Kopper reviews last year and looks ahead to future
By Tom Ganser
Correspondent
On Aug. 29, Beverly Kopper, the 16th Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, provided a look back over the past year for the university and a glimpse forward to the 2016-17 academic year during her state of the university speech.
She began with the tradition of remembering faculty and staff who passed away during the prior year and established a new tradition by sharing the names of current faculty and staff members who have reached milestones of 10, 15 or 20 years of service to UW-Whitewater, and inviting to the stage those who with 25 to 40 years of service.
Kopper also used the occasion to present the first “Chancellor’s Difference Makers Award” to the UW-Whitewater Landscaping Team, under the direction of Steve Bertagnolli.
She called on James Langness, a UW-Whitewater student who also serves on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, to join her in honoring the recipients of two prestigious UW System Awards: Susan Huss-Lederman from the Department of Languages and Literatures for the UW System Teaching Excellence Award and Brenda Rust-O’Beirne, representing the Department of Counselor Education, for the UW System Program Excellence Award.
Kopper spoke about the university receiving a 2016 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Top Workplace Award.
“We are the only university or state agency to earn this honor in the six [consecutive] years that we have achieved this recognition,” she said.
Kopper applauded the work of the UWW Foundation in raising more than $8.2 million over the past year, the most successful fundraising year in its history, and highlighted participation in “Reimagining the First Year of College,” a three-year project lead by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. UW-Whitewater is one of only 44 colleges and universities though the United States selected to be part of this project.
Provost Susan Elrod provided an update on the development of a new strategic plan, describing it as “an articulation of the most important priorities for the campus and the actions that we will take in the coming years.”
She also provided an overview to the six goals of the plan: (1) Improve Student Access and Success, (2) Transform Lives and Society, (3) Foster Diversity and Inclusivity, (4) Expand and Diversify Resources, (5) Build Partnerships and Relationships and (6) Enhance Recognition and Outreach.
Kopper also outlined responses to some challenging situations facing the campus, including campus climate, the reduction in state funding, campus safety, and changes in the tenure process.
“I again want to express my support for tenure and shared governance and academic freedom because these are the tenets that are absolutely vital to our continued strength as an institution of higher learning,” she said.
Tom Rios, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Natalie Arriaga, a senior majoring in international studies, shared their experiences as members of the Campus Culture Working Group (CCWG) established to address what Kopper described as “difficult conversations related to our campus culture.”
According to Rios, the CCWG includes an equal representation of faculty, staff and students, and quickly changed from an exploratory group to an action group that sponsored of a forum attended by 450 faculty, staff, students to discuss and examine racism, bias and inclusivity.
The action steps emerging from the process included establishing an electronic hate/bias incident reporting form, enhancing instruction in the U.S. Racial/Ethnic Diversity courses and the new student seminar, and planning a Campus Diversity Forum on the theme “Beyond Inclusion to Engagement” that will take place on campus on Nov. 1 and 2.
“There’s nothing more powerful than a student’s voice, than a student’s opinions and ideas, because once you get your ideas out there in conversation, the action can happen,” Arriaga said.
“We are the change and we are tomorrow’s future. Students have the power and we don’t even know it yet, but we can influence each other and we can influence students and staff,” she said.
“Our Campus Culture Working Group has been working diligently to keep us on track,” Kopper said. “There is still much more work to be done… I think we’ve learned important lessons along the way, and I’m very proud of the way we came together to support each other, to listen to one another, and to forge ahead.”
Regarding campus safety, Kopper said it’s vital to continue to focus on the issue.
Kopper said the campus participated in a state-wide emergency management training session in June. She also announced the launch of an emergency app for smartphones and other mobile devices that is available for download on the UW-Whitewater website. The app provides notification of emergency situations on campus, including “any critical information that you may need to know about what is going on and how to be safe.”
Another example of the university’s commitment to safety is its ethical, moral and legal obligation to “provide a safe environment that includes preventing and responding to all forms of sexual harassment, assault and other forms of sexual misconduct,” Kopper said.
This summer, more than 60 employees completed daylong Title 9 training session on the topic and this academic year, on line training will be available to every student and employee.
“We will continue to face many challenges. Yet I firmly believe that in these difficult times this campus responds in a true UW-Whitewater fashion. We come together as a community. We work together to find solutions. We support one another, and we always, always put our students first,” she said.
According to Kopper, with an estimated 2,200 students and 750 transfer students enrolling this fall, UW-Whitewater is on track for its largest student enrollment in history. She also cited gains in the freshman to sophomore year retention to 80 percent and in the six-year graduation rate to 60 percent, both the highest on record.
Still, Kopper said, there is “more work to do in closing the equity gap. As a campus that prides itself in providing opportunities for all students, the divide among our non-underrepresented minority students and our underrepresented minority students must be closed and clearly closing the equity gap is a part of our strategic plan.”
Regarding the budget, Kopper said that UW-Whitewater’s $5.8 million reduction in state funding for the 2015-17 biennial budget had been largely addressed by the removal of 40 positions, reducing the deficit to about $930,000.
With an additional $129,000 in campus reductions, an increase of about $800,000 in non-resident undergraduate and graduate tuition, and a budget allocation from UW System of $666,500, the final amount available for UW-Whitewater is about $537,000, to be used to cover some fringe benefits, faculty and staff salary increases, and retention and salary adjustments.
Regarding the biennial budget for 2017-19, Kopper said that UW System Board of Regents’ proposed budget includes $42,500,000 for additional state general purpose revenue, along with a request that the tuition freeze be lifted.
“It’s time for the state to reinvest in higher education,” Kopper stated.
Prior to the viewing of a video showcasing a variety of faculty and staff achievements over the past year, Kopper said, “I want to thank you again for all of your amazing work, for your dedication and for your passion for this university… I am honored, and it is a privilege to serve as your chancellor and to help lead, with all of you, this amazing university.”
Following her speech an all-campus cookout was held for the first time.
