University of Wisconsin Whitewater - Minneiska Yearbook (Whitewater, WI)

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66Save the Grad School,9 A new mission statement authorizing the School of Graduate Studies and Con- tinuing Education to continue as an autonomous unit with its own dean and granting its own degrees was approved by the Board of Regents at its January meeting. An earlier proposed mission statement, developed by Central Administration in Madison for each of the members of the UW System, had designated UW- Whitewater a iiprimary undergraduate in- stitution? This move set off a flurry of ac- tivity, not only at Whitewater but at other universities whose graduate schools were similarly designated. But reaction here was particularly strong as Whitewateris graduate enrollment was the largest among the former State Universities and because of the uniqueness of UW-W graduate offerings. Many students protested that they would be unable to obtain the work they needed if Whitewater s graduate school was restricted or regimented. Letters protesting the proposal flowed into the offices of Central Administration in Madison and to individual members of the UW System Board of Regents. Area school boards, educational organizations, UW-W student groups, county boards and City councils protested the proposed cur- tailment. Individual citizens and students enlisted the support of area legislators in retaining the autonomous character of the school. Public outcry was loud and clear and resulted in the scheduling of regent hearings on the proposed mission statements on each of the campuses of the University of Wisconsin System. UW-Whitewateris public hearing on the mission statement was held November 16 in Barnett Theatre in the Center of the Arts. More than 560 persons crammed into the theater during the three-hour hearing, which was chaired by Regent Milton Neshek of Elkhorn. More than 30 persons made oral presentations before the hearing committee. Included were State Represen- tative Byron Wackett from Watertown and State Senator James Swan of Elkhorn, members of the Joint Finance Committee ZOeCampus Life of the legislature; State Senator Dale McKenna from Jefferson; State Represen- tatives Delmar DeLong of Clinton, Lewis T. Mitness of Janesville, and John R. Plewa of Milwaukee; Frank Hill, Whitewater city manager; John Zwei, director of secondary education in Janesville; Robert Martin, city manager of Fort Atkinson; Dr. Fred Holt, Janesville superintendent of schools; Thane Uglow, Whitewater superintendent of schools; Gene Huntley, representing the Elkhorn Education Association; and Robert Schroeder, a Priee-Waterhouse per- sonnel manager from Chicago. A number of others filed written presentations. Throughout the hearings participants emphasized the valuable educational ser- vice the graduate school performed for citizens of southeastern Wisconsin. Educators told of the schools cooperation in providing classes to meet their par- ticular needs. Teachers spoke of the applicability of their courses to their own classroom teaching and the convenience of having the school close by so that they could take evening classes. Business men told of the advantage of being able to stay abreast with new developments in business through classes offered by the College of Business and Economics. All emphasized repeatedly that courses offered at Whitewater were uniquely valuable to them. On January 11 the Regents unanimously approved the following graduate mission for UW-Whitewater: ttThe University should provide basic graduate education in select areas clearly associated with its un- dergraduate emphasis and strengths, in- cluding specialized graduate programs in business administration, teacher educa- tion to encompass business education, and school business management. As approved the mission statement gave UW-Whitewater greater flexibility to provide services to area business, schools and other agencies. Dean A.G. McGraw felt that the new statement clarified the Schools mission and predicted correctly that it would result in the largest enroll- ment in the graduate schools 13-year history.

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Where were you when we needed you? Culbacks 19

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Dean McGraw expressed appreciation to the many people who assisted the Universi- ty when it appeared the graduate school might be threatened and whose support culminated in an acceptable broad mission statement for graduate work at UW-W. The Whitewater case was well presented and well received? he said. a; SAVE THE WHITEWATER GRAD SCHOOL: A Graduate School-Zl