Board of Regents
Education Committee Minutes, May 2006
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
May 4 2006
Regent Burmaster convened the meeting of the Education Committee at 2:50 p.m. Regents Burmaster, Axtell, McPike, Semenas were present. Regents Bradley and Walsh joined the meeting in progress.
1. Approval of the minutes of the April 6, 2006, meetings of the Education Committee
I.1.a.: It was moved by Regent McPike, seconded by Regent Axtell, that the minutes of the April 6, 2006, meetings of the Education Committee be approved.
The resolution PASSED unanimously.
2. Tribute to Regent Axtell
Regent Burmaster arranged for an a capella jazz group from Parker High School in Janesville to sing several songs in honor of Regent Axtell’s last Education Committee meeting and as a tribute to his outstanding service to the Board of Regents.
3. Reforming Teacher Education: Creating a More Diverse Workforce and Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners
Returning to the agenda, the Committee heard a presentation on the reforming of teacher education to create a more diverse workforce and to meet the needs of diverse learners. Dr. Francine Tompkins, Director of PK-16 initiatives for the UW System, reviewed the two goals for diversity in teacher preparation identified by the Committee in fall 2005: the recruitment, training, and retention of a more diverse cohort of teachers; and the preparation of teachers to effectively work with diverse learners. She then introduced two UW System initiatives that were meeting these goals through inter-institutional collaboration.
Tamara Horstman-Riphah of UW-La Crosse described the social justice mission of the Research Center for Cultural Diversity and Community Renewal at UW-La Crosse and its efforts to increase diversity among educators. The Center focuses on recruiting, mentoring and preparing Hmong teachers through two multi-campus programs, Project Teach and Project Forward. The campuses involved in these projects are UW-La Crosse, -Eau Claire, -Stout, -Stevens Point, and -Marathon County, and they, in turn, collaborate with several PK-12 communities. Ms. Horstman-Riphah cited the growing need for Hmong teachers and role models to educate the escalating numbers of Hmong students in Wisconsin public schools. The two programs have a total of 44 students enrolled and most of their 13 graduates are either working in schools or continuing their education. The Committee also heard from two of the program graduates: Charles Vue, Student Services Coordinator at UW-Eau Claire; and Nou Thor, an Eau Claire graduate and current Master’s student in Counseling at UW-Madison.
Dr. Hardin Coleman, Associate Dean in the UW-Madison School of Education, then described plans for the UW System Institute for Urban Education, one of the items included in the Teacher Education budget proposal introduced earlier in the day. The Institute would provide expanded professional development opportunities in urban education for pre-service and in-service teachers, placing students from participating UW institutions in Milwaukee for residential and teaching experiences in an urban setting, with at-risk populations. Regent Burmaster expressed her appreciation to all of the speakers and commended the programs for their collaborative efforts to increase diversity in the UW System’s teacher preparation programs and hence the workforce of Wisconsin schools.
4. Report of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs: The Educational Mission of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Milwaukee Clinical Campus
The Committee then moved to the report of Senior Vice President Marrett for a discussion of the educational mission of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Milwaukee Clinical Campus. Senior Vice President Marrett informed the Committee that four individuals had requested and been granted permission to address the Regents on the topic. At issue, she reported, is a recently revised affiliation agreement with Aurora, through which the Medical School offers its medical students clinical experience at Aurora sites through its Milwaukee Clinical Campus. The Medical School views this as an essential experience for the medical students it prepares as future doctors. Several of the faculty members from the Clinical Campus have pointed to what they perceive as evidence that Aurora is backing away from its commitment to provide medical care for Milwaukee’s underserved, hence compromising the School of Medicine and Public Health’s commitment and its articulated mission. In fact, several of them have chosen not to sign the new employment contracts that are a part of the new affiliation agreement. Community health groups in Milwaukee and elsewhere have also weighed in, and Regents have received a number of letters from them. She reminded everyone present that there would be no action taken, and that the affiliation agreement at the center of the issue had already been signed in March by UW-Madison through authority delegated by the Board of Regents.
