Another Blog: The Chancellor's Forum

This week, the Chancellor is holding a series of forums to discuss how the UW should prepare for what will certainly be a challenging budget cycle. The first two have been held, and there is one more on Friday the 19th. 

Obviously, scheduling these forums during finals week makes it difficult for students to attend, though certainly some have. The Chancellor has also promised to have additional forum(s?) in the beginning of the spring semester.

You can still participate without attending the forums. The Chancellor's office has created a blog to keep the community informed of what happened at each forum and to continue the discussions that come out of the forum. You can read it here

UW Madison in an Economic Recession and a Changing World

Unfortunately, this site wasn't included in any of the emails that went out last week to the University community, so it may not be well-known. I wasn't at the first forum, but it looks like UW Communications has done a good job of getting content from the forums onto the site and it's already collected a few comments.

Getting the ideas and discussions from these forums out in short order for the world to see and comment on is a good move on the part of the Chancellor. (It's something that ASM should be doing a better job on, too.) I don't know how the Chancellor's office will use that site in the future, but hopefully this is the start of a good trend from the UW Administration. 

Campus Safety Committee

The Campus Safety Committee met Wednesday December 10th to discuss WiscAlerts, alternative methods for informing students in surrounding off-campus neighborhoods about campus crime and SafeU.

Currently WiscAlerts notifies students via text message if an extreme emergency situation is occurring, such as a bomb threat, active shooter, or a tornado. The system is campus focused.

Discussion regarding WiscAlerts included the following:
- Is the campus focused system too narrow?
- Do students want to be alerted for less severe crimes as well?
- Is there an expectation gap with WiscAlerts? Are students expecting to be notified more often than they are?

Alternative methods for informing students of campus crime were discussed as well, including:
- Potential newspaper columns including the campus and surrounding area crimes for the week and locations of the occurrences
- Using WiscAlerts more often
- Extending SAFE services hours

SafeU is a website that is being designed by two PhD students; it would be accessible via computer and phones with internet capabilities. The website would include links to campus safety and SAFE resources.

Please respond with any questions, comments, or concerns. Feedback in response to the questions regarding WiscAlerts, SafeU, and extended SAFE service hours would be very helpful.

Union Design Committee - 12/8/2008

The Union Design Committee met Monday December 8th to discuss food service, budget updates, and floor plan revisions for the new South Campus Union.

Members of the Union Design Committee visited Purdue University to get ideas for the food service in the new South Campus Union. Discussion included the following topics:
- Should there be booths in the food service seating area, and if so, how many?
- How fast will students be able to get their food?
- How fast do students want to get their food?
This discussion will continue throughout the project.

Currently the consensus is that the new Union will remain within the budget constraints, however, in the event of necessary cuts or a budget surplus the project priorities were discussed. The project was divided into ten different areas including:
1. Shelling (White Box) program areas
2. Energy Saving Items
3. Water Conservation Items
4. Internal Finishes
5. Structural Savings
6. Site Enhancements
7. Reuse of Equipment and Furniture
8. Safety/Secure Items
9. Keeping all current program space
10. Phase AV/it System installation
These items were discussed as to what was the most and least important.

Changes to the floor plan included:
Level B2:
No changes
Level B1:
A stairwell was removed and the climbing wall will run from East to West instead of from North to South.
Level 1:
The art gallery was switched from an “L” shape to a straighter shape.
The ticket booth was moved to the main level.
Elevators were rotated to compensate other floors
Cash Office was moved to the rear of the building
The stairwell to the recreation center can be accessed from the Winter-garden.
Level 2:
The WUD spaces were redesigned
Table games were removed and more tables added
A stairwell was moved from Badger Hall to the Pre-function area
Level 3:
A hallway was moved to create a more open feel
The admin suite was reconfigured.
Level 4:
No changes
Level 5:
A house-keeping room was replaced by an exercise room

Please let me know if there are any questions, concerns, or comments. Feedback on food service ideas and project priorities would be greatly appreciated.