News In Brief

COMMUNITY

Pay hikes will be on next checks
Faculty and academic staff should see a recently approved pay increase on paychecks dated Friday, Nov. 30, followed by retroactive pay Wednesday, Dec. 12.

Unclassified employees with 12-month appointments will receive retroactive pay for the time period beginning July 1, the first day of the fiscal year, through October. Those with nine-month appointments will receive retroactive pay from Aug. 27 through October.

Last month, lawmakers approved a 3.2 percent raise for all unclassified university employees. The plan also phases in a 4.2 percent increase next fiscal year, with 2.1 percent starting July 1 and another 2.1 percent Jan. 1, 2003.

Academic units can distribute the pay plan based on merit, meaning actual pay increases can vary. No raises will be smaller than 1.1 percent, unless departments show that an employee is not performing satisfactorily.

SECC needs strong finish
The “Partners in Giving” campaign is counting on university and state employees for a strong finish.

By mid-November, contributions and pledges to the State, University, and UW Hospital and Clinics Employees Combined Campaign of Dane County (SECC-Dane) totaled $1,126,200, about 45 percent of this year’s goal. That figure was about $117,000 behind contributions for the same time last year.

While donations from university employees were running ahead of last year, those from state government employees were lagging. The annual workplace campaign is raising money for a record number of charitable organizations this fall amidst a struggling economy and the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Still, SECC-Dane organizers believe the goal of $2,675,000 is within reach, noting that other Madison-area workplace campaigns this fall have been successful, if somewhat slower early on, compared to 2000.

Although this year’s SECC-Dane officially ends Friday, Nov. 30, contributions and pledges will be accepted through early 2002. Information: contact your unit’s SECC-Dane coordinator, see the SECC booklet, or visit: http://www.wisc.edu/secc.

Faculty Senate asks regents to reconsider prof’s dismissal
The Faculty Senate passed a resolution Nov. 5 asking the Board of Regents to reconsider its dismissal of John Marder from the UW-Superior faculty.

The senate, without negative vote, approved the resolution after a 90-minute debate whether the senate should take a position while the case is in litigation.

The University Committee had sought a resolution that condemned any action that undermines tenure and academic freedom, without mention of the Marder case.

“We are not in a position to be able to pass judgment on the process or procedures that were used in this case,” UC Chair Pat Wolleat says.

But the resolution was amended to include specific language questioning the way in which the Board of Regents handled the case.

“We have serious questions about whether the Board of Regents remained true to the requirements of academic due process and to the generally understood just-cause standard before deciding to dismiss Professor John Marder,” the amendment reads.

UW-Superior Chancellor Julius Erlenbach first sought Marder’s dismissal in 1999. Erlenbach cited several allegations from students, faculty and staff of unprofessional and uncollegial conduct. A UW-Superior faculty committee agreed Marder’s actions were inappropriate, but recommended against his dismissal.

Erlenbach overruled the committee and asked the Board of Regents to make a final decision on the matter. A Board of Regents committee twice recommended against Marder’s dismissal, saying there was not sufficient evidence. But on an 11-3 vote, the full board confirmed the chancellor’s recommendations and affirmed the firing.

“Erlenbach has at all times acted according to the highest professional standards, solely with the interests of his campus and its students in mind,” the Board of Regents said in a resolution supporting the chancellor’s decision.

Marder has filed a lawsuit pending in the Douglass County Circuit Court.

The UW–Madison Faculty Senate resolution instructs the University Committee to review the dismissal standard that the Board of Regents used in the Marder case and to report its findings to the Faculty Senate in December.

Service learning noted in Timetable
For the first time, service-learning classes have been specially noted in the university Timetable.

Footnotes in the spring 2002 Timetable pages should help increase visibility of service-learning classes, says Carol Gosenheimer, Timetable program manager in the Office of the Registrar. A short

definition of the program, along with a definition of writing-intensive courses, is also in the beginning of the Timetable.