The Committee heard first from Dean Philip Farrell of the School of Medicine and Public Health. He reviewed the 30-year partnership between the School of Medicine and Public Health and Aurora Health Care, Inc., through the Milwaukee Clinical Campus. The Milwaukee Clinical Campus educates over 200 of the medical school’s students every year and provides students with experience that is critical to their medical educations. He covered the differing responsibilities of the School of Medicine and of Aurora as spelled out in the newly revised affiliation agreement, and assured the Committee that the revised agreement follows national models and strengthens the public health mission of the School.
Nick Turkal, Senior Associate Dean of the School’s Milwaukee Clinical Campus and Senior Vice President of Aurora Health Care, outlined the major concerns of the faculty physicians at the Clinical Campus. They are concerned about the new affiliation agreement; a revised campus structure and employment model; and about the continuing commitment to provide health care to underserved populations. Dr. Turkal explained that the new affiliation agreement clarified certain compliance and employment issues for the Milwaukee Clinical Campus faculty, and was, in fact, the fourth iteration of a faculty employment model used since the partnership began. He observed that over 70 percent of the clinical faculty members were retained in the new agreement, which would begin July 1, but that a number of faculty chose not to sign the new contracts.
While acknowledging that Aurora has closed some of their urban facilities, Dr. Turkal emphasized that Aurora’s commitment to underserved populations remains strong and that, in fact, they commit more financial resources to these efforts than ever before. He cited several examples, including the facts that $156 million was spent in 2004-05 on uncompensated care, and that 500,000 people without health insurance were served last year by Aurora, which is a not-for-profit corporation. He also cautioned that there are really two distinct issues at stake: educating medical students and Aurora’s commitment to the underserved.
Steve Schwartz of the Wisconsin Citizen Action Network next addressed the Committee and named some of the ways in which his group feels that Aurora is cutting back its care in underserved urban regions for financial reasons, leaving the populations there at risk. He named several inner-city clinics that were being abandoned by Aurora expressly because of the low-income populations they served. He asked the Regents to reexamine the new affiliation agreement, asserting that the Milwaukee Clinical Campus, as an affiliate of the School of Medicine and Public Health, is under their purview and responsibility.
Mr. Schwartz was followed by Dr. Anthony Otters, a Milwaukee physician and MCC faculty member. Dr. Otters asked the Board for additional debate and discussion on the new affiliation agreement, which he asserted would have a dramatic effect on the underserved population. He particularly objected to the fact that the old agreement had been terminated two years before its expiration, and that the new affiliation agreement had been approved without any public discussion or input. The new agreement, he stated, would give Aurora more oversight over how the Milwaukee Clinical Campus faculty would work and would make the “bottom line” the deciding factor in how medical care would be delivered, as opposed to the overwhelming health care needs of Milwaukee’s urban poor. Previously the clinical faculty worked for the School of Medicine and Public Health but now they would work for Aurora. He asked the Regents whether the Wisconsin Idea still existed and whether the UW School of Medicine and Public Health was a part of it, or, through the new affiliation agreement with Aurora, an impediment to it. He asked that each Regent decide for him- or herself whether or not they trusted Aurora to maintain its commitment to the underserved of Milwaukee.
Regent Axtell asked about the responsibility of the Medical College of Wisconsin in addressing the public health needs of Milwaukee. Regent Burmaster exhorted Dr. Turkal and Aurora not to back away from their commitment to Milwaukee’s underserved, given the precariousness of that population’s health care needs. Dr. Turkal insisted that Aurora was not going to and that as a not-for-profit corporation, Aurora also had a Board to which it reported. Regent Burmaster emphasized that leadership was needed to resolve the “disconnect” between what Aurora stated it would be doing, and what Dr. Otters and his colleagues asserted. Dr. Turkal encouraged the Regents to look at a publication on Aurora’s philanthropy that he distributed and that if they required additional information, it would be provided.
