Government Relations

Legislative Update

October 31, 2008

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In this issue:

STATE UPDATE

In The News

► October 29 -- College Board Releases College Pricing and Student Aid Reports
The College Board released two reports, “Trends in College Pricing 2008” and “Trends in Student Aid 2008.”  The reports concluded that “college prices in 2008-09 rose just slightly faster than the Consumer Price Index.  While more financial aid is available for students than ever before, the number of private loans for higher education began to shrink even before the current credit crisis.”  Read the press release on the College Board website.

► November 6 -- Regents to Honor Outstanding UW System Faculty and Academic Staff with the presentation of the Regents’ 16th Annual Teaching Excellence Awards on November 6.  See UW System press release.  The 2008 recipients are:

  • Douglas Heil, Professor of Communication at UW-Oshkosh
  • Nate Splett, Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and Professor of Agricultural Economics at UW-River Falls
  • The Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science at UW-Stout.

State Legislation Update

► October 22 -UW System Testifies Before the Committee on Building Wisconsin’s Workforce
UW System presented information to the Committee on Building Wisconsin's Workforce regarding transfers between institutions of higher education in Wisconsin.  No votes were taken. However, the Committee is considering several recommendations, including bill draft WLC: bill draft 0203/1.  The next meeting of the Committee will take place at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, November 19th.

FEDERAL UPDATE

► October 16-17 -- UW System Grants Administrators Meeting
Grants administrators from across the University of Wisconsin System gathered at a two-day meeting coordinated by the UW System Offices of Federal Relations and Grant Administration.  The first day began with a panel comprised of a Provost, faculty members, and students who discussed building capacity for research and development activities within the UW System, especially at the comprehensive campuses.  The keynote speaker was Maliyakal John, Managing Director of WiSys Technology Foundation.  Dr. John spoke about the role of WiSys and discussed leveraging the potential of UW System comprehensive campuses for technology development.

The next day’s meeting began with a presentation by Rebecca Martin, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, who congratulated the grants administrators on their achievements within the past year.  She announced a new UWSA Grant Program that has been established to accelerate the "Growth Agenda."  Also discussed was the formulation of the UW System biennial budget request.  Two panels followed addressing Inter-Institutional Agreements and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) initiatives taking place across the UW System.  Before adjourning, Grants Administrators met in a breakout session to determine activities, assign responsibilities, and set timelines for the coming year.

► October 16 -- President Bush Signs Legislation Funding Passenger Rail Service
President Bush signed into law H.R. 2095, the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2008, which authorizes $3.4 billion in federal grants to the states for the creation of high-speed passenger rail corridors.  This new appropriation may provide funding support for planned service between Milwaukee and Madison, and later between Chicago and the Twin Cities with stops in Wisconsin.  Read coverage in the La Crosse Tribune.

► October 22 – UW System President Reilly to Serve on SHEEO Federal Relations Committee
The State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) association announced the appointment of UW System President Kevin P. Reilly to the Federal Relations Committee.  As a member of the committee, President Reilly will help shape SHEEO’s federal priorities and lead the association’s communications with the Congress and the next presidential administration.  For more information please visit: www.sheeo.org.

AROUND WISCONSIN

► “Around Wisconsin” features items relating to exciting progress on campus or examples of strong relations with the community and policy makers. Please send items of interest to externalrelations@uwsa.edu.

  • UW-Green Bay: UW-Green Bay will offer Rhinelander-based classes for registered nurses who hold associate degrees or nursing diplomas and are seeking to complete their bachelor’s degrees.
  • UW-Madison: Chancellor Biddy Martin gave her first major public address at a welcome celebration held at the Kohl Center in Madison.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Oct  
31

UW-Marinette hosts candidate forum for the 8th Congressional district & 30th Senate district
Nov  
4 General Election Day
6 Board of Regents meeting in Madison
6 Regents 16th Annual Teaching Excellence Awards Presentation
11 WDVA & UW-River Falls: Veterans' Benefits Open House at UW-River Falls from 10-2 pm
12

WDVA & UW-Superior: Veterans' Benefits Open House at UW-Superior from 10-2 pm
12-13 Synergy Conference 08 hosted by UW-River Falls
13 WDVA & UW-Stout: Veterans' Benefits Open House at UW-Stout from 10-2 pm
19 Special Committee on Building Wisconsin’s Workforce Meeting
21 WI Department of Administration releases new state revenue projection
20-21 UW System Office of Academic Affairs and the UW System Advisory Group on the Liberal Arts co-sponsor Liberal Education: a Unifying Mission for the 21st Century University, a system-wide conference at the Pyle Center in Madison.
Dec  
4-5 Board of Regents meeting hosted by UW-La Crosse
12

Faculty and Academic Staff Representatives Councils meeting in Madison
Feb 2009  
5-6 Board of Regents meeting in Madison
TBD Governor presents 2009-2022 budget proposal to the State Legislature
Mar 2009  
5 Board of Regents meeting in Madison
6 NSF Regional Grants Conference in Milwaukee, hosted by UW-Milwaukee and the UW System Office of Federal Relations.  NSF representatives will present information on Foundation, the review process, and cross-disciplinary and international programs.  There will also be breakout sessions with program officers from the NSF directorates and a session on proposal writing.
April 2009  
TBD UW System Administration hosts Posters in the Rotunda: A Celebration of Undergraduate Research at the Wisconsin State Capitol.

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