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PROFS
@profsuwmadison.bsky.social
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PROFS is a UW-Madison faculty advocacy organization supported entirely through voluntary faculty contributions. Reposts are not endorsements.
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PROFS President Michael Bernard-Donals also noted that state law says faculty have the primary responsibility for advising the chancellor on academic and educational activities:
Michael Bernard-Donals, a UW-Madison English professor, has two concerns with the new teaching workload requirements. One is the constitutional issue. The other involves a state law that says faculty “shall have the primary responsibility for advising the chancellor regarding academic and educational activities and faculty personnel matters.” “By legislating a minimum number of courses that must be taught by the university faculty … the Legislature and the governor are arrogating for themselves the power to determine academic, educational and personnel matters,” Bernard-Donals said.
November 18, 2025 at 5:24 PM
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Last week, PROFS offered written testimony opposing Assembly Bill 446, legislation that would define antisemitism in state statutes. profs.wisc.edu?p=10075

Our testimony ⬇️
PROFS, the Public Representation Organization of the (UW-Madison) Faculty Senate, represents the interests of UW-Madison faculty. As an organization and as individual faculty members, we abhor antisemitism and racism. We strive day in and day out to create a university environment that is welcoming and inclusive of all opinions and perspectives. At the same time, we oppose legislative initiatives that would use governmental power to mandate certain speech requirements, potentially limiting free speech and restricting legitimate campus activity. While well-intended, Assembly Bill 446 falls into this category. AB 446 would require that state agencies, including the Universities of Wisconsin, adopt a definition of antisemitism promulgated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). If you go back and look at the IHRA definition and its history, you will see that AB 446 actually conflicts with the IHRA’s original intent. The framers of the IHRA working definition themselves said the definition should not be legally binding. AB 446 would make the definition legally binding. Moreover, the IHRA definition has been criticized by advocacy organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the American Civil Liberties Union, among others, as having a potential chilling effect on non-violent protests, activism, and constitutionally-protected speech under the First Amendment. Again, PROFS strongly condemns antisemitism and hate in all of its forms. With equal strength, PROFS also affirms the right to free speech; trampling First Amendment rights will not end the scourge of antisemitism.
October 27, 2025 at 4:29 PM
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Our statement is here: profs.wisc.edu?p=10069
PROFS has registered against Senate Bill 498, which purports to provide First Amendment protections at University of Wisconsin institutions, and which allows any individual who believes their expressive rights to have been violated to sue the University. PROFS believes that this bill is yet another instance of legislative overreach, a wild overreaction to a very small number of anecdotal reports of free speech violations on college campuses outside the state of Wisconsin, and that it creates a vigilante system of reporting alleged violations of the law – not unlike the vigilante system set up under Texas’s anti-reproductive rights bill. It is unclear why those bringing these bills forward believe there is a free speech problem at the Universities of Wisconsin. The universities themselves have put into place policies that ensure that free speech is protected and promoted on their campuses, and they have made sure that faculty members have the academic freedom necessary to provide access to the disciplinary knowledge necessary for democratic competence. University of Wisconsin-Madison policy allows faculty to “enjoy and exercise all rights secured to them by the Constitution of the United States and the State of Wisconsin,” free speech included. In 2015, the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents adopted a statement of commitment to the principles of free speech and academic freedom, part of which reads that free speech involves the right to discuss all matters both inside and outside the classroom, and that it isn’t the proper role of the university to “shield individuals from ideas and opinions they, or others, find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive.” There is no free speech problem at the University of Wisconsin; the university has, quite to the contrary, declared in very strong terms that not only must there be free speech on its campuses, but that the capacity to speak freely is one of its central aims. There is no evidence that freedom of speech is threatened on UW campuses. A survey conducted a couple of years ago showed that students were comfortable sharing their opinions, and for those who didn’t, it was more likely that they were concerned with what their peers would think of them, not because of concern over unfair treatment by their professors. The bill is redundant: it enumerates a list of actions the universities may not take, including restrictions of speech allowed under the First Amendment; time, place, and manner restrictions on expression in public areas; designation of free speech zones; and sanctioning individuals for harassment that doesn’t meet the threshold of severity, pervasiveness, or protected class status. All of these provisions are already well established in constitutional law through decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Wisconsin Supreme Court... There is a strong culture of free speech at the state’s public universities, and especially at UW-Madison. University faculty understand that fostering and encouraging free speech is necessary for their students to hone their abilities to learn, to critically engage with ideas, and to obtain the disciplinary knowledge they’ll need to productively participate as citizens in both the workplace and in democratic self-governance. The Board of Regents and the universities have already adopted policies that reiterate that commitment to free speech, and put into place reasonable sanctions when that commitment falls short. The Board’s and UW-Madison’s actions are consistent with the idea that institutions of higher education should have the autonomy to address their own speech issues; appropriate institutional autonomy is itself an important aspect of academic freedom. Given all of this, we register against Senate Bill 498, which seeks to address a free speech “problem” in the state’s public universities, since we don’t believe there is one.
October 16, 2025 at 8:40 PM
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PROFS is deeply concerned that Assembly Bill 446/Senate Bill 445, legislation that would define antisemitism, would have the unintended consequence of infringing on First Amendment rights. Link to legislation: profs.wisc.edu?p=10057

