Openness Regarding Disciplinary Decisions Educates University Community and the Public

Faculty disciplinary decisions are being communicated more fully to the public and the UW–Madison community to help educate people about the process, a university official says.

Given the size and scope of this university community – comparable in population to a city the size of Eau Claire – it’s inevitable that there will be some disciplinary cases each year.

“We are most concerned with the individual, or individuals, involved in these actions,” says Casey Nagy, executive assistant to the provost. “But it’s important to share with citizens and the university what has been decided and how that decision was made.”

“The integrity of the process is set by the credibility given it by the campus community. This isn’t a change but an evolution.”

Nagy explains that not everything will be shared. “Some details are not appropriate. We are eager to help the UW community understand what we did and how we did it without tainting the process,” says Nagy, who is an attorney familiar with personnel issues.

The increased openness will benefit the university, Nagy adds, by educating the campus community about what is acceptable behavior. It should also dispel the belief among some that investigations into alleged faculty misconduct are “whitewashes,” he says, and address the concern that the investigations take too much time.

“These are very careful examinations, and by their nature tend to be lengthy,” Nagy says. “You just can’t do these investigations quickly.”

To better educate the campus community about policies regarding imisconduct and disciplinary proceedings, the university is producing a guidebook for faculty, staff and students that includes the names and telephone numbers of contact persons for various personnel matters, Nagy says.

In addition, new deans, associate deans, department chairs and directors will be required to attend a workshop later this fall on handling complaints and allegations. The workshop is sponsored by the Provost’s Office and the Office of Human Resource Development, and it is one of six academic leadership series workshops that will be held during the 1997-98 academic year.