In a meeting with the University of Wisconsin student government Wednesday night, Interim Chancellor David Ward spoke to several student concerns over recent administrative debates regarding student tuition increases and the upcoming mediation period with the athletic apparel manufacturer Adidas.
In early February, Ward decided to move into a mediation period with Adidas to address an ongoing allegation that an Adidas-subcontracted factory owner failed to pay thousands of workers after the factory closed, violating UW’s code of conduct in the process.
Shared Governance Chair Beth Huang, stating some student government members assumed the code of conduct was broken by Adidas, asked Ward why he chose to enter into the mediation period.
Ward said Wednesday he entered the period in part because he received information that suggested UW could be sued for breaking the contract with Adidas.
“I got information that suggested that even though the report indicated there were breaches, we could be sued,” Ward said. “It could bring the code of conduct into a court case and my worry was … it would be a problem if Adidas won that case.”
Ward added a mediation period is an obligation of putting the company on notice, but he decided to move it before putting the company on notice to protect the university before a potential court case could arise.
According to Ward, if the mediation goes nowhere or is not successful, then UW can notify Adidas of a violation. If UW’s case is found to be stronger in the mediation period, however, Ward said Adidas may then be forced to pay the workers their severance pay.
When Huang asked how open Ward would be willing to make the mediation process, he responded he would like the period to be as open as possible. However, Ward added that the mediator, jointly chosen by UW and Adidas, decides how open to make the process.
“What I’m hoping is that through mediation we first of all prevent an aggressive litigation against us that could threaten us and be very expensive and somewhat embarrassing,” Ward said.
ASM Chair Allie Gardner also rose concerns over a suggestion by a UW committee to raise tuition in an effort to help retain faculty, adding ASM’s official stance currently is that they do not approve of differential tuition increases, and are interested in other private sources of funding.
“When I think of differential tuition increases, I think of professional schools and some masters programs where you could make a small increase,” Ward said. “I think a blanket statement on differential tuition is not prudent.”
Ward added many higher education institutions are facing critical points in terms of their tuition policies and are considering efforts to keep undergraduate student tuition low.
Ward also heard updates regarding ASM’s inability to come to a consensus on the Multicultural Student Coalition budget, which would then go to the Chancellor’s office for approval. However, Huang added she is wary of giving Ward the authority to decide how student segregated fees are spent.
“It’s a very scary thought about what happens to student power, what happens to student autonomy, when these kind of issues arise,” Huang said. “Not because I’m afraid of the debate among students, but I am afraid of what happens when we are squabbling in front of administration.”
