Updated: Leaders will answer faculty & staff questions Thursday

Updated, 9 a.m. August 12

An online forum open to all employees with Chancellor Rebecca Blank, Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Laurent Heller and Chief Human Resources Officer Mark Walters will be held at noon on Thursday, Aug. 13.

The forum will streamed via YouTube. Blank, Heller, Walters and other panelists will share updates on the Smart Restart initiative, answer the most frequently asked questions from employees and governance leads and discuss topics gathered from the survey emailed to all employees last week.

In addition to Heller and Walters, the updated panel will now include: Chancellor Blank to talk about the overall campus reopening plan, UHS Director Jake Baggott to cover public health, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Ressor to address student issues, professor emeritus Norman Drinkwater to discuss the campus testing plan and Interim Associate Vice Chancellor Facilities Planning & Management Alan Fish to cover facilities issues.

The forum will continue to focus on non-instructional employee issues, such as faculty and staff health and safety, facilities modifications, positive case reporting, accommodations, benefits and leave, transportation, and childcare and caregiver flexibilities.

Employees are encouraged to email smartrestart@vc.wisc.edu before and during the session to pose questions to the group. Not every question will be answered live, but questions will help inform FAQs and other information efforts.