Students and staff raised questions and concerns at a campus forum Monday regarding the University of Wisconsinâ??s initiative to increase tuition.
The tuition increase is an effort to fund more tenure-tracked staff as well as other projects to keep improving the university.
During the event sponsored by the Associated Students of Madison, Chancellor Biddy Martin addressed student issues and explained in detail the reasons behind the increase.
Chancellor Biddy Martin and the Associated Students of Madison will create a student oversight committee to help implement the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, Martin announced Monday at a forum about the initiative.
â??Iâ??d like to get their advice in advance of making decisions about expenditures, and let them be the messengers to the campus,â? Martin said.
ASM Chair Brittany Wiegand said the committee will likely operate through the Shared Governance Committee of ASM. While seats on the committee will be limited in number, Wiegand said any student will be able to apply.
One wonders how high the salaries were of the public relations professionals and university administrators who worked overtime to pick the name â??Madison Initiative for Undergraduates,â? and to produce the slick promotional film pitching the program. The proposed tuition surcharge would be better named â??Biddy Sticks it to Out-of-Statersâ? or â??Martinâ??s Increase in Undergraduate Debt.â? As a parent of a non-resident student, and as a UW alumnus, let me comment on the chancellorâ??s talent for doublespeak as displayed in the e-mail memo I received, the same one that informed me Iâ??ll be paying this accumulating surcharge on top of an expected 5 or 6 percent tuition increase over the next three years.
University of Wisconsin students expressed both concern and support Thursday at the first of two campus forums on Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??s Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, which would increase tuition, financial aid and academic services for students.
The forum focused on student perspectives with prominent issues being the transparency of initiative fund spending, how students are supposed to pay the tuition increase and the voice of students in the spending process.
The initiative is focused on adding faculty to the College of Letters and Science, which has lost 65 to 70 professors since 2004, Martin said.
UW-Madison’s Chancellor wants to make Wisconsinâ??s flagship university more affordable for low and middle income studentsâ?¦by raising tuition.
Chancellor Biddy Martin says the University has far less need-based financial aid than any other Big 10 university, with $20-million in unmet aid every year. To close that gap, the Chancellor’s Madison Initiative for Undergraduates is calling for a $250 annual increase in tuition over the next four years for in-state residents, and $750 annually for out-of-state students. Martin says the increase would not affect students whose families make $80,000 or less.
â??Itâ??s going to be harder for low and middle income families to send students to UW-Madison in these times than it already was,â? says Martin. â??Our students need even better preparation for these challenging times and the economy they face as graduates than they have ever needed.â?
UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin explained her newly proposed initiative to students and listened to their feedback at a forum Thursday.
The Madison Initiative for Undergraduates would propose a supplemental charge in tuition to improve educational quality for undergraduates while helping to make UW-Madison affordable to all students.
Chancellor Biddy Martin unveiled a bold plan that would raise the tuition bills of most UW-Madison students in an effort to preserve the quality of the institution, while also making more need-based financial aid available to those who are being priced out of the state’s flagship university.
“Her honeymoon is over now,” said Noel Radomski, director of the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education, a think tank on campus. “She’s putting out a bold proposal. But this is a very good service, and I truly mean that, to put this out on the table for the public, the students, the faculty and staff to look at.”
The Critical Badger picked up on the Madison Initiative. Some good criticism by â??Country Bobâ? in the comment minefield. This caught my eye:
$80,000 is very arbitrary, and doesnâ??t take into account a studentâ??s expected financial contribution (EFC). A family with two kids in college making $82,000 per year is much different than a family with one kid making $79,000 per year.
Totally true! But with a little work the details can be sorted out â?¦ but the devil is in the details. Seems like things are moving in a positive direction at UW after more than a few years of asking each other what we should do.
A proposed surcharge would raise UW tuition $1000 for instate students and $3000 for out of state students by the year 2013.
The increases will be phased in over the next four years. Instate students will pay $250 more a year during that time, while out of state students will pay $750 more.
“When this proposal is fully implemented in four years, tuition and fees at UW-Madison will continue to be among the lowest in our peer group, defined as the Big Ten,” reasoned Biddy Martin, UW Madison chancellor.
The school hopes the increase will fill in a $20 million dollar annual budget gap. The ultimate goal is for the money to increase the quality of education while making the university more affordable to lower income students.
