MOO on WEB by Bob Skloot, Associate Vice Chancellor Even as the acronym for the Menu of Options (MOO) reminds us of Wisconsin, so, too, does the project itself acknowledge and work within the decentralized culture of the Madison campus. Recognizing that a university as large as the University of Wisconsin (40,000 students, 2,200 faculty, 5350 academic staff) works best when its creative energies are encouraged and liberated (rather than mandated and overly-monitored), and deeply mindful of our tradition of faculty and staff governance, the Office of the Provost provided both financial and collegial support without strings or stringency to the Peer Review of Teaching Project. The resulting MOO, created and refined by faculty and staff volunteers, does not in itself mandate a single answer to the many professional, personal, legal, collegial, or administrative issues that are attached to the subject of Peer Review of Teaching. In fact, I believe that MOO's most attractive features are two: that it was produced by teachers for teachers, and that it recognizes how many different and useful ways (or combination of ways) good teaching may be communicated, evaluated, and, ultimately (if colleagues and administrators are alert), rewarded. To be sure, reviewing the teaching performance of colleagues is an enterprise fraught with many pitfalls, involving as it does so many complexities as well as the anxiety that accompanies the review of work that may not be fully understood by the public. All teachers know how hard good teaching is, just as all remember keenly the great teachers from their own past. In addition, all appreciate when their professional commitment to teaching is recognized and their efforts and successes acknowledged. We expect to find that MOO, with its clearly written procedures, is one important way to bring about this result. By now, we know that teaching is not and cannot be a private activity without accountability or assessment; and that the assessment is best carried out by colleagues who are not just fair and knowledgeable, but who are themselves committed to the review process. Surely, MOO will work best when the important work of the reviewers is rewarded as well as the work of the teachers. I am confident that one additional benefit from using MOO will be to bring colleagues closer together in the ever-improving, mutually-supportive academic environment that is the goal of all colleges and universities concerned with teaching and learning. For more information of a multitude of other teaching and learning initiatives across the UW-Madison campus, please visit our Programs, Grants, and Awards site.