Good morning. 
Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 11. Sunrise is 7:18 AM and sunset 4:53 PM for 9h 34m 18s of daytime. The moon is waning gibbous with 93.7% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1265, the first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the “Houses of Parliament.”
Devi Shastri reports Professors surprised, disappointed by lack of public interviews for two finalists to lead UW System:
The University of Wisconsin’s Board of Regents is facing some pushback after the UW System announced Friday that there would be no public interviews of the two finalists named for the role of system president.
Finalists Jay Rothman, CEO and chairman of the Milwaukee-based law firm Foley and Lardner LLC, and Jim Schmidt, chancellor of UW-Eau Claire, participated in a series of interviews Tuesday that included regents, chancellors, faculty and staff governance representatives, and UW System executive staff.
On Friday, before being publicly named, the two candidates also participated in an interview with several news organizations, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
However, as announced by Regent Vice President Karen Walsh, who chairs the search and screen committee, the two would not participate in public interviews, as has finalists have in the past.
On Tuesday, the Wisconsin chapter of the American Association of University Professors issued a statement opposing the decision, suggesting that not having the candidates answer questions in a public forum was a “unforced error.”
“We call on the Board to schedule public sessions with each of the finalists. We have no doubt that the two candidates would be up to the task,” the statement reads. “And if not, that would be important for everyone to learn before the Regents make a hiring decision.”
It’s not merely university professors who should be concerned about this selection process. Those many of us who support open and responsible government at all levels should oppose a public process that cloaks itself in private fashion.