–submitted by Carol Toussaint; photo by Valerie Renk
As Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Andre Phillips has a key role in determining who will or will not become a student. He described both the opportunities and obstacles to his Rotary audience Wednesday emphasizing that he works with a team in the Division of Enrollment Management in the Office of the Provost. Several from this team were guests at the program. Phillips came to Madison in 2011 after extensive experience in similar positions at the University of Chicago.
Phillips emphasized that he works with a “Wisconsin First” policy as directed by the Board of Regents of the UW System. “Everything starts with Wisconsin” is the way to think about the job. Phillips said that it is a big job which starts by being in touch with high schools in the state. Assuring the audience that the team reads everything submitted with the application, he went through some of the requirements. Acknowledging that high schools offer a variety of opportunities, he noted that they look to see what a student has done with what was offered. The importance of organizing thoughts in response to questions asked on the application reinforced the value of writing with clarity.
“We want to know why the applicant wants the UW-Madison but we also need to learn why some of our top students aren’t applying here” was the opening for presenting information for what Phillips referred to as “Wisconsin Prime”. Saying “we need to recruit more of our own” he described work that is being done starting with high school sophomores through visits to individual schools and bringing these students to the UW. Outreach is also focused on first generation multi-cultural students.
Rotarians raised questions as to issues of affordability. Phillips said he was not free to discuss some new plans we’d hear about fairly soon. In fact, we were sworn to secrecy but without learning any details!
As the program concluded a number of Rotarians were heard commenting on whether or not they would be accepted under the high standards and competition of today. Andre Phillips would probably respond that each of us should know that a lot is expected but each applicant is fairly judged.
If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch the video here.
Self-identifying as the “Benedict Arnold of conservatism,” Wisconsin conservative radio talk show host and author of several books Charlie Sykes addressed members of the Rotary Club of Madison on Jan. 3 to promote his book “How the Right Lost its Mind.”
Twenty Rotarians enjoyed an evening of haute cuisine and interesting conversation during our Culinary Arts Fellowship on December 4, 2017. Many thanks to Boris Frank (pictured here with Steve Wallman) for planning an innovative dining experience with Chef Tim Van Doren from Johnny Delmonico’s Steakhouse. Our server, Cynthia McDonald, was well known to our group for her service at our weekly Rotary meetings. She made the evening special.
Our first course began with Chef’s demonstration on how to correctly shuck oysters as we learned the difference between the briny East Coast oysters and the more fruity flavor of the West Coast variety. Also, it’s OK to eat oysters year round because they are farmed around the world dispelling the idea of eating them only in a month ending in “R”. The oysters were accompanied by a charred scallion mignonette and sparkling wine.
Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin 