The UW-Madison Faculty Senate discussed the 2009-'10 annual reports for Public Representation Organization of the Faculty Senate (PROFS INC.) and the Recreational Sports Board Monday.
President of PROFS Steering Committee and Faculty Senate member Joseph Salmons said PROFS is important to UW-Madison and its faculty.
During the past year, PROFS has advocated for the ""Smart Furlough,"" which would allow the state to furlough state employees if doing so would result in net savings for the state.
PROFS organized multiple public forums throughout the year that emphasized the ways to continue financing higher education in the future, said Salmons.
The budget cut throughout Wisconsin will affect all state agencies, including the University of Wisconsin System.
UW-Madison has been instructed to prepare for the future budget cuts.
Salmons said the recent republican shift in Wisconsin will alter UW-Madison faculty salaries and benefits, but PROFS will protect faculty interests.
""PROFS will do everything it can and we urge you to help us to defend competitive faculty compensation,"" Salmons said.
Recreational Sports Board committee member Jim Malter said the committee is concerned with the development, programming, maintainence and financing of the recreational sports facilities on UW-Madison's campus.
Malter said when students voted down the recent referendum to expand the Natatorium facility, the committee was not able to continue with the proposed project to expand the unfit recreational facilities.
""If we look around the Big Ten, you will see that our facilities are inadequate and we would like to do something about that,"" Malter said.
According to Malter, the use of indoor recreational facilities has increased 35 percent over the past 10 years and the increased use is proof of the need for new facilities.