Alcohol and Other Drug Taskforce - 12/04/09 Meeting - Alcohol and Drinking Symposium

The Alcohol and Other Drug Taskforce met Friday December 4th. Primarily, our focus was on the presentation for the symposium titled "Examining Our Student Drinking Culture: A Look at the Culture Now and Ways We Can Improve It". Summarizing the two-day program scheduled for April 27th and 28th of 2010 (Tuesday and Wednesday) is as follows.

Night 1: Our Drinking Culture: A New Age Look at Alcohol Consumption

This night will examine the current drinking culture of this university and this city. It is important that we know where we are with alcohol as a community, not five or ten years ago, but today. We will learn about the effects of toxic drinking and the new studies being done that will help us determine the climate of our drinking culture. This night will also emphasize the importance of alcohol education. The goal of this night is to better understand where we are today so that we may improve our culture into the future.

Night 2: Chaning the Drinking Culture: Where to go from here?

This night will concentrate on current alcohol policy and discuss ideas for improving the drinking cuture in the future. We will get a physiological background on alcohol before we discuss the effects of the drinking age. The rest of the night will be panel-led discussion on city alcohol policy, and a comparative student look into the drinking cultures of our Big Ten and system neighbors. The goal of this night is to give us insight into the direction alcohol policy must take in light of current policy already in place, within the city and the university.

Some of the concerns brought up in discussion were consistency of student attendance, the venue it would be held at, and the equality of representation. Chances are it will be in a dormitory or somewhere like Grainger. Another related topic was food costs. Advertising and food were going to be the key ways to attract and maintain students. Lastly was equal representation. The issue was on our second day, we would have a returning guest, Dr. Kevin Strang, and a presentation from the The Amethyst Initiative Choose Responsibility group. Dr. Strang would give a physiological perspective on drinking and common misconceptions and one of the main points of the second guest is reasons to lower the drinking age. Some of the members of the AODT want to see a different speaker instead of Dr. Strang to fairly contrast the view of the Amethyst Initiative. A link for the schedule thus far will be added to this blog ASAP.

Office of the Registrar Advisory Board Meeting - December 4, 2009

The Office of the Registrar Student Advisory Board met on Friday, December 4, 2009. This is a new committee for the 2009-2010 academic year. The purpose of the committee is to meet with representatives from the Registrar's office and discuss ways in which to improve the Registrar's services, as well as increase student awareness of existing services.
At this meeting, we discussed Student Center, the web-based program in which students can register for classes, update addresses, and view financial aid information. The Advisory Board provided input on changes that could make Student Center more accessible and easier to understand for students. For example, we discussed making "help" options more visible on various pages of Student Center; noted that sometimes there is confusion about whether or not a class has been actually added to a schedule or if it still remains on the Wish List; and also noted that it is frustrating when the search defaults to the fall term instead of spring. We also discussed how the process of running and reading a DARS is somewhat confusing, and how students do not receive education about DARS reports and their purpose in any formal manner. Board members suggested that it may be helpful to have students go through online tutorials/demos of enrollment and DARS before they come to SOAR, so that they are more prepared for first semester enrollment.
Other Shared Governance members are encouraged to comment below or contact an Advisory Board member if they have input on services from the Registrar's office, including posting of deadlines, Student Center, enrollment information, DARS, and Course Guide.
-Kendra Gurnee

Campus Diversity and Climate Committee Meeting, December 1, 2009

With the conclusion of Plan 2008 and the campus community abuzz with talk about "inclusive excellence" (the framework for diversity and climate adopted by the UW, systemwide), the CDCC has begun to re-examine its purpose in relation to diversity initiatives. At this past meeting, the group discussed the question, "What does the university community need the CDCC to do and to be in order to accomplish the broad goal of inclusive excellence?" Several students from the ASM Diversity Committee were in attendance as guests, and they participated in the conversation as well.

Some key topics of the conversation included:

* the CDCC as a "the conscience" of the university around diversity and climate

* what sorts of incentives can be provided to enhance diversity initiatives across campus

* increasing student involvement in the committee

* broadening membership to include groups not normally brought in to diversity conversations

* creating clear plans for activating goals

* involving the chancellor and provost in future work of the committee

* being able to work simultaneously on programmatic action steps and big picture system thinking

* increased accountability structures

* incorporation of divisions and units

* translating ideas into action

This was just a brainstorming session, to be followed by some more intensive conversations throughout the spring about the charge of CDCC. Several times people noted the presence of students as a positive force, and people are reminded that the committee's meetings are open to the public and that guests are welcome.

The schedule for spring 2010 meetings is being revised, so any posted meeting times are subject to change.

--Frank Honts

Campus Planning Committee: Meeting of November 19, 2009

With neither welcome, nor introduction, the Campus Planning Committee (CPC) commenced its November 19, 2009 meeting. There were four items on the agenda:

1) Approval of the November 12, 2009 Minutes.

2) Irwin Goldman, Interim Dean of CALS, gave the presentation on replacement of the existing Seeds Facility. The wooden structure was built in the late 1940's. The reasons for this request is the proposed expansion of the Meat Science and Muscle Facility and the inability to preserve seeds. For example, under normal conditions, seeds should last at least 25 years, but in the current facility, it is only 5 years.