In wake of the announcement of an initiative that would increase tuition, financial aid and academic services for University of Wisconsin students, Chancellor Biddy Martin will host a forum tonight to field questions, comments and concerns of students and other community members.
The Madison Initiative for Undergraduates would increase in-state tuition by $250 and out-of-state tuition by $750 per year over a four-year period, after which rates will top out at $1,000 and $3,000, respectively, more than current rates.
The funding brought in by the initiative would allow for increased financial aid, the restoration of faculty seats and the improvement of studentsâ?? academic experiences.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin on Wednesday proposed increasing undergraduate tuition at the state’s public flagship school by $250 to $750 per year for four years to pay for increases in financial aid for needy students and to add faculty and student services in high-demand areas.
The plan, dubbed the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, relies on more affluent families and private donors to subsidize financial aid for lower-income students and improvements to undergraduate education at a time when Gov. Jim Doyle is calling for budget cuts throughout the university system.
UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin reiterated her new initiative for increasing tuition and financial aid to students, faculty and staff in a news conference Wednesday at Bascom Hall.
If passed by the UW System Board of Regents, Martinâ??s Madison Initiative for Undergraduates would result in a possible $40 million increase to tuition and financial aid over the next four years.
Martin said she hopes her plan will better prepare students for the current state of the economy.
â??This has to be addressed now, not despite the terrible economic circumstances â?¦ but because of them,â? she said.
At a meeting with student leaders Tuesday, University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin took the first 6 1/2 months of her term spent fact-finding and listening and turned it into a bold proposal to increase funding to attract tenured faculty, need-based financial aid and student services â?? calling it the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates. The plan would institute a gradual increase in tuition costs over the next four years â?? in-state students would pay an extra $250 per year every year while the increase would be $750 for out-of state students. After four years, this would mean an increase of $1,000 from current levels for in-state students and an increase of $3,000 in out-of state tuition.
In her first significant action since taking the helm at Wisconsin’s flagship university, UW Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin has announced a new initiative, which she calls a major effort to preserve the quality of an education there, and improve its affordability.
Most University of Wisconsin-Madison undergraduates would eventually pay $1,000 more per year under a long-term plan outlined Wednesday to improve quality and increase financial aid.
Undergraduates from Wisconsin would pay a $250 supplemental tuition charge starting next fall while nonresidents would be hit with a $750 charge. The charges would increase by the same amounts the following three years – for a total in the 2012-2013 school year of $1,000 for residents and $3,000 for nonresidents.
Students from families that earn $80,000 or less – about 6,500 of the schoolâ??s 29,000 undergraduates – would receive enough financial aid to offset the increases.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin is proposing a four-year plan to increase undergraduate tuition to maintain the school’s quality.
Martin wants students from Wisconsin to pay a supplemental tuition charge of $250 starting next school year. The charge would grow by $250 per year through 2013.
Out-of-state students would pay a $750 supplemental charge next fall, and it would increase by that amount through 2013.
Those charges would be on top of any statewide tuition increase.
Six months into her tenure, UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin announced a plan Wednesday that would essentially levy a surcharge on undergraduate students from higher-income families, responding to what she called an â??urgentâ? need to improve affordability and the quality of undergraduate programs.
After listening to students, parents, alumni and others over the past few months, Martin said sheâ??s repeatedly heard that class sizes are getting too big, too many classes are taught by non-tenured faculty and access to high-demand courses and majors is difficult.
At least one person on campus has done OK as the economy has declined: public university presidents’ salaries climbed 7.6% last year. Fifteen presidents of public research universities took home at least $700,000 in 2007-2008, up from eight in last year’s survey, and nearly one-third now earn over $500,000, according to the annual Chronicle of Higher Education survey out Monday.
One of UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin’s top priorities is keeping the university affordable through need-based financial aid, she said Thursday in a speech at an event formally welcoming Martin to Wisconsin.
Less important, she said, is an unrealistic goal of keeping tuition flat or decreasing it.
She said the university must raise more money for need-based aid and envisioned a sliding scale of college tuition.
“Those who can afford to pay more should pay more,” Martin said. “Those who can afford less should pay less; and those who cannot afford to pay anything should pay nothing in actual dollars but should be allowed to contribute to their own education through work study.”
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin outlined some goals and priorities she believes are important to the future success and health of the university during a 45-minute speech Thursday night at the Kohl Center.
