Of several faculty committees presenting annual reports Monday, the Athletic Board’s 2006-’07 annual report elicited the most questions from faculty members at the last Faculty Senate meeting of the academic year.
Walter Dickey, chair of the Athletic Board, said one of the current issues facing the board is the NCAA reaccreditation of the UW Athletic Department, which will take most of the 2008-’09 academic year.
“We’ve created an ad hoc committee to look at a variety of different issues,” he said. “It seemed wise to have a kind of collective self-study, not just of the Athletic Department, but rather our own.”
Dickey said the self-study was ongoing this year, with discussions continuing into fall 2008. According to the annual report, a preliminary written report from the ad hoc committee will be made to the full Athletic Board this spring.
UW-Madison history professor Jim Donnelly addressed what he called a “disturbing pattern” in the Athletic Board not following faculty policies and procedures.
Donnelly said he thinks procedures were not followed in Chancellor John Wiley’s decision in distributing media contract revenues or the appointment of football coach Bret Bielema, among others.
The distribution of Big Ten Network revenues was also an “issue of ongoing interest” in the Athletic Board’s report, as was the availability of the network in most Big Ten areas.
Dickey said he thinks the Athletic Board needs to work together to promote openness when it comes to dealing with problems, not conceal them.
Robert Mathieu gave his last annual report as chair of the University Committee, the executive committee of the Faculty Senate, calling his presentation the “State of the Senate” address.
Mathieu discussed five faculty initiatives of the past two years, which he urged members of the Faculty Senate to continue to work with.
Some initiatives included building the relationship between the university and the state, working with the Graduate Student Growth Agenda and diversifying the campus community.
The Faculty Senate also voted to create an ad hoc committee to review UW-Madison’s snow removal policies and help the university’s Physical Plant secure resources to keep campus streets and sidewalks clear next winter.
