The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents will vote this week on a resolution to reinstate the practice of granting backup or concurrent positions to limited-term appointees.
The controversial practice — designed to provide some level of job security for UW administrators — was suspended in July after the controversy surrounding former UW-Madison Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Paul Barrows.
Although limited-term appointees promoted within the system are protected, certain exterior candidates will not be provided with the same privilege.
Under the new resolution, however, out-of-state candidates who do not hold tenure elsewhere and were not recruited with a tenurability requirement would not be granted concurrent appointments.
"Clearly what we're trying to do is forge a system which enables us to be competitive in terms of attracting [highly recruited] people … without a system that gives people unlimited or too much security," Regent Chuck Pruitt, chair of the Business & Finance Committee, said.
The university's policy of granting backup or concurrent appointments exists as an alternative to the more widely known and understood contract system — a practice the system has considered turning to.
Although the proposed resolution indicates the board will likely reinstate some form of backup appointments, UW System spokesperson Doug Bradley noted the final result Friday may be radically different.
According to Bradley, progress is being made to craft a tight and strong job security policy that is fair to both limited term appointees and the taxpayers of Wisconsin. Although some in the public may have a better understanding of a contract system, Bradley said after review UW System President Kevin Reilly favors a reinstatement of the old system.
"A lot of people think that's going to be more expensive and more difficult," Bradley said of providing contracts to limited-term appointees.
Both Bradley and Pruitt noted whatever comes out of Friday's vote may only be a temporary solution, however, and could be significantly altered at a future board meeting.
"Even if we did something on Thursday and Friday, that wouldn't preclude us from revisiting the issue of fixed term contracts at a subsequent meeting down the road," Pruitt noted.
Under the current freeze on granting new backup or concurrent positions, Pruitt noted the system is disadvantaged in attracting candidates to available limited appointments, as it is unable to provide any form of job security.
In light of Reilly's decision this month to appoint the vacant chancellor seat for UW Colleges and UW-Extension, Bradley said it is important for the regents to come up with a policy, even if on a temporary basis.
"This is still progress, even if it's just progress at this point so we can move to the next [board meeting]," Bradley said. "The president needs to get his bearings here because he's got to hire a chancellor for colleges and extension."
