Sign the AFT #6503 Letter to Chancellor Frank

Dear Chancellor Frank:

Thank you for the Stout Communication in response to Ray Cross’s proposal to restructure the UW System. We, the UW-Stout faculty and staff members and allies of our union, AFT #6503, appreciate how well you articulated the unique Stout mission and your call for further evaluation of the finances and the structural needs of the system. We are writing to express agreement and appreciation for how you are handling the pandemic and the resulting financial crisis.

Like you, we see President Cross's blueprint as lacking sufficient appreciation of the UW System’s positive impact on Wisconsin’s long-range economic and social outcomes. The UW System and UW-Stout should instead be planning for the long-term future and championing the Wisconsin Idea. Long-range planning needs to be a deliberative process, inclusive and transparent. The entire campus needs to be in conversation -- faculty, staff, students, alumni, and administration. Given the current absence of students and most faculty and teaching staff being off contract during the summer, this can only happen responsibly starting in the Fall.

We also appreciate this moment as an opportunity to highlight how Stout’s applied, “hands-on, minds on” programs fit within the larger context of a comprehensive education. As one of the many complementary elements of the UW System, Stout functions as a distinctive unit, made stronger by the broad array of program options available at the local and regional level across the state, serving the needs of Wisconsin’s diverse population.

We propose sustainable planning, including a plan advocating a return to appropriate levels of state funding. The preservation of academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance makes us a stronger institution in the face of crises like these, and we appreciate the progressive culture of communication and decision-making that you have promoted. Standing in solidarity with other UW System schools will emphasize the commitment to comprehensive education and diversity in academic programs that defines the UW System.

We would be happy to meet with you to discuss this further; and we look forward to working with you as we weather this crisis together.

Sincerely,


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