The University of Wisconsin at Madison might be called a victim of its own successes. The stateâ??s flagship institution has recruited prominent faculty, but has been forced to enter bidding wars with wealthy private institutions just to retain them. On top of that challenge, budget cuts and cost increases have made it difficult for the university to fill positions vacated by retiring baby boomers, leaving faculty lines open and forcing the university to cut course offerings.
The challenges facing Wisconsin are systemic, and they have only been exacerbated by the economic downturn, according to Biddy Martin, who was named chancellor a little more than six months ago.
â??The traditional revenue sources havenâ??t been able to keep pace with the cost of higher education, certainly not at a major research university,â? Martin said.