The Universities of Wisconsin last week listed the demolition and replacement of the Humanities Building as one of its top priorities for the next state budget. The UW Board of Regents approved the request. Now Gov. Tony Evers should include it in his budget request to the Legislature next year.
Category: Higher Education/System
Before abruptly resigning, UW-Milwaukee police chief was investigated for offensive comments
The former University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee police chief was under investigation for inappropriate and insensitive comments including mocking a female crime victim and making homophobic remarks, according to newly released records.
For many Latinas, Alverno College is a symbol of hope. Now, its financial future is unclear.
Achieving the designation is only half the battle, said Anthony Hernandez, educational policy studies professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The other half is competing against a pool of more than 500 other Hispanic-serving institutions for federal funding.
U of Wisconsin regents agree to ask Gov. Tony Evers for $855 million budget increase
Tuition and student fees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the system’s flagship campus, now total $11,606 a year for in-state undergraduates. The total cost to attend the university for a year is about $30,000 when factoring in room and board, educational supplies and other costs.
‘We deserve a seat at the table’: UW System unions protest as Board of Regents passes mass faculty layoffs
Eight unions representing faculty and staff across the UW System urged the Regents to support their “meet and confer” campaign and reject faculty layoff plans.
Regents accept UWM plan with system’s first mass layoff of tenured profs
With only one dissent, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved a plan Thursday from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that will include the layoff of 35 tenured faculty members.
In precedent-setting vote, UW Regents close college and lay off 32 tenured professors
The board overseeing Wisconsin public universities voted to lay off 32 tenured University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professors, marking the first large-scale application of a Republican policy put in place nearly a decade ago.
U of Wisconsin regents agree to ask Gov. Tony Evers for $855 million budget increase
UW system President Jay Rothman has promised he won’t seek to raise tuition during the life of the two-year spending plan if the system gets the money.
UW staff demand action, attention from university administrators
The three demands are priorities for the rally’s organizer, the American Federation of Teachers’ Wisconsin chapter: protecting the jobs of around 30 tenured staff of UW-Milwaukee, supporting Gov. Tony Evers’ intentions to ask for the largest ever budget increase to Universities of Wisconsin, and beginning Meet-and-Confer.
Board of Regents approve 2025-2027 operating and capital budget requests
Budgets invest in AI research, career advising, mental health, $293.4 million new residence hall.
UW employees would get 5% pay raises next year under budget request
Employees across the Universities of Wisconsin would receive a 5% pay increase in July next year and another 3% raise in July 2026 under the budget proposal. This boost would help wages keep up with inflation, the system said.
Tenured UW-Milwaukee faculty fired in 1st use of new policy
Nearly three dozen faculty at UW-Milwaukee’s branch campuses will lose their jobs after the UW Board of Regents voted Thursday to use for the first time a decade-old policy allowing universities to lay off faculty members.
New biohealth workforce training program aims to be ‘major catalyst’ for Wisconsin economic growth
A new workforce development program in Wisconsin will train 2,000 workers over the next five years in a growing sector of the health care industry.
The Actualizing Biohealth Career Pathways project is a partnership between Wisconsin technical colleges, universities and employers that want to keep up with anticipated demand in the field.
After declaring financial emergency, Alverno College lands $10 million gift
John Morgridge is the former chairman of Cisco Systems, and Tashia Morgridge is a retired special education teacher. They have a long history of donating to Wisconsin colleges and universities. Both of them graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and have given hundreds of millions of dollars to their alma mater for various causes, such as faculty recruitment and a new computer and data sciences building. They have also given money to Cardinal Stritch University — where Tashia earned a doctorate of education — before the university closed in 2023.
There’s still a FAFSA crisis — here’s what colleges can do now
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a program called Bucky’s Tuition Promise, which covers tuition and fees for lower-income students for four years, also includes two years of aid for transfer students.
UW system needs $855M increase to compete with neighboring states
The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents will decide this week if they’ll ask the state Legislature for an $855 million budget increase in the next two-year budget.
UW System funding ranks 43rd nationally. A big budget request would move it to middle of pack
The state public university system is leaning heavily on a low national ranking in a bid seeking $855 million from the Legislature.
Wisconsin ranks 43rd among 50 states in funding its public four-year universities, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. The advocacy group represents the UW System, as well as other state university systems.
Universities of Wisconsin president proposes $855 million budget to avoid tuition increases
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman proposed a 2025-2027 budget request that he believes would allow the state’s public universities to climb the ranks in public funding and reach the national median. Wisconsin currently ranks 43rd out of the 50 states. For comparison, Illinois ranks first, Michigan third, Iowa ninth and Minnesota tenth.
Universities of Wisconsin request budget boost for 2025
Rothman announced that his budget request, if approved, would effectively fund the preservation of branch campuses in the system, and could mean higher wages for staff. He said that proper pay is one way to maintain qualified staff.
University of Wisconsin president wants $855 million in new funding to stave off higher tuition
President Jay Rothman said during a brief Zoom news conference Monday that his administration plans to ask regents on Thursday to approve asking for the money as part of the 2025-27 state budget. The request is only the first step in a long, winding budget-making process.