Martin, who replaced John Wiley as chancellor on Sept. 1, spoke to a crowd of about 2,000 during an event titled “On, Wisconsin! A Great University and its Friends Welcome Chancellor Martin.”
First, Martin said it’s vitally important to make UW-Madison affordable for students of all economic backgrounds. That, however, does not mean she plans to slash tuition — or even keep the price of attending the UW flat.
Lively drumbeats and performances by the University of Wisconsin Wind Ensemble began ceremonies to give a warm welcome to new Chancellor Biddy Martin.
Along with welcoming Martin to her new position, the event also gave her the chance to address opportunities she sees for growth within the university and challenges she sees in the universityâ??s future.
UW-Madison students and faculty gathered at the Kohl Center Thursday with the Wisconsin Alumni Association to officially welcome Chancellor Biddy Martin to the university.
In her keynote address, Martin identified tuition costs, faculty salaries and diversity issues as specific concerns.
According to Martin, costs are becoming a problem for universities across the nation.
MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Madison welcomed its new chancellor at a formal introduction Thursday evening at the Kohl Center.
Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin outlined the tremendous challenges she sees not just for higher education but for the nation as well.
Martin addressed students, faculty, staff and alumni on a variety of topics.
UW-Madison Chancellor Carolyn â??Biddyâ? Martin urged the state to give the university flexibility and modest investment needed to sustain its greatness in troubled economic times Thursday during her first public address since taking the helm of the stateâ??s flagship university.
Martin addressed a crowd of hundreds in the Kohl Center during a reception to welcome the campusâ?? 28th chancellor. Martin, who received her doctorate from the UW and formerly served as provost at New Yorkâ??s Cornell University, officially took over for Chancellor John Wiley on Sept. 1.
While Martin described her first two months on campus as â??joyful,â? she also described the difficulty of setting an ambitious agenda for the future of the UW amidst grave economic uncertainty. Gov. Jim Doyle announced last week the state could be facing a budget shortfall of more than $3 billion.
Before students of the Class of 2009 were even born, Carolyn â??Biddyâ? Martin and Carolyn Ainslie were dwelling in Ithaca as Cornell employees. So it came as a surprise this summer when both the provost and the vice president for planning and budget bid adieu to Cornell after more than two decades of service.
Cornell engineering dean W. Kent Fuchs will be the next provost, university President David Skorton announced Friday.
Fuchs, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering since 2002, will take over as Cornell’s top academic officer Jan. 1.
He replaces Carolyn â??Biddyâ? Martin, who left last spring to be chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison after eight years in the post at Cornell.
MADISON â?? A regent involved in the failed University of Wisconsin-Parkside chancellor search said Friday he and his colleagues lack enough information to make good hiring decisions.
Michael Falbo of Milwaukee said regents recommend who to hire for top campus jobs after interviewing the finalists, which does not provide them with an understanding of who would be best for the job.
“I’ve found that I didn’t feel capable of making a decision after spending about a half hour or 45 minutes with each candidate one right after another,” Falbo told his colleagues on the 18-member Board of Regents during a meeting at UW-Stevens Point.
Madison, Wis. – Carolyn “Biddy” Martin is an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but that wasn’t the only thing that convinced her to pursue the chancellor’s job following John Wiley’s decision to step down.
Interviewed at the World Stem Cell Summit, which was held last week in Madison, Martin said the UW’s leading edge work in life sciences, including stem cell research, also interested her in the job.
â??The cutting-edge research in the life sciences here in general piqued my interest in the position, but of course the stem research is really right at the leading edge of what is an enormously impressive life sciences infrastructure,â? said Martin, who came to the UW-Madison after serving as provost at Cornell University. â??It definitely played a role.â?
MADISON, Wis. – When searching for top officials at the University of Wisconsin, don’t forget to Google them.
That’s one piece of advice contained in a report to the UW Board of Regents released Friday on how to improve its searches for new chancellors and others in leadership positions.
University President Kevin Reilly asked for the review after a failed search for a new chancellor at the Parkside campus. The candidate a search committee selected, former University of Louisville dean Robert Felner, resigned before taking over after news broke that he was the subject of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
Incoming UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin arrived on campus last week â?? just in time to witness the latest spat between staunch supporters and critics of Wisconsin’s flagship university.