Regent Bradley asked whether, in the end, Aurora was doing less to serve Milwaukee’s inner city residents. Dr. Turkal emphasized that Aurora was doing more, and that the dollar figures and other metrics reinforced that. He also recognized that because Aurora serves the eastern third of the state of Wisconsin, it does have to assign and realign resources for that entire service population. In response to Dr. Turkal noting that Aurora lost $12 million last year at its inner-city hospital, Aurora Sinai, Dr. Otters asked that, when those losses become bigger, what is to prevent Aurora from closing Aurora Sinai, which is the last inner-city hospital with its doors open in Milwaukee. In response to a question from Regent Walsh, Dr. Otters observed that under the old affiliation agreement, the clinical faculty could counter Aurora’s concern with the bottom line through their UW Medical School affiliation. Regent Walsh then posed the following questions: is it the responsibility of the Regents to take care of Milwaukee’s health care problems? Is it the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s responsibility? Is it the responsibility of the Regents to ask the Legislature for $20 million for the city of Milwaukee’s health care problems? Dr. Turkal asserted that the School of Medicine and Public Health still has an important role to play in Milwaukee through its partnership with Aurora.
The discussion ended with a reminder from Regent Walsh that the delegation of authority for the contract with Aurora was one of the many actions the Regents delegate, in this case to UW-Madison. Regent Burmaster concluded by noting that the Regents would not waver in their stewardship role to oversee those UW programs over which they have authority, including the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Emphasizing that the Regents care deeply about the School’s commitment to doing what it can to serve Milwaukee’s most vulnerable citizens, she indicated that the Regents would listen carefully next fall to the School of Medicine and Public Health’s full report on its activities in Milwaukee.
5. Required Action on the William F. Vilas Trust Estate
The Committee next moved in quick succession two resolutions on the Vilas Trust Estate. Regent Burmaster reminded the Committee that in April, its members had approved the 2006-07 request to the Trust by UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee, with the understanding at that time that they would act to accept the Trust’s proffer in May. Before acting to accept the proffer, she continued, the Committee was required to approve an amended request, necessitated by changes to the request submitted by UW-Madison after the April meeting.
In response to a question from Regent Burmaster, Senior Vice President Marrett explained to the Committee that when the Vilas proffer came in to the UW System earlier in the week, it did not include the two music requests made annually by UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. That omission turned out to be an oversight on the part of the Trust and, she added, an additional proffer covering the music requests would soon be forthcoming. The Education Committee accepted the proffer with the understanding that (1) the supplemental proffer would come in and be a part of what the Committee approved as the 2006-07 Vilas proffer, and that (2) the revised request approved by the Committee included the correct amount of money proffered in total by the Vilas Trust ($8,674,928).
I.1.c.(1): It was moved by Regent Semenas, seconded by Regent Axtell, that, upon recommendation of the Chancellors of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the President of the University of Wisconsin System, the Board of Regents approves the amended request to the Trustees of the William F. Vilas Trust Estate for $8,674,928 for fiscal year July 1, 2006, to
June 30, 2007, as provided by the terms of the William F. Vilas Trust, for Support of Scholarships, Fellowships, Professorships, and Special Programs in Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and Music.
The resolution PASSED unanimously.
I.1.c.(2): It was moved by Regent Bradley, seconded by Regent Axtell, that, upon recommendation of the Chancellors of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the President of the University of Wisconsin System, the Board of Regents accepts the proffer made by the Trustees of the William F. Vilas Trust Estate for fiscal year July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007, as provided by the terms of the William F. Vilas Trust, for Support of Scholarships, Fellowships, Professorships, and Special Programs in Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and Music.
The resolution PASSED unanimously.
6. Program Authorizations
a. B.A. in Liberal Arts for Teachers, UW-Parkside
The Committee then moved to consider the B.A. in Liberal Arts for Teachers at UW-Parkside. UW-Parkside Provost Rebecca Martin introduced Don Cress, Dean of Arts & Sciences, and commended him for his leadership in helping make teacher education a truly campus-wide responsibility. Dean Cress characterized the Liberal Arts for Teachers program as an innovative teacher preparation program that responds to national concerns that teachers are not well prepared in their major content areas. In addition to providing graduates with a solid liberal arts education, the program emphasizes preparation in science and math, areas in which many teachers lack both requisite skills and confidence. The program includes solid representation of people of color among its students, faculty, and governing body. Dean Cress concluded by noting that the program identifies itself as part of the long-term solution to reducing the achievement gap, which the research shows will occur by better educating students in the early years in particular subject areas, like math and science.
