Fourth-Year Progress Report
Be responsible stewards of our resources
The Wisconsin Energy Institute, a center for clean energy research and education, was dedicated in April. Designed to use natural light to reduce energy consumption, the building houses researchers who are finding innovative ways to turn inedible organic materials into fuels and chemicals, and monitoring how energy decisions affect the world around us.
The Student Sustainability Council, the student arm of the Office of Sustainability, was formed in November 2012, bringing together sustainability-minded student organizations and campus initiatives focusing on undergraduate and graduate student collaboration.
In October 2012, a Counterfactual Campus kickoff event was sponsored by the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery to encourage “counterfactual thinking” and reflection on “what if” scenarios to answers questions, such as what the university will look like — and be like — one hundred years from now. Future-oriented thinkers, including researchers, artists, journalists and business experts led a variety of discussions.
In a collaboration between University Communications and cartography, the campus map — one of the most frequently used online tools — received a facelift that upgrades its look and functionality, offers real-time Madison Metro data, and works on smartphones and tablets.
#UWRightNow, a multimedia project designed to capture the breadth, depth and spirit of UW–Madison during a 24-hour period, was held for a second year in April 2013. The campus community — including alumni and friends around the world — shared the people, interactions and connections that make the UW such an incredible place.
Provost Paul DeLuca and Charles Hoslet of the Office of Corporate Relations joined Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s trade mission to China. They met with Wisconsin businesses operating in China, discussed internship opportunities for UW students, and explored training programs the university could offer for the companies’ Chinese employees.
In June 2013, the Office of Community Relations and the Community Partnerships and Outreach Staff Network, with support from the Office of the Chancellor and the Morgridge Center for Public Service, announced eight Community-University Partnership Awards, which thank community partners and highlight exemplary collaborations between the community and UW–Madison.
In addition to working closely with the governor’s office, key legislators and others on the 2013–15 state budget, State Relations actively worked on or monitored legislation related to open-records laws, priority registration for veterans, drones used for research purposes, photo identification for voting, regulation of charitable gifts and statewide broadband access.
By the Numbers: Energy Conservation
12.5 percent: drop in total campus energy use since 2005, even as campus building space grew by 2.8 million square feet
70 million: kilowatt hours of wind-powered electricity used through mid–April of the 2012–13 academic year, representing 15 percent of the campus’s annual electricity use
Grade A: Report card for UW–Madison, one of only seven schools among 322 campuses surveyed, from the Sustainable Endowments Institute in 2011
By the Numbers: Annual Improvement Showcase
Showcase provides a venue to share and leverage improvements made across campus throughout the year.
72 posters presented in 2013; 649 posters since 2000, the first year
Exhibitors from 12 schools and colleges, and 15 other units, in 2013
509 attendees in 2013; more than 4,300 since 2000
99 percent of 2013 survey respondents would recommend Showcase to their colleagues
Administrative Excellence
Under this campus initiative, a number of administrative and technological areas are transforming processes, systems and structures to bring about cost savings, efficiencies and improved service.
Strategic sourcing: Leveraging the scale of the university’s purchasing and limiting the number of choices or vendors without sacrificing quality or service levels. This year, several office supplies, including remanufactured toner, were identified as preferred UW products, resulting in initial savings of more than $100,000, with participation still growing. For computer desktop and laptop purchases, the vendor significantly reduced prices for a smaller selection of product configurations, generating more than $100,000 of savings in just a few months.
Email and calendaring: By consolidating existing email and calendaring systems across campus, and adopting and implementing Microsoft Office 365, the university will achieve significant savings by avoiding duplicative operating costs on servers, software, licenses and spam/virus protection. Migration is expected to begin in fall 2013.
Data center aggregation: Recommendations were approved for campus data-center services to improve service levels, minimize data security risks and provide significant costs savings. A new operational model will include avoidance of operating and replacement costs by eliminating duplicative infrastructures and substandard facilities; matching optimized, high-efficiency hosting facilities with service needs; providing consistent service levels across campus; promoting and encouraging best practices (e.g., virtualization); and aligning with the advanced computing infrastructure and the research community to enhance service and risk management.
IT decision-making: A structural model for the campus to decide which IT projects are approved and funded was developed and approved for implementation. Delivery to the campus is expected in fall 2013.
Instructional space utilization: An inventory of instructional space with more than 60 attributes has been compiled and will be shared with the campus in fall 2013. A process for reviewing underutilized space will be piloted in coming months.
Educational Innovation
School/college “EI Points” have reported a total of 141 Educational Innovation projects in schools and colleges, including 41 curricular redesigns and 95 blended or online learning projects.
Twenty-one EI full proposals have been selected to receive funding among the 79 pre-proposals submitted by 53 departments across 14 schools, colleges and units. Projects include virtual anatomy instruction, virtual patient advocacy, flipping classrooms and blended learning, rethinking cross-department collaboration, interprofessional education, virtual physics, online professional master’s, online chemistry labs, web math, an interdisciplinary approach to teaching Jewish culture and more.
Fourteen new post-baccalaureate programs (seven professional master’s and seven capstone certificates) have gone through academic processes and have been launched or will be launched during the next six to 12 months.
Six faculty members were awarded funds to extend their sabbatical plans to facilitate EI engagement at a grassroots level.
UW–Madison will offer four pilot courses as part of a new delivery system in higher education known as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). To date, nearly 50,000 global learners have enrolled in one of four courses.
Twenty-five high-impact online or blended courses across several schools and colleges are being developed for Summer Session. Total course enrollment for summer 2013 increased 10 percent compared to last year.
Human Resources Design Project
The 2011–13 biennial budget gave UW–Madison the authority to develop a new personnel system specifically tailored to the university’s talent needs. With the involvement of the entire campus, UW–Madison developed the HR Design Strategic Plan. This plan outlines a comprehensive new HR system for the campus to provide greater flexibility in key areas such as compensation and hiring, while also protecting employees’ rights.
The new system was to be implemented starting July 1, 2013, pending approval by the Joint Committee on Employment Relations. However, the Legislature amended the 2013–15 budget bill to delay the effective date until July 1, 2015. The university will use the delay to refine and enhance its approach, continuing its emphasis on broad campus engagement.