[media-credit name=’DEREK MONTGOMERY/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly sent a letter to UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley Monday acknowledging he has reviewed the report Wiley delivered to him late last week.

The system released both letters, which deal with changes in employment practices at UW-Madison, to The Badger Herald later in the day.

In his letter to Reilly, Wiley said his campus has improved its documentation of employee-leave practices, including the implementation of the new regents' policy requiring a doctor's certification for a sick-leave period of more than five consecutive days.

"Employees' monthly leave statements will be signed by the employee's immediate supervisor, as he/she is the person most familiar with the employee's schedule," Wiley wrote. "All supervisors will independently receive detailed instructions on measures to take that can help verify the accuracy of the leave accounting, and supervisors will be held accountable for implementing these measures."

Reilly demanded last month that Wiley prepare a list of employment-policy changes in the wake of an internal investigation of UW employment practices and policies.

That investigation, conducted by attorney Susan Steingass, called into question actions taken by Wiley relating to the improper authorization of paid leave given to Paul Barrows, the university's former vice chancellor of student affairs.

Also in his letter to Reilly, Wiley noted all monthly statements will now read, "I certify that the leave time I reported is accurate," and "I understand that misrepresentation can lead to disciplinary action" above the employee's signature.

The chancellor additionally reported new standards are being implemented to "require all limited appointees to participate in sexual-harassment training as a condition of appointment" and vowed to work with governance groups to extend this training to all supervisory personnel.

"This training will be broad enough to include a review of established law, literature and practice regarding the influence of power and authority in interpersonal conduct within the workplace," Wiley wrote.

In his response, Reilly signified his satisfaction with the chancellor's reforms.

"[T]he additional statement that accompanies the employee signature is clear and confirms our expectations for university employees claiming paid leave," Reilly said. "With this addition, and with the training steps you have outlined, I believe you will have reasonably done what you can to ensure that campus leave policies will be followed."

In an e-mail to The Badger Herald late Monday night, Wiley said policy changes that do not require modification of any written guidelines have already been made, but added additional alterations are pending legislative action.

"I don't know how long it may take to get changes in written policies," Wiley said. "It depends on how long the Senate and Assembly want to debate (and, of course, how they vote, in the end). My hope and expectation is that we will see serious consideration yet this semester."

Wiley also informed Reilly of his request for a shared-governance group — which would include members of the Faculty Senate, the Academic Staff Assembly and ASM — to review the existing content of the campus "consensual relations" policy. The policy guides employees in their assessment of any conflicts of interest associated with "romantic or sexual relationships."

"The steps you are taking to respond to serious concerns regarding campus climate, especially providing a safe and harassment-free work environment for all UW-Madison students and employees, seem appropriate," Reilly responded. "I'd ask that at the end of this process you report back to me on improvements regarding respect and safety for all students and staff."

Reilly acknowledged the chancellor's assessment and review will likely extend over the next several months.

Board of Regents President David Walsh, citing Wiley's body of work at the university, expressed his vote of confidence in the chancellor's ability to correct past mistakes.

"The system as well as UW-Madison is extremely fortunate to have a person with the leadership skills of John Wiley. He's been a tremendous leader," Walsh said. "It's unfortunate that we spend a lot of time talking about one or two personnel matters [because] his legacy is that he has driven us to greater heights in every one of the key areas: team building, research awards, alumni gifts [and] rankings."