are you kiddng me…what a joke

Berquam couldn’t lead herself out of an exit door. What has she done over the last year and a half as interim dean? Has she raised the morale of staff in ODOS? I think most would say she hasn’t, I think most would say it’s gotten worse. When the ASM electronic voting went to crap, Berquam had a meeting with top level DoIT personnel, to figure out what was happening. She then lied to other staff members trying to keep them from that meeting or keep them from learning about the meeting. Berquam got the job as Dean NOT because she is the best qualified, but because Chancellor Wiley doesn’t like students in his office and with Berquam as Dean he figures someone else can take the heat. As far as being a voice for students and her views on shared governance, she’s all for it as long as your voice speaks the same idea’s as hers and if you show up to a shared governance meeting please just sit there and let the people (Berquam) tell you what is best for you. After all we’re just students, what do we know?

There’s a whole lot that’s stinkin’, dear Wiley, dear Wiley….

I’m sick of the university constantly hiring from within. UW-Madison should just be honest and put it out there; if you have a resume that has outside UW-Madison experience you shouldn’t even think if applying for a position in the top level of administration. This is supposed to be a world class university…but yet we won’t hire people that will improve this campus and bring a fresh perspective. What are we afraid of…improvement? This university can be such a joke. Thanks for wanting the best for UW-Madison Farrell and Wiley………………………………………………………………NOT!

Excellent News.

why did they even interview the other people?

They hire from within because it’s the easiest route, and they interview other people to make it look like they did their job. It’s that simple.

Elite universities tend to hire administrators in-house. Go ask faculty and students at middling state colleges about hiring outside from the itinerant ranks of college administrators.

This search lasted for over one year. That said, going through the motions just to hire who you were always going to hire anyway is a waste of time and $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$! Students need to stop focusing their efforts to fix fiscal responsibility on other students and start really following the $ trail. Our tuition dollars are not being wisely spent by our administration. No wonder higher education budgets continually get cut!

I am very curious to see what the electronic evaluations said. I wonder how much the student voice was taken into account as the Dean of Students position is the chief administrative office for student services and student advocacy. But then again…the Provost and the Chancellor really don’t want a charismatic, proactive person who is down for students’ rights and student empowerment. They want a babysitter for the babies…that is how students are treated and looked at here. It is sad that students don’t demand an investigation on this if so many folks think Lori is a bad choice. What is it going to take for students to organize together and realize our power and take advantage of our shared governance state statute 36.09[5]! If you don’t know what that is…google it…Wisconsin is special among our fifty states because of this state statute! On Wisconsin…

Congrats to Ms. Berquam, and all the nay-sayers should look to her actions instead of criticizing the deciding process or making personal attacks. Maybe we’d meet your standards of an “elite” university if we didn’t have people like you…

Maybe she’ll prove us wrong…

6:53 If you read the “elite university” post again, and more closely, I think you will see it doesn’t belong with the naysayers.

While Berquam may have the potential to make a good dean…let’s look at her actions: when sexual assault rose, when there was racial and religious tension over the Danish cartoons, when there was increase in attacks on students, when space for student organizations became an issue…all the action we saw was a panel or talking session. The papers and students have done a good job to highlight that ACTION doesn’t mean just TALK. Berquam has not been proactive or action orientated…she has been predictable and reactionary in her approach. This is not a personal attack…just the concerns of a student who wants to see the University I pay so much money into a better place. I would question anyone who feels that the Dean of Student has given the students and the university what they need. I would be shocked to hear someone say that Berquam has been a creative and solution orientated Dean. There seem to be quite a lot of people who feel that Berquam needs to prove her ability and stop doing the same old thing. That is not nay saying it is wanting better for our campus. I hope she does prove she can do it with a holistic, proactive and solution orientated approach. If she doesn’t change it up and improves, the UW-Madison Dean of students' office will be worse than it has ever been. It would be crazy for anyone to hope she fails…but it also would be crazy for anyone to think she already has proven herself as the right person for the job. We all have some questions that need answering from her actions these next few months. That’s not nay saying…It’s honesty. For the good of our university and the healing it needs, I wish Berquam the capcity to succeed. I hope she is able to raise the bar and work in partnership with the many student groups on this campus to make the changes that are necessary. One quick bit of information, Brian Rose was not from the itinerant ranks of college administrators. He has been with Rutgers for 16 years and said UW was one of the only schools he would have left Rutgers for. Always hiring from within is not a good thing and does not keep this university elite, creative or innovative.