Purpose of Procedure
<p>The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UWW) encourages faculty to collaborate both across and within departments to promote shared teaching and research interests. Departments are the standard unit for organizing teaching, research, and outreach in the University, as described in <em>UW-W Faculty Policies and Procedures</em> managed by the Faculty Senate and other faculty-related legislation. Centers, Institutes, and Center-like Units play a valuable function in organizing activities for groups of people who wish to work together in teaching and/or research and/or outreach on specialized topics.</p>
<p>The Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs is the university authority empowered to recognize centers as official units within the University.</p>
<p>Centers, as recognized units within the university, encourage the formation of faculty or staff groups around the scholarly interests and expertise that are not accommodated by the departmental structure. Centers provide a mechanism for faculty and staff to collaborate to develop depth in a defined range of problems within a discipline or apply a broader vision to issues that cross traditional departmental structures. A center may provide a useful structure to develop emerging or multidisciplinary approaches to research or teaching, provide a relevant focus for service to external or internal constituencies, promote sharing of resources (e.g. equipment or laboratories), or otherwise support the focused scholarship of groups of faculty and staff in their areas of specialty.</p>
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