Our statement ⬇️
September 30, 2025 at 6:04 PM
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ICYMI: PROFS is working with State Sen. Kelda Roys and others to advance legislation that would ban firearms on Wisconsin's public college and university campuses.
www.dailycardinal.com/article/2025...
Student and UW faculty groups support the legislation The Public Representation of the Faculty Senate (PROFS) and Students Demand Action (SDA) UW-Madison chapter both are working with lawmakers to pass the bill. Jack O’Meara, a lobbyist for PROFS, said the bill is “very important,” as campus safety is a top priority of students and faculty alike. “The faculty have a statutory role in managing the university, and the faculty have expressed concerns about the safety of the university and the potential of guns being brought onto campus,” O’Meara told The Daily Cardinal.
September 9, 2025 at 5:11 PM
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PROFS is deeply concerned with language in the bill that mandates a minimum workload for faculty and instructional staff. ⬇️
But Michael Bernard-Donals, a professor of English and Jewish studies at UW-Madison and a leader of the university’s faculty advocacy group PROFS, said the idea of mandating faculty teach a certain amount of credits ignored “real world consequences.” Currently, workload decisions are made by administrators and faculty themselves, with research demands often varying depending on a person’s field, Bernard-Donals said. “This is just the latest in a series of legislative intrusions that are dictating by fiat the type of work faculty members have determined on their own because they have expertise in the fields they are working in,” Bernard-Donals said.
July 3, 2025 at 4:26 PM
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PROFS is urging legislators to remove language relating to faculty workload requirements from the state budget bill, saying the language interferes with the role of institutions and their faculty who, by law, are responsible for the educational mission of the universities.

Our statement ⬇️
July 2, 2025 at 6:30 PM
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The GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee is expected to vote on a compromise on Gov. Evers' biennial budget this afternoon. While we are pleased with an increase in UW funding, we are deeply concerned about still unseen language relating to faculty workload requirements. profs.wisc.edu?p=10045
July 1, 2025 at 5:20 PM
profsuwmadison.bsky.social
More details on the UW System portion of the Joint Finance Committee motion from the Wisconsin Examiner.
wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/07/01/g...
The funding includes $100 million to support UW system campuses statewide. Some of the funding would be distributed to campuses according to a formula. Of this, $15.25 million each year would be distributed to campuses with declining enrollment over the last two years and $11.25 million each year through a formula dependent on the number of credit hours undergraduates complete. There will also be $7 million across the biennium to provide 24/7 virtual telehealth mental health services across UW system campuses, $54 million to support retainment and recruitment of faculty and staff, $94 million to increase wages by 3% in the first year and 2% in the second year for UW system employees and $1 million for UW-Green Bay’s Rising Phoenix Early College High School Program. The UW system will also be required to maintain the number of positions funded with general purpose revenue and program revenue at January 2024 levels. The system will also get over $840 million for capital projects. $194 million for UW-La Crosse to complete the construction of the Prairie Springs Science Center and to demolish Crowley Hall $189 million for UW-Milwaukee to renovate the Health Sciences and Northwest Quadrant complex $137 million for UW-Oshkosh to demolish a library facility, renovate and add a brand-new replacement addition $10 million for UW-Madison to renovate and build a new addition to Dejope Residence Hall $98 million for UW-Stevens Point to renovate and build a new addition to Sentry Hall $800,000 for UW-Milwaukee to plan for renovations at Sandburg Hall East Tower Nearly $32 million for UW-Stout to renovate and build a new addition at its recreation complex Nearly $19 million for UW-Madison to renovate the Chadbourne Residence Dining Hall, $5 million to plan for relocation and demolition of the UW-Madison Humanities Building and $160 million for renovation of UW-Madison’s Science Hall
July 1, 2025 at 3:51 PM
profsuwmadison.bsky.social
While the School of Medicine and Public Health receives the majority of NIH indirect funding at UW-Madison, funds are spread throughout campus:
In 2024, the majority of NIH indirect funding supported the School of Medicine and Public Health (59.2%). Other units receiving support included the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (17%), College of Letters & Science (7.5%), College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (6%), School of Veterinary Medicine (4.1%), College of Engineering (3%), and School of Pharmacy (2%). (Percentages are proportional to the direct costs each unit competitively secured.)
May 19, 2025 at 9:07 PM
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The full statement here: www.acenet.edu/Documents/St...
May 15, 2025 at 4:27 PM
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The motion:
May 9, 2025 at 9:02 PM
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Faculty senates from ten of the 18 Big Ten institutions have passed similar resolutions, and UW-Madison's Faculty Senate will vote on a motion to adopt a mutual compact resolution on Monday, May 5. secfac.wisc.edu/governance/f...
May 1, 2025 at 6:00 PM
profsuwmadison.bsky.social
PROFS & ASPRO are hosting a forum on recent federal action and its impact on UW-Madison.

Join us at 9 am, Thursday, April 24 in Gordon Dining and Event Center. Our panel:
• Mark Copelovitch, UW-Madison
• Jenny Dahlberg, UW-Madison
• Don Moynihan, University of Michigan

profs.wisc.edu?p=10014
DC Update: How the Trump Administration’s Actions Will Reshape Higher Education 9 am, Thursday, April 24 Symphony Room, Gordon Dining & Event Center (Room 241A, 770 W. Dayton Street) The higher education community has been reeling since Donald Trump was inaugurated in January. Wide-ranging executive orders – relating to federal funding of research, DEI programs and policies, and immigration – to name just a few, have impacted UW-Madison and colleges and universities throughout the United States. Our panel will discuss federal actions to-date and share their thoughts on how these actions may impact UW-Madison and higher education nationally. PROFS President Michael Bernard-Donals will moderate our panelists: • Mark Copelovitch, UW-Madison Political Science and Public Affairs Professor • Jenny Dahlberg, UW-Madison Veterinary Medicine Research Administration Director • Don Moynihan, University of Michigan Public Policy Professor This event is free and open to the public. Pastries and coffee will be served at 8:30 am.
April 18, 2025 at 3:26 PM
profsuwmadison.bsky.social
PROFS & ASPRO are hosting a forum on recent federal action and its impact on UW-Madison.

