Minutes of the University Committee
for October 27, 2003

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 12:05 PM by Prof Gary Wood, Chair. Present in addition were Doug DeVinny, Christine Evans, James Kinchen and Don Kummings, members; Steve McLaughlin, Dean of Students; Rick Haskey, Assistant Director of Student Life; and Prof Walter Feldt, Secretary of the Faculty. Prof Beyer was excused.

Business:

Higher One - Expanded Ranger Card
Steve McLaughlin, Assoc Vice Chancellor for Student Services/Dean of Students, and Rick Haskey, Asst Director of Student Life, met with the Committee to discuss the transition of the Ranger Card to include many additional services under a contract with Higher One (www.higherone.com).

As described, the new optional services would include a broader, use of the debit feature now included with he Ranger Card. Regional merchants would be solicited to offer discounts to UWP students using the card. In addition, financial aids awards could be credited to the card, alleviating the need to write checks, at substantial cost.
The card would not serve as a credit card, but would, if the student opted in, be available as a debit card for all vendors in the Master Card network.

ATM machines on campus would be fee-free for debit card holders as would an optional checking account.

Mr. Haskey said that at UW-Stout, the other UWS campus to adopt the system, 38% of the students had opted to activate the optional services. Of these 65% opted for direct deposit option allowing financial aid awards to be check-free.

In response to a question, the Committee was assured that local financial institutions had been afforded an opportunity to bid on the contract.

As part of the program, all students and staff would be mailed a new Higher One compatible Ranger Card early in January for usage starting in Spring 2004.

Faculty Member to Serve on Student Senate
The Committee was invited to select a faculty member to serve on the Student Senate. Dean McLaughlin said that, currently, the Student Senate met on most Fridays at noon. Several potential names were suggested ad the Secretary of the Faculty was instructed to check if any were willing to serve.

Augmented Full Professor Subcommitee - History
After being assured that the faculty of the department of History had been consulted, the Committee APPROVED the selection of Profs Christoph and Cloutier to augment the subcommittee of full professors consisting of Prof Frank Egerton.

Executive Committee Membership - Tenured Assistant Professors
It was agreed to ask the Faculty Senate to approve an amendment to the Faculty Policies and Procedures to permit executive committees to invite tenured assistant professors from within the department to serve on the executive committee.

Prof Feldt agreed to present a draft.

Bill to Permit Concealed Weapon Carry
Prof Wood reported that a legislative initiative to allow people to carry concealed weapons would include an exemption for campus buildings, but not grounds. The future of the legislation is uncertain given Governor Doyle's promised veto.

Provost's Fund for Research and Creative Activity
Provost Martin's offer to designate about $20,000 in fiscal 03-04 for grants for faculty research has generated some discussion in the governance mailing list, Prof Wood noted. At its last meeting, the Committee had designated Profs Sylvia Beyer and George Li to represent the Committee on Research and Creative Activity (CRCA) and the University Committee on the Provost's review group, per her request for reviewers.

Prof Wood subsequently consulted with Prof Haller, Chair of the CRCA. He reported that the CRCA had scheduled a meeting with Provost Martin to discuss the fund and the procedures for disbursal. CRCA did endorse the selection of Prof Beyer as its representative.

It was agreed to review the matter once the CRCA had met with the provost.

Use of Campus E-Mail for Political Purposes
Prof Wood reported that the practices of the other UWS campuses indicated that it was acceptable to use UWP e-mail to alert faculty and staff to issues that might be of concern to them, but it was not permissible to use these resources, or snail mail resources, to lobby for or against a legislative initiative.

The situation may differ somewhat for the designated campus legislative liaison, in our case Lenny Klaver.

Radiation Safety Committee Appointment
The Committee decided to recommend that no additional faculty representatives be appointed to the Radiation Safety Committee, an administrative committee.

Teacher Education Steering Committee
Prof Feldt reported that the election process to select faculty members to serve on the Teacher Education Steering Committee was underway and should be concluded with a week or two.

Voting Rights - Committee on Academic Planning
The Committee on Academic Planning (CAP) had sought advice on whether it was appropriate for a member of the Committee to vote on a Position Authorization Request emanating from his/her department.

Prof Feldt offered that he could find no explicit bar to such participation in the UWS Code of Ethics (UWS 8).

It was agreed, for the moment, to allow CAP to decide on its own procedure in such matters, pending possible further review.

Adjournment:

The meeting adjourned at 1:15 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Walter T Feldt
SECRETARY OF THE FACULTY & Professor of Engineering