The UW-Madison Faculty Senate will vote May 2 on a resolution regarding its lack of confidence in UW System President Ray Cross and the Board of Regents.
The “No Confidence” resolution, a draft which is still being finalized, explicitly condemns Cross and the board for supporting new tenure policies that the majority of faculty members largely disagree with because protection against layoffs is diminished.
“In March 2015 UW System President Ray Cross pledged to resign if he failed to protect tenure, shared governance, and academic freedom for all University of Wisconsin universities and colleges,” the resolution stated.
Written by Chad Alan Goldberg, a sociology professor and president of American Federation of Teachers-affiliated United Faculty and Academic Staff, the draft emphasizes how the leader’s actions have damaged the reputation of UW-Madison as a state university.
According to the resolution, “program changes based on non-educational considerations, the erosion of academic due process, and the circumventing of shared governance jeopardize the quality of students’ education.”
The draft has been approved by David Vanness, a UW-Madison associate professor and president of the campus chapter of the Association of American University Professors.
Vanness said Cross’ actions at the March Board of Regents meeting show he has played a direct role in allowing tenure and shared governance to be weakened.
“It is further RESOLVED,” the draft stated, “that the UW-Madison Faculty Senate has no confidence in UW System President Ray Cross or the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents to protect tenure and shared governance.”