3) Al Fish, FP&M, gave the presentation on the improvement of the lakeshore area that is north adjacent to Memorial Union and the Evelyn White building. The scope of work includes repair of the concrete piers, improvement of the walking areas, and the development of a park between the Red Gym and the Memorial Union. The goal is the prevention of lakeshore erosion and the connections of a pedestrian walkway from the lake shore to 21 North Park Street/Smith Hall.

4) Teresa Adams, FP&M, presented a proposed scheme for the Capital Projects requests for the 2011-13 biennium. The requests originate from the projects reviewed this semester. After some deliberation, the ranking of General Fund Supported Bonds are as follows:

1. Nursing Science Building
2. Utility Projects
3. Walnut Street Greenhouses
4. Seeds Facility replacement.

The ranking of Program Revenue Supported Borrowing is as follows:

1. University Houses
2. Natatorium Renovation (pending student vote)
3. Lakeshore Improvement/Alumni Park

The Chemistry request has been placed in the 2013-15 biennum for further discussion/analysis.


With that, the meeting adjourned.

dr-m

Campus Planning Committee: Meeting of November 12, 2009

With neither welcome, nor introduction, the Campus Planning Committee (CPC) commenced its November 12, 2009 meeting. There were three items on the agenda:

1) Kathryn May, Dean of the School of Nursing, gave a presentation for the construction of a new School of Nursing building to be located at Parking Lot 85. Currently the school is ranked 20th in the nation and 18th in funds from the NIH. Current enrollment is nearly 500 students, but because of low student teacher ratios, the School of Nursing has to turn down qualified students because of lack of facility space. In addition, the new building will allow the school to incorporate POD, SCALE and Human Patient Simulators as part of the curriculum.

2) Paul Evans, Director of Housing, gave a presentation regarding the renovation of the University Houses. These are graduate housing facilities that are south adjacent to Eagle Heights and abuts the Village of Shorewood. These wooden apartment facilities were built in the late 1940's as post WWII faculty housing required for the large number of returning veteran students. An earlier proposal advised that these buildings be removed, however, that proved expensive. Housing derives its funding from its residents and a demolish/rebuild would have seriously increased rental rates. As proposed as a phased renovation, the rental increase will only be $50 per month for University House residents.

3) John Herrod, FP&M, gave a presentation that outlines more utility projects for the campus. They will be located near the Cogeneration Plant and Central Campus. In addition, one project will improve stormwater reduction within existing retention ponds.

With that, the meeting adjourned.

dr-m

Campus Planning Committee: Meeting of Oct 29, 2009

After a brief welcome and introduction, the Campus Planning Committee (CPC) commenced its October 29, 2009 meeting. Provost DeLuca chaired the meeting an gave an address regarding the process and functions of the committee. There were three items on the agenda:

1) Approval of the October 22, 2009 Minutes.

2) Robert Hammers, Chair - Dept. of Chemistry, made a presentation that demonstrated that the current chemistry building does not meet the current demand for students of organic and applied chemistry. The current building has out-of-date fume hoods, lack of storage, and limited lecture discussion facilities. He stated that Chemistry courses serve 41% of CALS students, 33% of Engineering students, and 48% of Med/Nursing students. However, he was not able to determine if this were students with single, double, or triple majors. Unfortunately, their proposal did not contain a minimum square footage or any costs, but suggested a 6 story structure.

3) Bill Tracy, Chair - Dept of Agronomy, gave a presentation that outlines the need for new and updated greenhouses that are north of the Cogeneration Plant. Within the next few years, another phase of construction at the Cogerneration Plant will place the existing greenhouses under shade. The proposal is construct 5 new state-of-the-art greenhouses so that the current facility square foot capacity is not reduced. Within the past 3 years, the facility has upgraded its utilities and therefore, the site is fully capable to support the construction. An alternative plan, using a West Madison (Junction Road & Mineral Point) was discussed. The disadvantages of this location is the distance and the required infrastructure.

With that, the meeting adjourned.

dr-m

Campus Planning Committee: Meeting of Oct 22, 2009

After a brief welcome and introduction, the Campus Planning Committee (CPC) commenced its October 22, 2009 meeting. Provost DeLuca chaired the meeting an gave an address regarding the process and functions of the committee. There were four items on the agenda:

1) Approval of the September 24, 2009 Minutes.

2) Hank Walter, of Food Services, gave an overview of the food service locations that exist on and are planned. His main points were that food service must turn a profit, therefore new food service requests (i.e. ICU Deli) should have a quantifiable demand. If the demand is not met, then the requesting organization must pay into an operational subsidy. Over the summer an ad-hoc subcommittee made recommendations for the implementation of future food service requests: a) Housing Services or the Wisconsin Union have first right of refusal of any request. b) Outside vendors (i.e. Starbucks, Taco Bell, etc.) can then submit an rfp. The ad-hoc committee 'recommended' that living wages would be used by outside vendors, but did not make any statements regarding corporate ethics or responsibility.

3) Faramarz Vakili, of FP&M, gave an update on the We Conserve program. The guiding principles are Efficient Systems, Informed People, Realistic Expectations, and Responsipble Action. Currently, the campus' utility bill is $50M per year--3x the maintenence budget. The increases in fuel and electricity costs are the drivers of this amount. The biggest demanders of energy are HVAC systems and as a result, they use 65% of a daily energy use. The program was commenced on Earth Day 2006 and will terminate in 2010, unless support (finanical and adminsitrative) is found.

4) Al Fish, of FP&M, gave an update on 2 NIH grants and 1 NSF proposal.

With that, the meeting adjourned.

dr-m