I.1.d.(1): It was moved by Regent Axtell, seconded by Regent Semenas, that, upon recommendation of the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and the President of the University of Wisconsin System, the Chancellor be authorized to implement the B.A. in Liberal Arts for Teachers, UW-Parkside.
The resolution PASSED unanimously.
b. Ph.D. in Social Work, UW-Milwaukee
The Committee next considered the Ph.D. in Social Work at UW-Milwaukee. Provost Rita Cheng described the resource allocation process by which the new doctoral degree would be funded. She then introduced Stan Stojkovic, Dean of the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, and Steve McMurtry, Professor of Social Work. They briefly described how the program would address a statewide and national shortage of doctoral-trained social workers, explaining that social work programs are growing across the country and they all need faculty with doctorates. The program would build on UW-Milwaukee’s existing research strengths and faculty expertise in the areas of addictions and behavioral health; applied gerontology; and family and child welfare, three areas which align closely with the city of Milwaukee’s existing needs. Regent Bradley asked whether collaboration was planned with UW-Madison’s Ph.D. program in Social Work. Dean Stojkovic and Professor McMurtry explained that the two schools differed in their areas of expertise, but that this might allow for collaboration enabling students to take advantage of the faculty expertise they needed as they pursued their degrees. Senior Vice President Marrett added that the Center for Addiction and Behavioral Health Research at UW-Milwaukee engaged in many productive collaborative activities with the UW System’s comprehensive universities. In response to a question from Regent Axtell, Provost Cheng reported that with the addition of the Ph.D. in Social Work, there would be a total of 21 doctoral programs at UW-Milwaukee. The Committee expressed its appreciation for this program as a demonstration of UW-Milwaukee’s desire to grow its research capacity while also fulfilling its urban mission.
I.1.d.(2): It was moved by Regent Axtell, seconded by Regent Semenas, that, upon recommendation of the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the President of the University of Wisconsin System, the Chancellor be authorized to implement the Ph.D. in Social Work, UW-Milwaukee.
The resolution PASSED unanimously.
7. Charter School Authorization, UW-Milwaukee: Contract Extension for YMCA Youth Leadership Academy
The Committee then heard from Provost Rita Cheng and Dr. Bob Kattman, Director of the Office of Charter Schools at UW-Milwaukee, who presented the YMCA Youth Leadership Academy for the Committee’s consideration. Action on the charter school had been deferred from the April meeting, but Committee members were now being asked to approve a four-year extension to UW-Milwaukee’s contract with the Youth Leadership Academy. Regent Burmaster noted that she and her staff had met with Provost Cheng and Dr. Kattman and were in agreement that a four-year contract extension was appropriate. In response to a question from Regent Semenas, Dr. Kattman answered that the school was being recommended for a four- and not a five-year extension because there were certain areas of the school that needed improvement. At the request of Regent Burmaster, Dr. Kattman updated the Committee on the Academy of Milwaukee, the charter school on which the Board tabled action in April. Motivated by questions raised by Regent Randall at the April meeting, Dr. Kattman informed the Board that he would be undertaking a re-evaluation of the school. He expressed his hope that he would be able to bring the school back for the Board’s consideration next year, and that it would be able to open in fall 2007.
I.1.e.: It was moved by Regent Bradley, seconded by Regent Axtell, that, upon recommendation of the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the President of the University of Wisconsin System, the Board of Regents approves the extension of the charter school contract with the YMCA Youth Leadership Academy.
The resolution PASSED unanimously.
The Education Committee meeting ended with the presentation to outgoing Regent Axtell of a lifetime subscription to Achieving Excellence, the UW System’s annual Accountability Report.
Resolutions I.1.c.(1), I.1.c.(2), I.1.d.(1), I.1.d.(2), and I.1.e. were referred as consent agenda items to the full session of the Board of Regents at its Friday, May 5, 2006, meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 4:47 p.m.