Letter from new Director Alexia Kulwiec
Greetings to the School for Workers’ greater community:
I hope that this notice finds you well. These continue to be challenging times of great change, and I remain hopeful that as we move forward, we will be able to make improvements in our culture, in our society, and especially in the manner in which we treat the American workforce.
I am honored to step into the position of the Director of the School for Workers and look forward to working with all of you. I have been humbled and impressed with the solidarity and the drive to protect workers that I have witnessed from our community. I sincerely hope that the School For Workers can continue to be a resource, and ally, in these efforts.
As announced previously, Professor Michael Childers is stepping down as director of our department on July 1, 2020. I am grateful for Professor Childers’ dedication to this department and his leadership though many changes within the University of Wisconsin System over the last several years. I look forward to his continuing role focused on teaching, service and scholarship.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is welcoming students back to campus this fall with number of safety measures in place, such as physical distancing, use of facial coverings and other changes to ensure a safe learning environment. We at the School for Workers are working on our fall labor education institutes and are working on plans to move our fall offerings to an on-line format if necessary, so that we can continue to connect and work with you in strengthening and protecting workers’ rights. We likewise are working on continuing offerings free of charge, moving beyond Facebook Live to a more interactive webinar format.
The changes we are all experiencing have encouraged us to adapt and improve our work, our priorities, and our offerings. We are excited about our upcoming fall programming and will be announcing course details soon. We also welcome suggestions and feedback to our continued efforts to adapt to the changing times. Please always feel free to reach out and let us know what resources and courses would be most helpful to you, by contacting any of us individually, calling our office at 608-262-2112 or by emailing us at schoolforworkers@dcs.wisc.edu.
I look forward to this new challenge but more importantly learning how the School for Workers can best support our allies, our partners and our communities in their ongoing efforts to build a more just society for workers and for all.
In solidarity,
Alexia M. Kulwiec
Director, Associate Professor
UW-Madison School for Workers