MADISON, Wis. — Outgoing University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor John Wiley is receiving praise for starting a public debate about the future of higher education in Wisconsin.
The UW Board of Regents has approved a resolution praising Wiley’s seven-year tenure as the leader of the state’s flagship university.
The board said that Wiley helped rebuild the campus infrastructure, led a $1.5 billion fundraising campaign and kept the university affordable and accessible to students.
Incoming UW-Madison Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin moved to town on Friday — and her belongings finally arrived at Olin House, the official residence of the chancellor, on Monday.
“I’ve started the process of unpacking and moving in,” said Martin. “It’s a lot of work but I’ve cleared a path from my bedroom to the coffee maker, and I thought maybe that would do for now.”
Talk to UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley on any given day, and he knows exactly how many days remain before his reign as head of the state’s flagship university ends.
Today, it is 16.
The University of Wisconsinâ??s flagship campus will be welcoming a new chancellor this fall.
Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin begins later this summer, filling the spot left vacant by outgoing chancellor John Wiley.
MADISON â?? Most of the 115 businesses in the University Research Park on the Capital Cityâ??s west side are biotech companies that require wet labs for their ongoing experiments and product development.
But in the researchâ??s park urban expansion in the former Marquip Building at 1245 E. Washington Ave., the targets for the 10 new incubator suites in the former manufacturing site will be high-tech entrepreneurs working in the areas of information technology, engineering, medical devices and computer sciences.
The effort is starting out small, with a lease of 6,000-square feet. But it has the potential to â??explodeâ? within a few years as faculty members and students start their own businesses, said UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley.
MADISON â?? Gov. Jim Doyle interviewed the four finalists for the University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor job in May, days before Biddy Martin was selected, his calendar shows.
The interviews raise questions about whether the governor had any influence in Martinâ??s selection. A regent said Monday that was not the case, but one Republican aide still criticized Doyleâ??s involvement as inappropriate.
The process used to pick university leaders is under scrutiny after a new chancellor at another campus resigned his appointment because he is under federal investigation.
Gov. Jim Doyle interviewed the four finalists for the UW-Madison chancellor job in May, days before Biddy Martin was selected, his calendar shows.
The interviews raise questions about whether the governor had any influence in Martin’s selection. A regent said Monday that was not the case, but one Republican aide still criticized Doyle’s involvement as inappropriate.
The process used to pick university leaders is under scrutiny after a new chancellor at another campus resigned his appointment because he is under federal investigation.
Recent news coverage and editorial opinions have suggested that the University of Wisconsin system must increase the salaries of its chancellors statewide. Writers imply that the departure of six campus chancellors the past year was due to their sub-national-average salaries.
For example, Bruce Shepard, who earned about $210,000 at UW-Green Bay, has taken a position at Western Washington University for more than $300,000. Similar salary increases were in store for the other campus chancellors who left the UW system this past year. Proponents of higher salaries suggest that greater pay will somehow improve retention of our chancellors.
But consider another distinct possibility. Perhaps after 6-8 years leading a specific campus, a chancellor will look for a new challenge no matter what his or her salary.
Hardly anyone starts out in life with the goal of becoming a college president. Biddy Martin certainly didnâ??t.
At the time she graduated from Brookville High School in 1969, she was a good all-around student who loved to read and held the all-time scoring record for the Beesâ?? girls basketball team.
â??I had no idea what I wanted to do next,â? she said.
Now, she does. She wants to be the chancellor at the University of Wisconsin, the school from which she received a graduate degree in German literature more than 20 years ago. And obviously, the feeling is mutual.
John D. Wiley, who will step down as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison in September, has been named to another position of leadership at the institution.
In November, Mr. Wiley will become interim director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, the public half of an interdisciplinary research center scheduled to open on the campus in 2010.
Martin Cadwallader, dean of the university’s graduate school, which oversees the institute, says Mr. Wiley is the perfect choice for this stage of the institute’s development. “He knows about the science side of things, he has great leadership skills, and he’s got the ability to attract the best talent,” he says. (Final item.)
As Provost Biddy Martin leaves Cornell to assume the chancellorship position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cornell has begun to search for her replacement. In the meantime, President David Skorton has appointed David Harris, deputy provost and vice-provost for social sciences, as interim provost until a replacement for Martin is found. The Sun spoke to Harris about his appointment, his plan not to introduce new initiatives and what it will take to fill Martinâ??s shoes.
