Fall semester welcome and college updates from Kate VandenBosch

The following message was sent from Dean Kate VandenBosch to CALS faculty, staff and graduate students on Sept. 7: Greetings, With the start of the fall semester, I want to send a warm welcome to the CALS community. We begin …

Five-year plan template

Last week, Dean VandenBosch provided departments with a template and guidance document for five-year planning, as well as the most recent data available for measuring performance. Departments will add this information into their individual plans. The data, documents and resources …

Updates from the department chairs’ retreat

The annual CALS department chairs retreat was held last Wednesday and included a college update from the dean before digging in to some redesign-related topics. After an overview of where we are in the Organizational Redesign, the chairs reviewed options …

Schedule update

A friend of mine was recently shocked to find out that, as a university employee, I don’t get summer break. Few of us do and, while the scarce population of students on campus is palpable, a lot of work is …

Frequently asked question about graduate programs

At the beginning of the process, we committed to providing answers to frequently asked questions about the redesign on the project page. We have a question to add to the existing list: How will graduate programs change as a result …

Spring 2018 bridge funding for academic departments announced

The college recently announced nearly $175,000 in fund 101 bridge funding to departments who have experienced a faculty departure or other change in their faculty ranks. Ten departments submitted requests by the May 31 deadline. Bridge funding is a temporary …

Dean expected to respond to department concepts in July

All departments in CALS submitted a concept document proposing a future structure to merge, collaborate or remain as is. In a recent communication to department chairs, Dean Kate VandenBosch noted, “We received responses representing a variety of new approaches to …

Five-year plan questions answered

How will five-year plans be used? Plans will be used in a variety of ways to enhance our ability to set and meet goals to benefit the college, our students and our stakeholders. Here are four primary ways the plans …

Departmental five-year plans and schedule

Dean Kate VandenBosch released early drafts of a planning template and guidance document that departments will use to outline priorities and activities for the next five years. Five-year plans were recommended in the Organizational Redesign Committee’s report from December 2017. The planning templates will continue to …

Difference between UW-Madison (101) and Extension (104) fund reallocation

At this stage of the college’s Organizational Redesign, budget discussions are focused on UW-Madison funding. Also known by its fund number (101), these 101 dollars are distributed to UW-Madison by UW System and include all state-controlled funds (tuition and tax revenues). Fund …

Departments able to request funding for faculty positions

The Organization Redesign Committee recommended the college adopt a new model for allocating state funding (tuition and General Purpose Revenue) from vacated faculty lines. They recommended that departments retain 50% of the funding for that line, providing greater autonomy to …

VandenBosch makes departmental recommendations

Recently, Dean Kate VandenBosch sent letters to department chairs with individual recommendations to help focus each department’s structure exploration. Recommendations were either to explore a merger with one or more departments, explore a collaborative with one or more departments or …

VandenBosch says college redesign will position CALS, students for future success

Last week, Dean Kate VandenBosch sent an op-ed piece to editors of Wisconsin agricultural media outlets summarizing how the design will position the college and our students for future success. Here is the text of the piece: Many people in …

VandenBosch outlines Redesign path and questions about “collaboratives” are answered

This week in eCALS Dean VandenBosch outlined a path to new departmental configuration in the college and we released some answers to your questions about “collaboratives.”

Documents and information available

Desired Outcomes for Achieving Robust Departments summarizes ideal characteristics of strong departments within CALS. During the redesign, departments should consider how to achieve these outcomes. Exploring Options for Departmental Structure and Developing a Concept Document outlines organizational options for departments, a …

Some common questions answered

Find answers to frequently asked questions posted to the FAQ section. These answers will be regularly updated with commonly asked questions about the redesign. Submit your questions via e-mail to calsdesign@lists.wisc.edu.

Data used by committee available now

Data reviewed by the CALS redesign committee, along with feedback they gathered from faculty and staff, is now available. Information includes: Peer institution structures Results from the Oct., 2017 All College Meeting survey Department information summaries provided by APIR and …

Dean responds to Organizational Redesign Committee report

Over the last year, the CALS Organizational Redesign Committee has considered possible changes in structural organization and resource allocation to make CALS more resilient now and into the future. To make recommendations, the committee researched peer institutions, looked at global …

All-college meeting video and survey

There was an impressive turnout at the all-college meeting on October 24. In fact, there weren’t enough tables! Despite the great attendance, there were, of course, a number of CALS faculty and staff who were not able to attend the …

CALS Org Redesign Committee shares ideas via preliminary report, Oct. 24 All-College Meeting

On Aug. 29, the CALS Organizational Redesign Committee presented its preliminary report at the annual Department Chairs’ Retreat. The chairs provided feedback and there was a productive discussion to inform the design for the college. The committee will continue to develop and …

Summertime fun with the CALS Organizational Redesign Committee

Though committee members will hopefully make time for the beach this summer, they are taking the CALS Organizational Redesign work very seriously and will work throughout June, July and August to develop recommendations for a future design of the college. …

Committee Co-Chairs Video Update

On Tuesday, May 2, Leann Tigges and Mark Rickenbach, co-chairs of the CALS Organizational Redesign Committee, provided an update to the CALS Academic Planning Council (APC). Their update was recorded and you can see the video here.

CALS Organizational Redesign Committee continues work

It is hard to believe it is April. Tulips are popping out of the ground and we can begin to see the end of the semester as it nears. We are happy to announce that, despite the speed in which …

CALS Organizational Redesign Committee update and request for ideas

Update The twelve members of the CALS Organizational Redesign Committee meet bi-weekly. In the past month, we have focused on analysis and discussion of the organizational structures of peer institutions, and on identifying the other kinds of data that we …

Project timeline

CALS Organizational Redesign Committee begins work

Dean VandenBosch charged the CALS Organizational Redesign Committee to: evaluate trends, data and peer institutions (including identifying comparative advantages for CALS at UW-Madison); analyze key functions to invest in because of comparative advantage and/or strength; prioritize what needs to be …

College announces organizational redesign project

At Friday’s all-college meeting, Dean Kate VandenBosch and Senior Associate Dean Dick Straub announced the CALS Organizational Redesign Project that will officially launch in January, 2017 with recommendations expected to be complete and delivered to the CALS Academic Planning Council …

Committee members invited

The following people were selected as a result of those nominations. Invitations were sent in early December and all agreed to serve on the committee: Brian Fox (professor and chair, biochemistry) Paul Fricke (professor, dairy science) Irwin Goldman (professor and …

All-College Meeting: Designing CALS for the Future – Dec. 9

The theme of the upcoming All-College Meeting on Dec. 9 is “Designing CALS for the Future.” This event gives you, as a member of the CALS community, an opportunity to share your thoughts regarding trends in agricultural and life sciences …

Request for committee nominations

In November, 2016, co-sponsors of the CALS Organizational Redesign project, Dean Kate VandenBosch and Senior Associate Dean Dick Straub asked department chairs to nominate up to three people to serve on the CALS Organizational Redesign Committee, also welcoming self-nominations. The co-sponsors wanted …