UW system pledges no tuition increases for 2 years if state aid increases by $855 million
Universities of Wisconsin schools would keep in-state undergraduate tuition steady for the next two academic years if lawmakers hike state aid by $855 million of state dollars as part of the upcoming budget cycle, UW system President Jay Rothman said in a budget request Monday.
Razing UW-Madison’s Humanities building among top priorities for 2025-27
The Universities of Wisconsin’s top priorities in its next capital budget are tearing down and replacing two failing 1960s-era monstrosities: Cowley Hall at UW-La Crosse, and the towering concrete fortress known as Mosse Humanities building at UW-Madison.
‘Here & Now’ Highlights: Anthony Chergosky, Bob Atwell
The Universities of Wisconsin have continued cost-cutting measures that includes lay-offs and the closure of two-year campuses, and former UW Regent Bob Atwell said the system should stop closures without a clear plan.
Craig Thompson stepping down as DOT secretary for UW-Madison position
Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson is leaving his position next month for a position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, marking the end of nearly five years as the head of the agency.
Indigenous or pretender? UW-Milwaukee flip-flops in investigation after professor disputes findings
A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee investigation into Margaret Noodin, a professor accused of misleading people about her Indigenous identity, eventually cleared her of wrongdoing after she objected to the investigation’s initial findings, according to newly released records.
UW Baraboo campus to downsize from 5 buildings to 1 in effort to stay open
The UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County campus will consolidate its operations from five buildings to one, leaving the four remaining buildings for other uses, in an attempt to remain viable as other Universities of Wisconsin branch campuses close.
Opinion | Loss of two-year campuses hits low-income families
Letter to the editor: As the retired, long-time campus executive of the Fox Cities (Menasha) campus, the Cap Times editorial on branch campus closings (“Stop closing Universities of Wisconsin campuses,” Aug. 14) could not be more timely. I and another campus retirees are organizing our community to deal with our campus’ impending closure.
A decade after Wisconsin GOP bill, UW system could see mass layoffs of tenured staff
The Universities of Wisconsin’s Board of Regents will soon decide whether to lay off more than three dozen tenured professors at UW-Milwaukee.
Here’s when UW-Milwaukee, Marquette, MATC and other local colleges start this fall semester
Summer is wrapping up in Milwaukee, and tens of thousands of students will soon return to the area’s numerous colleges and universities for the fall 2024 semester.
UW Board of Regents will consider faculty layoffs for first time as UW-Milwaukee advances plan
The final decision is up to the UW Board of Regents. This will be the first time the Regents will consider using a decade-old policy that allows universities to lay off faculty members whose program has been eliminated or because of financial difficulty, a policy made possible by the elimination of tenure protections from state law.
Will 25 Percent Of Colleges Consolidate? An Update On A Prediction
In 2017–18, the University of Wisconsin System consolidated its 13 two-year college campuses into seven of its comprehensive universities. UW Platteville, UW Milwaukee at Washington County, UW Oshkosh at Fond du Lac, UW Green Bay at Marinette, UW Milwaukee at Waukesha, and UW Oshkosh at Fox Cities have all effectively closed over the past couple years—even though they don’t count in official statistics, as this Inside Higher Ed piece makes clear. More consolidation conversations are taking place in the state.
Author Joyce Carol Oates describes moment at UW-Madison that could have ‘sabotaged’ her life
Acclaimed author Joyce Carol Oates loved much of her time as a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She loved the city, the water and the student union.
But she has written that her campus years in Wisconsin were in some ways a “lost time” for her. She found much of the older, male-dominated faculty — and their old-school teaching methods — to be dull. And her time featured a turning point that could have led her down a path away from her future accolades, which include a National Book Award, the National Humanities Medal and several Pulitzer Prize nominations.
UW leader previews budget asks: More money for student aid, salaries
Weeks before a deadline to submit budget requests to Gov. Tony Evers, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman provided a glimpse of his ambitions for increased state funding of higher education.
Will these UW system branch campuses be next on the chopping block?
UW-Stevens Point leadership is warning that its two branch campuses in Marshfield and Wausau can’t survive unless enrollment increases.
The “Future of the UW System” committee: A retread of a rerun of a repeat
The Republican-led effort is primed to double down on the austerity logic behind the UW’s problems.
Fewer Wisconsin high school seniors seek financial aid, raising concerns about college plans
The disastrous rollout of a new federal financial aid form has led to fewer Wisconsin high school students filling it out, causing concern about some students potentially forgoing higher education and creating enrollment uncertainty for colleges.
In symbolic vote, UW-Milwaukee professors reject plan to lay off Waukesha, West Bend faculty
In a vote that puts University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee faculty at odds with their chancellor, the Faculty Senate rejected a proposal to lay off nearly three dozen tenured professors from the institution’s two branch campuses next year.
Layla Merrifield named new president of Wisconsin Technical College System
Layla Merrifield, the executive director of the Wisconsin Technical College District Boards Association, is leveling up to become president of the state’s largest public higher education system. Her appointment was announced Thursday.