Outgoing University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor John D. Wiley has a new job.
He has been named the new interim director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, which focuses on stem-cell and other technology.
He will also become a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and at the Robert M. LaFollette School of Public Affairs.
What began as a 231-word blog post criticizing outgoing provost Biddy Martin has escalated into war – well, at least a press release war in the Wisconsin legislature. After The Capital Times reported that an aide to Rep. Steve Nass circulated the blog post among Republicans, the press release war commenced, leading to another article by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and then an article and an editorial from The Sun. While the author of the blog post, Travis Kavulla, has taken the rhetoric down a notch in his response to the whole fiasco, he raises an interesting issue concerning the difference between a public university like The University of Wisconsin – Madison and a private university like Cornell University.
MADISON– Who would not want to be a fly on the wall during this weekâ??s meeting between flame-throwing University of Wisconsin System critic Rep. Steve Nass and Biddy Martin, the new chancellor at UW-Madison?
Before Martin had a chance to rearrange her office furniture, Nass was defending his background checks on her. Madison Democratic Reps. Spencer Black and Terese Berceau criticized Nass for distributing a National Review Online article about Martin to his GOP colleagues.
Plans have quickly fallen into place to find the Universityâ??s next chief academic officer. Less than three weeks after Provost Biddy Martinâ??s announcement that she will leave Cornell to become the next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, President David Skorton named Deputy Provost David Harris to temporarily fill her position. Harris will serve as interim provost until Martinâ??s successor is chosen, according to the University.
As an administrator, former Provost Biddy Martin was devoted to improving the lives of students, faculty and staff. As President David Skortonâ??s first deputy officer, she pioneered initiatives to increase financial aid, appoint new deans and increase communication and cohesion across our large and disparate University. Itâ??s because of her stellar academic and administrative record at Cornell that weâ??re disappointed to learn of the controversy surrounding her appointment as the new chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Two weeks ago, a blog post on the National Review Online criticized Martin as a â??self-indulged, theory-laden, post-modern scholar.â? And after Wisconsin State Rep. Steve Nass circulated a link to the blog within the State House, state representatives have made public a debate over Martinâ??s administrative qualifications.
A new president comes to the job with enthusiasm and optimism. The board that hired the president, as well as the faculty and staff members who anticipate the new leader’s arrival, share those sentiments. Some people hope he or she will do as well as the previous president; more often, they hope the new president will do everything that the predecessor did well and improve on what that person did not do well. An impossible assignment? No, but a difficult one.
Author: Harry L. Peterson, president emeritus of Western State College of Colorado, also served as a senior administrator at the Universities of Idaho and Wisconsin. This article is adapted from his book Leading a Small College or University: A Conversation That Never Ends, to be published this month by Atwood Publishing.
While many Cornell students, faculty and staff have offered both praise for Provost Biddy Martin as she prepares to assume the position of University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor in September and lamentation in the wake of her absence at Cornell, the chancellor-elect has become the brunt of harsh criticism amidst a highly publicized battle between members of Wisconsinâ??s state legislature.
On May 30, the National Review Online ran a blog post questioning if Martin â?? who the author described as an â??obscure, self-indulged, theory-laden, post-modern scholarâ? â?? has what it takes to be chancellor of UW-Madison. Soon after the post was published, Rep. Steven Nass (R-Whitewater) circulated it among senate and assembly Republicans, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Here we go again, with the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents demonstrating its arrogance and contempt for the taxpayers who foot the bills.
The board approved whopping raises for top UW officials. The new UW-Madison chancellor, Biddy Martin, was hired with a salary of $437,000 a year, more than $100,000 higher than her predecessor John Wiley was paid. President Kevin Reilly was granted a raise of nearly $80,000, moving from $342,000 a year to $421,500 annually by next June.
Biddy Martin hadn’t finished signing her contract to be the next chancellor of UW-Madison before inflammatory e-mails about her began flying around the state Capitol.
“An obscure, self-indulged, theory-laden, post-modern scholar, ” read the National Review Online commentary circulated by an aide to Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, chairman of the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee.
