Falkenberg keeps MATC on course

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Public colleges are weathering tough times.

But Duluth, Minn. native Janice Falkenberg, vice-president and general counsel of Milwaukee Area Technical College, not only survives, but thrives in adverse weather.

“I remember going to school in the winter as a kid when the temperature was 20 below for real, not below with the wind chill,” she said.

Not long after Falkenberg was named general counsel in 2007, the Great Recession hit. That brought a sizeable upswing in MATC’s enrollment, which now has leveled off. While the enrollment increase generally was good news, it required a great deal of planning from the personnel standpoint — only to have the numbers dip not long afterward. Unlike most college GCs, Falkenberg supervises human resources and said she is very involved in administrative functions.

Tough economic times meant, and continue to mean, that post-secondary education funding is tight. Meanwhile, the college draws from a community with a high poverty level: Milwaukee is the fourth most impoverished big city in the U.S., according to the 2010 federal census.

Then Wisconsin passed Act 10, ending collective bargaining for public-sector unions and mandating employee contributions toward pensions and insurance. It was a dramatic shift for MATC’s largely unionized workforce.

“It’s a tenuous time,” Falkenberg said. “There are challenges. But we’ll work through them. I’m sure we’ll make a few mistakes along the way, but we’ll keep trying to move forward.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: Tell me about your role.

Janice Falkenberg: I provide management-side employment law advice. I also oversee public safety and risk management, as well as public relations and marketing, and legislative affairs as they impact public universities. I additionally provide legal counsel in board and committee meetings.

WLJ: What do you consider to be your most important role as in-house counsel?

Falkenberg: To manage risk and prioritize. The focus right now is to provide options and recommendations in a very different environment than what we’ve been used to before. I have to balance what Act 10 really means to us, legally, and the whole other piece of what it means operationally. I provide strategic direction based on the legal landscape and knowing the internal pressures and demands of the institution.

WLJ: What projects are you working on right now?

Falkenberg: Moving the institution forward in the new, unchartered territory of workforce planning and human capital strategies. I’m also overseeing more of a broader enterprise risk-management function for the organization, whereby we’re really looking where our risk lies and trying to shore up processes and protocols to minimize risk. And, on the legislative side, I’m very vigilant about changes happening at the state and federal levels regarding funding and how those will impact our budget.

WLJ: How big is your legal department?

Falkenberg: Just two lawyers: an assistant general counsel and me. We utilize outside counsel occasionally, mostly for litigation or more specialized real estate transactions.

WLJ: What do you seek in outside counsel?

Falkenberg: Expertise. It’s also critical that they have a successful track record. Cost is very important to us, so we’re looking for firms that are multifaceted and can still give us the best possible return on investment.