UW system, once again, will push Legislature to fund tuition waivers for low-income students
The Universities of Wisconsin will ask, for a third consecutive biennium, for the state Legislature to fund the tuition waiver program the system cites as the reason for a boost in freshman enrollment last fall.
UW-Milwaukee Faculty Senate rebuffs plan to lay off branch campus professors
In a largely symbolic gesture, UW-Milwaukee faculty have voted against a plan that would lay off three dozen faculty from the Waukesha and Washington County branch campuses.
UW President Jay Rothman optimistic tide will turn for state universities
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman says he’s hopeful a college tuition promise program, direct admissions and increased state support will reverse an ongoing decline in college participation in the state.
Rothman addresses legislative committee on UW’s future
Rothman appeared in front of the Legislative Council Study Committee on the future of the University of Wisconsin System. Lawmakers questioned what students and families are getting out of the money the state spends to fund the schools.
Universities of Wisconsin graduates stay in state, according to ‘Facts and Trends’
Almost 90% of Wisconsin residents with a bachelor’s degree from the Universities of Wisconsin were still living in the state five years after graduation.
Tom Still: Competitive federal grants aren’t target of Aug. 13 constitutional referendums
One such proposal will come from the WiSys, a nonprofit supporting organization of the Universities of Wisconsin. It is the technology transfer office for 11 public universities, meaning it protects the intellectual property of academic inventors and aims to move such discoveries into the marketplace. The WiSys proposal, which got a Phase 1 nod from NSF, seeks to make Wisconsin a global leader in sustainable agriculture and involves about 30 partners.
UW system gets $5 million grant to revive tuition waiver program
The Universities of Wisconsin’s tuition-waiver program that erases any remaining tuition fees for lower-income students has been revived after receiving millions in grant funding.
Here’s what you need to know about Universities of Wisconsin’s Direct Admissions program
The Universities of Wisconsin’s Direct Admissions program is now live and in the inboxes — and soon, in mailboxes — of tens of thousands of high school seniors.
UW-Milwaukee police chief resigns amid investigation, criticizes university’s treatment of campus antisemitism
A UW-Milwaukee spokesperson told The Daily Cardinal they found out about David Salazar’s resignation as UW-Milwaukee chief of police through the media.
Exploring parental leave at UW-Madison
As of July 1, 2024, UW-Madison has implemented a new policy granting eligible employees up to six weeks of paid parental leave. However, nurses, including those who assist in childbirth, still only receive two weeks. Jonathan explored the broader implications of these policies, emphasizing the need for better benefits across different professions. The segment underscored the ongoing efforts to achieve fair parental leave for all workers.
UW-River Falls chancellor announces retirement
Maria Gallo, the chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, announced Thursday she will retire after three years in the role. Her last day as chancellor will be Sept. 6, 2024.
Inside UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee’s responses to student encampments
Students at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee joined the tidal wave of pro-Palestinian protests this spring. The demonstrators on both campuses followed similar formulas, pitching tents and demanding that their schools divest from Israeli companies.
UW-Milwaukee police chief resigns through explosive letter critical of employer
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee police chief resigned Thursday in an explosive letter that lobbed multiple criticisms at his former employer.
UW-River Falls Chancellor Maria Gallo is retiring
UW-River Falls Chancellor Maria Gallo will retire from the university in the coming weeks, continuing a trend of turnover in Universities of Wisconsin top leadership.
UW-Milwaukee continuing its tuition promise for low-income students
“The Milwaukee Tuition Promise” will impact incoming students during the Fall 2025 school year. The program ensures that eligible students can meet the full cost of tuition for up to four years.
UW-Milwaukee suspends student groups after antisemitic social media post
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee announced Wednesday five student organizations have been temporarily suspended after posting antisemitic language on social media accounts.
UW-Milwaukee temporarily suspends pro-Palestinian groups for ‘intimidating’ post
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee temporarily suspended five pro-Palestinian student groups for a social media message the local Jewish community called intimidating and threatening.
If your family earns less than $75,000, tuition may be covered at Ripon College
Among public universities, UW-Madison covers tuition for students whose families earn $65,000 or less. The program launched in 2018 and is funded through a mix of private money and institutional resources, not taxpayer money.
‘Absolutely livid’: How pressure from donors, community escalated during campus protests
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone thought he’d be exhaling.
But the day after reaching a deal with student protesters, the campus crisis that consumed Mone in early May wasn’t over. In fact, it was intensifying.
Ripon College Introduces Free Tuition for Wisconsin Families Earning under $75,000
The Ripon Commitment, which was unveiled Wednesday, is a two-part financial aid program for students who are Wisconsin residents.
UW pauses Title IX changes amid legal challenge to federal sex discrimination rules
The Universities of Wisconsin is suspending work on required changes to campus Title IX sex discrimination rules after a federal judge in Kansas blocked President Joe Biden’s administration from expanding the definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity.
Milwaukee Common Council members raise red flag about for-profit colleges
Be aware of slick ads and false promises made by for-profit colleges in Milwaukee.
That’s the message members of the Milwaukee Common Council sent Monday in a joint statement about colleges that they said try to guarantee a quick degree or employment, in industries like health care.