Coordinated through the Morgridge Center for Public Service, service learning is a teaching method that integrates community service and community-based research into academic course work. In the context of the Wisconsin Idea, classroom boundaries extend into local, national and international communities.

Although service-learning footnotes have sporadically appeared in past editions, Morgridge Center director Mary Rouse says the spring 2002 edition is the first coordinated effort to list the classes. At least 64 have been noted and Rouse says she hopes the attention will help draw a higher enrollment.

“Based on the comments we’ve had from students, many have had service- learning classes in high school and they’re also looking for them here,” she says.

For information about service-learning classes, e-mail Rouse, mkrouse@facstaff.wisc.edu, or Morgridge Center assistant director Randy Wallar, jrwallar@facstaff.wisc.edu.

For registration information, call the registrar at 262-3811 or see: http://registrar.wisc.edu/registrar/index.php

ON CAMPUS

‘War Letters’ author to visit
Best-selling author Andrew Carroll will offer remarks and sign books during a presentation at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, at the Wisconsin Historical Society, 816 State St.

Carroll’s book, “War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars,” explores the love, passion, pain, horror and hope of the men and women who fought and those who remained at home in combats from the Civil War up to the Gulf War. The book is also the subject of a documentary, American Experience “War Letters,” that will air on Wisconsin Public Television at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2.

For the Nov. 29 event, archivists from the Wisconsin Historical Society will assemble a display of the letters and photos of their writers for viewing prior to Carroll’s talk. Information: 264-6586.

MILESTONES

Teaching and learning collaborations honored
Working effectively in teaching and learning communities on and off campus has earned awards for two academic units.

The Chancellor’s Office and the Creating a Collaborative Academic Environment initiative bestowed one award for a large department or program and another for a smaller one. Each program receives $50,000.

The Department of French and Italian was recognized for its strong comprehensive program, including ongoing teaching assistant training and a solid peer-review structure. Teaching is conducted off campus as well as in university classrooms, with service-learning opportunities and outreach to the larger community. In addition, the department’s French House, a privately funded residential learning community open since 1918, offers students the chance to immerse themselves in French language and culture.
Among smaller programs, CCAE recognized the university’s team-structured Biocore Program, notably for its community orientation. Biocore faculty are housed in many departments and volunteer their time to teach in the program that brings together faculty, staff and students from a widely dispersed biology curriculum. Courses are developed and taught collaboratively, and writing by students is important to the program’s mission.

“These are very special and lucrative awards made to acknowledge the very best of our teaching programs, ones that emphasize building a creative and ongoing learning community,” says Bob Skloot, an associate vice chancellor whose office administers the competitive process that selects winners. “These awards are part of the wide range of resources that publicly recognize the excellence of our academic programs.”

In addition, CCAE chose the departments of soil science, psychology, bacteriology and counseling psychology as runners-up. Each receives $2,000.

Frontline training offered
UW–Madison police will offer another round of Frontline Awareness training sessions in early December. The training covers mail-handing procedures, as well as how to deal with bomb threats and agitated persons. Sessions will be held: Monday, Dec. 3, noon-1:15 p.m. Union South; Tuesday, Dec. 4, 8-9:15 a.m., 2080 Grainger Hall; Wednesday, Dec. 5, 8-9:15 a.m., 2080 Grainger Hall; Thursday, Dec. 6, noon-1:15 p.m., Union South; Friday, Dec. 7, 3-4:15 p.m., 313 Pyle Center. To register, contact Sgt. Kurt Feavel, 262-4520, kdfeavel@facstaff.wisc.edu.

WAA launches family site
The Wisconsin Alumni Association has introduces a family Web page that connects alumni and their families to the UW. Parents and others looking for ways to educate and entertain their children can see http://www.uwalumni.com/family to find ideas for family fun. Everything from travel opportunities, to relevant campus and world news, to journals and stories written by children are included in this extensive online resource.