Join us at 9 am, Thursday, April 24 in Gordon Dining and Event Center. Our panel:
• Mark Copelovitch, UW-Madison
• Jenny Dahlberg, UW-Madison
• Don Moynihan, University of Michigan

profs.wisc.edu?p=10014
April 15, 2025 at 9:35 PM
profsuwmadison.bsky.social
PROFS is outraged about the actions of the Trump administration over the past four weeks. Our statement on how we intend to move forward ⬇️
...PROFS has been monitoring the devastating changes that the Trump Administration is implementing and attempting to implement at the federal level, through executive orders and other administrative actions. A number of these changes have the potential to have drastic effects on UW-Madison and universities across the United States. Others will dramatically change the United States’ relationships with other countries, slash the positions of federal employees doing important work, eliminate whole units and departments, and gut many of the programs that support students, families, and the most vulnerable in our country. Among the most significant changes for UW-Madison has been the plan to reduce overhead costs on Federal grants to 15 percent of the grant amount, which would significantly reduce available funding to the university... ...The Trump administration’s executive orders are part of a larger strategy to undermine higher education itself, and their kitchen-sink approach is meant to sow chaos... ...To that end, PROFS is working with the Wisconsin Congressional delegation in Washington, DC, to make clear the effects of the Trump executive orders and other actions, and we intend to take an all-of-the-above strategy. Rather than fighting off the changes one by one, or trying to decide which have the greatest negative effects, PROFS is working to impress upon our allies, both in Washington and here at the State Capitol, that the actions undertaken by the current administration are nothing less than an existential threat to the university and to universities across the country... ...UW-Madison will, of course, be here in 50 years; but what it looks like may well be shaped by how we, and our university leadership, respond to the attack on the university and other important social and economic programs in the weeks, months, and years ahead. We would urge them to respond forcefully and fearlessly.
February 18, 2025 at 7:16 PM
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CROWE is hosting a fireside chat with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos at 5:30 pm tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Grainger Hall Plenary Room (975 University Avenue). Vos will speak on UW budgets, autonomy, DEI and more. A reception with refreshments will follow. crowe.wisc.edu/speaker-robi...
Speaker Robin Vos will speak on UW Budgets, Autonomy, DEI and more at a fireside chat hosted by the UW-Madison Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy at 5:30 pm, Wednesday, February 12. The event will be held in the Grainger Hall Plenary Room, 975 University Avenue. A reception with refreshments will follow.
February 11, 2025 at 5:21 PM
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PROFS has serious concerns about UW System's planned changes to copyright policy: "this is a broad over-reach by the administration...to exert ownership on the intellectual property of its faculty and staff, who have until now had broad discretion over the use of their work." profs.wisc.edu?p=9976
December 9, 2024 at 10:07 PM
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The full report is here: www.wisconsin.edu/president/do...
December 3, 2024 at 10:59 PM
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PROFS has been monitoring the study committee since its first meeting and has concerns this proposal, along with several others. We intend to study the implications of the proposals carefully and engage with faculty members to learn their thoughts on these issues. Our statement:
November 5, 2024 at 9:00 PM
profsuwmadison.bsky.social

A legislative study committee recently recommended a measure that would create a separate governing board and provide separate state appropriations UW-Madison. Our statement on the committee's action is below and here: profs.wisc.edu?p=9951
November 4, 2024 at 10:11 PM
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Our email:
October 31, 2024 at 7:57 PM
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PROFS shared the slides below with its membership earlier this week. We encourage all faculty to take a few minutes in class to ensure students have accurate information about the process and requirements to vote in Wisconsin. More here: profs.wisc.edu?p=9937
October 31, 2024 at 7:55 PM
profsuwmadison.bsky.social
NCSL just released its final report from their higher ed task force. The recommendations: degree offerings must lead to desirable life, career & earning outcomes; on-time degree completion; and reasonable tuition relative to cost and earning potential.
www.ncsl.org/education/a-...
October 14, 2024 at 8:38 PM
profsuwmadison.bsky.social
Earlier today, PROFS urged Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman and UW Board of Regents President Amy Bogost to support Gov. Evers' $800 million budget proposal. l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http...

Our letter:
Letter to Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman and UW Board of Regents President Amy Bogost urging them to support Gov. Evers' proposed $800 million budget request for UW.
August 19, 2024 at 9:06 PM