalf of students everywhere, I want to weigh in on the situation here in Wisconsin.

UW-Madison Interim Chancellor David Ward recently released his decision on the Associated Students of Madison (ASM)'s approved segregated university fee budget following months of student decision-making. One focus of his decision was removing a majority of the budget for WISPIRG, a statewide, student-directed and funded public interest group and registered student organization, despite student approval.  

The issue of WISPIRG’s funding has received much attention lately, from students, the Associated Students of Madison, the Chancellor, and the media. And now in light of Chancellor Ward’s decision, ASM is preparing an appeal to the Regents. 

WISPIRG was founded by Madison students in 1989 in order to tackle public interest issues and provide students a vital civic engagement experience.  In order to do this, WISPIRG students hire a staff of professional organizers, advocates and researchers to train and organize students to run local and statewide campaigns, research the problems, and lobby on behalf of students in the state capitol and in Washington, D.C.  Here at UW-Madison, WISPIRG is funded by student segregated fees through ASM, and in the past has received contracts to allowed students to work with these staff. 

Over the years, UW-Madison students have reaffirmed their support for WISPIRG's funding many times, through referenda, thousands of petition signatures, and the approval of over 20 different sessions of student government.  WISPIRG's funding and contract not only honor the tradition of student control over student fees, but are also consistent with Wisconsin State Statute 36.09(5), which grants students the responsibility of making decisions regarding student fees that fund campus activities.

Last year, Chancellor Ward removed a majority of the funding approved by ASM, leaving WISPIRG without full funding for the current academic year. Students and faculty have since demonstrated widespread support for ASM’s decision and called on the Chancellor to reconsider his decision with over 4,500 petitions, over 100 faculty signed on to an endorsement,  numerous letters published in the papers, and several personal e-mails sent to the Chancellor. Then this past semester WISPIRG's funding was again approved by ASM, sending a message to the Chancellor that students will not back down on their right to make decisions on segregated fees.   Yet, Chancellor Ward removed funding for all staff members from WISPIRG’s budget and has refused to grant the contract that ASM requested in order for WISPIRG to exist next year.

Aside from the fact that the Chancellor is not respecting student decisions, the timing of his decision seems to indicate a lack of good faith effort to engage in shared governance with students and to respect their rights. This recent decision was made one day after the deadline for students to appeal to the Regents and for Chancellor to present a revised budget.  He has since changed the deadline to appeal, but if students are held to the highest standard when abiding by policies, then the Chancellor should be held to the same standard. 

The Chancellor provided little detail in his memo to ASM leaders to explain his decision. In the past he has released a public “clarification” on his decision, but his reasoning is not very clear at all. He claims that Regent Financial Policy prevents ASM from funding professional staff for student organizations, like the staff that WISPIRG works with, through ASM’s processes.  Students, faculty and staff have on multiple occasions asked the Chancellor and UW-Legal where exactly in related policy it says that students are violating policy, but no one has been able to point out where exactly it says that what students are doing is wrong. (This is a behavior I have observed many, many times over the last decade here.)

What isn’t clear is why the relevant policies are being interpreted in a new way that not only prevents students from funding a group that they have funded since 1989, but also differs from the intent of the policy and the interpretation of past chancellors.

UW-Madison has a rich history of shared governance and of students standing up for their rights, but that legacy is threatened when the Chancellor selectively uses discretion to deny students of decision-making power.

Students have voted to fund WISPIRG and grant the group a contract for over 20 years, and during that time Chancellors have agreed with ASM’s decision to approve a contract.  ASM has voted for years to fund WISPIRG to work with professional staff on important advocacy campaigns to fight for the public interest, so why is this time different? 

The Chancellor’s decisions for FY13 and FY14 are a departure from the decision and reasoning of past Chancellors who have ultimately allowed students to exercise their right to allocate segregated fees.

I strongly urge President Reilly to accept the Student Services Finance Committee’s appeal on WISPIRG’s budget and respect students by re-considering Chancellor Ward’s decision. 

Is This What Shared Governance Looks Like?

For decades, the price of higher education has been rising at colleges and universities nationwide, and relatively few students and families have done so much as sniff.  While occasional concerns about affordability have been expressed, that message has been quite soft when compared to the loud statement uttered by the millions who walk onto college campuses every year, despite rising tuition and fees.  In other words, actions speak louder than words.  Colleges and universities are able to say: if we are truly charging more than you want to pay, why do you keep buying it?

Times are changing, as some students are informing themselves about why college costs so much-- and where the money is actually spent.  Some are aware that part of the costs are offloaded onto students in the form of student fees, fees which in many places students have no choice but to pay, and have no control over.

UW-Madison is a bit unusual-- it has segregated fees, but it also has a renowned shared governance structure which gives students strong input into how those fees are spent.  This is a model that has helped shape the character of the institution and is among its finest attributes.

Unfortunately, a challenge to shared governance may be upon us.  Recently, the Student Services Finances Committee of the Associated Students of Madison voted to reject a request to increase spending of the Wisconsin Union and Recreational Sports.  Before approving the request, the SSFC wanted more information about how those funds would be spent.  In other words, students demanded transparency and accountability, beyond the high-level look at spending they are typically provided.  Absent that information, they declined the request.

On Tuesday, Interim Chancellor David Ward, a chancellor who has been demonstrably sensitive to issues of affordability and the cost-effective use of resources, overruled that veto.  I admit, I have not spoken to Ward to ascertain his reasons. But whether I would agree or disagree with his reasons are beside the point, which is fundamentally about process.  Shared governance leans heavily on adherence to process -- it is time-consuming but is essentially what the concept is all about. And according to the written process, Ward was to consult with SSFC before overruling their decision -- according to both Sarah Neibart (head of SSFC) and Allie Gardner (head of ASM) he did not.

Given a climate in which faculty, staff, and students have good reason to be concerned about allocation of scarce resources (since every day many of us observe it being allocated in inequitable and ineffective ways), and given the generally low morale due to stagnant and declining compensation, it is more important than ever to preserve the aspects of this university which make it special to its constituents. Shared governance is exactly that. Strong protection of shared governance is an inexpensive way to keeping the University's laborers integrated, involved, and effective. It is essential.

A positive result of this action would be a renewed discussion about the types of reporting that students, faculty, and staff can expect to receive from the administration regarding the allocation of monies generated from tuition and fees. Rigorous assessment of the impacts (the delta) resulting from spending (not the outcomes), can help move this institution through hard times-- and we should all be supportive of that.