Month: June 2020

The UW-Green Bay Office of the Chancellor emailed the following from Chancellor Michael Alexander to the UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff on Friday, June 19, 2020.

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

As you have probably heard, Tommy Thompson has been named the interim president of the University of Wisconsin System. I am excited to work with President Thompson in his new role. His experience as governor of the state of Wisconsin will be an asset to advocate for the needs of higher education during his tenure. He also has served as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, which provides experience that is particularly relevant at this time.

I am looking forward to my first conversation with President Thompson to tell him about the incredible work our faculty, staff, and students are accomplishing. We have so much to be proud of at UW-Green Bay and I believe our mission and the work we are doing to realize it will fully resonate with him.

Best,
Michael Alexander
Chancellor

The UW-Green Bay Office of the Chancellor emailed the following from Chancellor Michael Alexander to the UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff on Thursday, June 18, 2020.

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

On Monday we announced our intentions to open the four campuses to faculty and staff and the outdoor spaces on the Green Bay Campus to the public. Today, we release a document, the Return to Campus Guide, which more specifically outlines the expectations and guidelines for returning to campus. Please take the time to read the document thoroughly. We all have a social responsibility to protect ourselves and others as we navigate our new realities during this pandemic.

As mentioned, we are continuing to work on specific details for fall, and will communicate those as soon as they become available. We will hold a Campus Coffee Break on June 29 at 8:30 a.m. Details will be forthcoming for that session.

Please contact your area leader with any questions and continue to be safe.

Best,

Michael Alexander
Chancellor

The UW-Green Bay Office of the Chancellor emailed the following from Chancellor Michael Alexander to the UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff on Monday, June 15, 2020.

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

At the May 15 Coffee Break sessions, we announced our intention to have on-campus classes along with additional classes in other delivery methods to try to support students in the fall continue their educational progress. We are still committed to that goal. Over the last month, we have prepared two sets of guidelines to help us return to campus. The first will cover July 1-August 31 and the second for the fall.

In Phase I, from July 1-August 31, we will be welcoming faculty and staff back to campus who wish to return to their offices and work environments or need to be on campus to complete their work effectively. We will also open our outdoor spaces for public use. We are proceeding back to campus cautiously with the safety of our faculty and staff as our first priority. Please watch for an e-mail later this week from Human Resources as to the expectations and guidelines for returning to campus. Please communicate to HR if you have any questions after reading the materials. On Thursday, we will release the specific guidelines for faculty, staff, students and the community to follow for the opening on July 1. In addition, a detailed snapshot of University operations for July is available and will be updated regularly.

We continue to work out the specific details for second phase in the fall, which includes the safe return of students, including August Campus Move-In and a Sept. 2 start date for the academic semester. Over the next month, we will begin to communicate details as to how this will happen. We are working closely with Prevea, our health partner beginning July 1, and the Brown County Public Health Department on the many details required to help us open safely and successfully.

I want to thank everyone who has worked so hard for us to be able to open on July 1 and who is working diligently to prepare for the fall. Our summer enrollment has increased by more than 20% over last year and our fall numbers look very promising. We are a resilient campus full of people dedicated to improving the lives of all people in our community. Thank you for your patience while we take the time to open campus in a responsible manner and continue our momentum towards fulfilling our mission to make our community a better place and provide access to education for all who want it.

Best,

Michael Alexander
Chancellor

The UW-Green Bay Office of the Chancellor emailed the following from Chancellor Michael Alexander to the UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff on Friday, June 12, 2020.

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

Yesterday, the Chancellor’s Council on Diversity and Inclusive Excellence met.  I want to thank Stacie Christian and Melissa Nash for their leadership of the Council and thought I should send you this email as an update to what was discussed and decided.

First, I am attaching the strategic goals of Council and the leaders of the various workgroups. Many of you have reached out to me asking how you can get involved in our efforts to improve.  Please feel free to reach out to any of the leaders of these workgroups if you feel you would like to contribute.

Second, we have agreed to rename the Council.  I feel it is important that the Council not have the implication that it is run by the Chancellor.  We all must own issues of Diversity and Inclusion.  I will still take an active role in the activities of the Council, but the new name will begin with the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to reflect that it involves the entire campus.  The full new name will be decided on prior to the fall.