The message came on the heels of a press release Nass issued the day Martin was named, saying he was “cautiously optimistic ” about her appointment but asserting the people of Wisconsin “don ‘t want a university promoting the liberal indoctrination of young minds at the altar of political correctness. “
Everyone is talking about Biddy Martin, the next UW-Madison chancellor. After seven years of the gray chancellor, David Ward, and another seven of the combative John Wiley, the word on most Badgersâ?? lips is â??change.â? The hope is that Biddy Martin will be the agent of that change, and not a moment too soon, since Bucky is in big trouble.
MILWAUKEE — The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents drew criticism Friday for voting in private the day before to award President Kevin Reilly a $73,000 raise.
The regents approved the 21 percent raise in a closed-door meeting at UW-Milwaukee. The board also agreed to hire Biddy Martin as the next UW-Madison chancellor with a salary of $437,000. Neither action was approved in open session.
UW System spokesman David Giroux said the moves did not violate the state open meetings law, but advocates for open government said the law was uncertain on that point.
MILWAUKEE — On the same day the University of Wisconsin System’s Board of Regents approved a 5.5 percent tuition increase for most students, Carolyn “Biddy” Martin became the highest-paid chancellor in UW-Madison history and System President Kevin Reilly received a raise of more than $70,000.
Martin, the provost at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., was unanimously approved by the Regents as next chancellor of UW-Madison here on Thursday.
For the first time in University of Wisconsin System history, the UW-Madison chancellor will earn more than the System president.
Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin, 57, was unanimously approved Thursday as the next leader of Wisconsin’s flagship university by the UW Board of Regents. She will earn a salary of $437,000.
Cornell University Provost Carolyn “Biddy” Martin will take a pay cut when she takes the helm of the state’s flagship public university this fall, but her salary sets a couple of precedents: She will receive more than the University of Wisconsin System president, and she will get a six-figure chunk of her pay from private sources.
MILWAUKEE â?? The Board of Regents gave a $73,000 raise to University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly on Thursday, rewarding him for what the board’s president called an outstanding performance.
In a closed-door meeting at UW-Milwaukee, the regents agreed to increase Reilly’s pay 21 percent, from $342,000 to $414,600, on July 1. His salary will go up to $421,500 on June 1, 2009, the board decided.
A week after her recommendation for the position, Carolyn “Biddy” Martin has been formally approved as next chancellor of UW-Madison. The UW System Board of Regents approved Martin during its meeting in Milwaukee Thursday. The 57 year-old Martin, currently provost of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., was recommended for the Madison post by UW System President Kevin Reilly and a Board of Regents search committee.
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) — The Board of Regents gave a $73,000 raise to University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly on Thursday, rewarding him for what its president called an outstanding performance.
In a closed-door meeting at UW-Milwaukee, the regents agreed to increase Reilly’s pay to nearly $414,600 on July 1 from its current $342,000, a 21 percent increase. The board said his salary would increase to $421,500 on June 1, 2009.
The regents also approved Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin as the next UW-Madison chancellor and gave her an annual salary of $437,000. That’s about $110,000 more than outgoing Chancellor John Wiley earns and marks the first time in the 37-year history of the system that a chancellor will make more than its president.
The raises are sure to draw criticism at a time when the state is facing a budget shortfall and a slowing economy. UW System officials said the raises brought the salaries of Martin and Reilly to the average of their peers nationwide and were needed to attract and retain top leaders.
MILWAUKEE — Carolyn “Biddy” Martin was formally approved as next chancellor of UW-Madison at a Board of Regents meeting here on Thursday.
Martin, the current provost of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., was recommended as the next leader of Wisconsin’s flagship university by UW System President Kevin Reilly and a Board of Regents search committee, led by chair David Walsh, on May 29.
On Thursday, the full board unanimously approved Martin during a closed session.
Although Martin will take a cut in base salary to come to Madison, she will be the first UW-Madison chancellor to make more money than the leader of the UW System as a whole — in this case, President Kevin Reilly.
More than a few people wondered why a separate news story was necessary to let the world know the University of Wisconsin-Madison will be the largest institution of higher learning led by an openly gay chancellor, Carolyn “Biddy” Martin.
Fair question. Martin’s private life should have no bearing on whether she is the most qualified to succeed John Wiley at the helm of Wisconsin’s largest university â?? and clearly, it did not enter into the equation when the search committee made its decision.
“What she is, in our eyes, is an exceptionally qualified academic leader. Period,” UW System spokesman David Giroux told The Associated Press. “And she was brought here so she can apply that considerable experience to our flagship campus and move us forward in areas of education and research.”
