Improving the Climate on the UW-Madison Campus | Message from the Dean

Message from the Dean | February 2018

Improving the Climate on the UW-Madison Campus

Last month, UW-Madison shared the results of the 2016 Campus Climate Survey, which was conducted by the Division on Diversity, Equity, and Educational Achievement, inviting all students enrolled for credit to participate in an online survey about campus climate. More than 8,600 students completed the survey -- a 21 percent response rate.

The survey found that while most students view the climate at UW-Madison positively, this was not true for everyone. In particular, students from historically disadvantaged and underrepresented groups report experiencing a less favorable campus climate than the majority of students. Among the key findings were that approximately 80 percent of students reported feeling very or extremely safe, welcome, and respected and 70 percent feel that they belong very or extremely often.

Unfortunately, depending on background and identity, different groups of students have different experiences on the UW-Madison campus. For instance, while 81 percent of students overall feel welcome on campus, the same is true for only 69 percent of LGBTQ students, 67 percent of students with a disability, 65 percent of students of color, and 50 percent of transgender/non-binary students. Importantly, 11 percent of students reported being the target of hostile, harassing, or intimidating behavior while at UW-Madison. The Campus Climate Survey Task Force reviewed the survey results and identified key findings and recommendations.

In light of these climate results, faculty and staff members at UW-Madison now have a new online resource to help identify and address instances of hostile and intimidating behavior on campus. The new website includes a definition of hostile and intimidating behavior, sometimes known as "bullying," as well as information about what to do to prevent it and ways to address it when it happens. On-campus resources include offices that offer advice, consultations, and support, as well as translation and interpretation services. Hostile and intimidating behavior is prohibited by university policy. The website can be found at hr.wisc.edu/hib.

I am pleased to report that UW-Madison has announced that the 2017-19 pay plan will be distributed to faculty and staff, with increases totaling 4 percent. The 4 percent increase will be phased in, with the first 2 percent increase taking effect in July 2018 and the second 2 percent increase taking place in January 2019 (specific effective dates depend on employment group). To be eligible to receive the increase, individuals must have been employed in their current positions by January 8, 2018 and must be meeting employment expectations as identified in their last performance review.

Lastly, I hope our students are off to a great start this spring semester and wish you all the best through the remainder of this academic year.

UW Veterinary Care Updates from the Director

Welcome (again) to Meenu Verma, who officially begins her new role as Associate Hospital Director today. Her predecessor, Mark Oglesbay, will be retiring from UW Veterinary Care on March 9.

Please join me in congratulating diagnostic imaging residents Lauren Blume and Jessica Malberg in passing the American College of Veterinary Radiology (ACVR) preliminary board examination. We are very proud of their accomplishment!

Laurel Kinosian, RPh, retired from UW Veterinary Care at the end of January, after three decades of service to our patients and clients. We thank her for her dedication and wish her well! Best wishes also to Joan Capelle , certified veterinary technician in radiation oncology, on her recent retirement. Thank you for your service.

As remodeling projects around UW Veterinary Care continue, here are some progress updates. As of January 29, the former TomoTherapy/Rehabilitation reception area serves as the check-in space for Medical Oncology patients in addition to Radiation Oncology and Physical Therapy patients. To accommodate additional traffic to that side of the building, reserved client parking spaces on the west end of Lot 62 have switched to the east end of the lot. The Large Animal Reception area remodel is also moving along well. Within the next few weeks, the updated reception space will open, and we will begin the project to create a large animal clinician workspace.

And here is this month's praise from a happy client:

" Excellent assistance and prompt professional care in a very emotional time. Dr. Peek was very informative and helpful... I left my horse knowing she was in the right hands. If she has a chance for survival, I really felt this is the best place for her. I am a medical professional and I felt very confident in the doctors and staff at this facility. Thank you so much for giving my Classy Girl a fighting chance with a very rare diagnosis."

- Amy, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Ruthanne Chun DVM'91
Director, UW Veterinary Care
Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs

School News

Faculty members from all four of the school's departments met or exceeded a recent challenge to have at least 50% participation in the Morrie Waud SVM Family Match for gifts to the SVM's building expansion campaign. Because the faculty achieved this goal, all current and past SVM employees (faculty and staff) are eligible to receive an enhancement match opportunity for a limited time. SVM faculty and staff have already had a $990,344 total impact on the expansion campaign to date, and all Morrie Waud Match qualifying gift or pledge made by February 28, 2018 will be matched an additional level. If you have any questions or would like to take advantage of the enhancement match, please contact the school's development directors, Pat Bowdish or Heidi Kramer.

Throughout the spring semester Personal & Wellness Support Services (PAWSS) is providing a weekly drop-in mindfulness group for all SVM students, faculty, and staff interested in exploring various forms of mindfulness and meditation. These sessions will be held on Tuesdays from noon-12:30 p.m. in Room 2007 Veterinary Medicine Building.

Recruitment is underway for the 2018 Summer Program in Undergraduate Urologic Research (SPUUR), which is directed by Chad Vezina, associate professor of comparative biosciences. Now in its third year, the program addresses an important need in providing summer research opportunities to UW-Madison undergraduate students. Assistance with sharing this opportunity is appreciated.

Student Updates

Welcome to our new students who have joined us from Ross University and St. George's University for their clinical year. They are Brittani D'Amico, Jackie Diedrich, Alissa Mae Heisel, Katelynn Johnson, Molly McArdle, George Prevolos, Arash Salehian, Natalie Waclawik, and MacKenzie Whyte.

Congratulations to Alyssa Karklus DVMx'20, who has been invited to present her research at the 2018 Morris Animal Foundation Scientific Advisory Board Meeting in Denver on June 20-22. She completed her project titled " Assessing Admixture Between Historically Isolated Mitochondrial DNA Lineages in Bornean and Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo spp.) in North American Zoos" under the mentorship of Graham Banes .

Faculty and Staff News

Susan Bethke, who retired from her role as the SVM's HR Assistant Advanced last spring, passed away in January after a courageous battle with cancer. A memorial visitation and service will be held Saturday, February 3 at Countryside Funeral Home, in South Elgin, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to UW Veterinary Care in her honor.

FluGen, a Madison startup co-founded by Yoshihiro Kawaoka, professor of pathiobiological sciences, has announced a plan to evaluate its innovative influenza vaccine in a trial of 100 people later this spring.

Associate Dean Dale Bjorling has been invited by the American Urological Association Research, Education, Conferences, and Communications Committee (RECCC) to direct the development of an online training course on "Career Development Awards." Chad Vezina is one of three co-authors who are contributing a module to this first-in-kind endeavor.

Welcome to Ramona Gasper, who recently joined the administrative staff in the Dean's Office. Gasper has more than 25 years of experience in the UW System and comes to the SVM from the Office of the Provost of UW Colleges, where she was Executive Staff Assistant to the Provost.

Welcome as well to Brent Lesley, who has joined the SVM IT team as our systems administrator and security specialist. He comes to us from DoIT where he was responsible for supporting and maintaining numerous campus-facing technology services.