Third, the Council agreed that we will require diversity, equity, and inclusion training for all faculty and staff during the next academic year.  This falls within the framework of our second strategic goal.  We will work out the details of what this looks like over the summer, but I am announcing it now to hold myself and all of us accountable for making it happen.

Finally, Alexandra Ritchie, Marketing and Communications Recruitment Coordinator in our Office of Admissions has written a powerful open letter to our campus. I encourage you all to read it.

Best,

Michael Alexander
Chancellor

Attachments:

• Diversity & Inclusive Excellence 2020-2023 Strategic Planning Process Overview
• Alexandra Ritchie’s open letter to campus about inclusion and equity

The UW-Green Bay Office of the Chancellor emailed the following from Chancellor Michael Alexander on behalf of the Chancellor’s Cabinet to the student body on Thursday, June 4, 2020.

Dear UW-Green Bay Students,

I have been personally struggling over the tragic loss of life of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery in recent weeks.  However, I realize that these are just the last three names that we know about among the countless number of people who have suffered from racist acts.  I want to be unequivocal that as a University we will not permit any acts of intolerance, bias, or racism.

Today, I sent an email to the faculty and staff challenging us to do better as a university to play a leading role in creating a more equitable, just, and inclusive society.  We are unified as campus leadership that we can and must take immediate steps to make sure our actions reflect our words.  To that end, all members of the University Cabinet have signed this email with me.  It is essential that we empower our students to bring about positive change in our communities.  As students begin to return to campus, we will organize listening sessions to understand from your perspective what we can do better and to inform you of the changes we are making.

We know many of you are struggling.  We hear you, are here for you, and support your efforts to make your voices heard.  We will do better.

Respectfully,

Michael Alexander, Chancellor
Kate Burns, Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost
Janet Bonkowski, Executive Director, Marketing & Communications
Charles Guthrie, Director of Athletics
Ben Joniaux, Chief of Staff
Gail Sims-Aubert, Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs & Campus Climate
Sheryl Van Gruensven, Senior Vice Chancellor for Institutional Strategy
Tony Werner, Vice Chancellor for University Advancement

The UW-Green Bay Office of the Chancellor emailed the following from Chancellor Michael Alexander to the UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff on Thursday, June 4, 2020.

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

I have been personally struggling over the tragic loss of life of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery in recent weeks.  However, I realize that these are just the last three names that we know about among the countless number of people who have suffered from racist acts.  I want to be unequivocal that as a University we will not permit any acts of intolerance, bias, or racism.

The last sentence is not difficult to write.  What is difficult is wrestling with what role we will play as an institution, one that should be a force to create access to education providing for a more equitable, just, and inclusive society.  To be direct, like many institutions, I believe we are complicit in not doing all we can to support a better life for everyone in our region.  As an institution of higher learning in a state with one of the highest achievement gaps in the country, we have to look in the mirror and ask ourselves what can we be doing differently to address the equity and inclusion issues that our city, region, state, and nation are facing.  Frankly, I am tired of merely talking about how we believe in equity and inclusion.  I want our actions to reflect as an institution that we are willing to take the hard steps necessary to improve.

To that end, I pledge to take quick action on the recommendations in the strategic plan of the Chancellor’s Council on Diversity and Inclusive Excellence.  UW-System gives new Chancellors $150,000 to enact new initiatives on campus.  I will use all of this money to make sure the Council has the funds it needs to move quickly to realize its goals.  I will involve shared governance in discussions on how we can improve, but will not be daunted by those who ask us to stand still on issues of diversity and inclusion.  We will discuss how.  We will not discuss if.

As we return to campus in the fall, I will make sure that all of our student voices are being heard.  We must be open and honest about how our institutional policies and practices affect the education of our students and therefore our society.  UW-Green Bay has a noble mission of access to education.  We will not be passive in our attempt to improve on that mission.  Everyone must be on board and we all must consider and listen to what actions we can take to be better individually and collectively.

Our community needs us more than ever right now.  I urge you to join me in fighting as hard as we can to do our part.

Best,

Michael Alexander
Chancellor

See also, sent later the same day, ‘Our Commitment to Do Better’ Email to Students