Republican presidential hopeful Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, thinks he’s hit political pay dirt with his proposal to gut faculty tenure protections at his state’s public universities, notably the flagship University of Wisconsin, long one of the nation’s best state universities. His idea is to remove tenure protection from state law, and leave the actual policy to the Board of Regents, his political appointees.
My great-great-grandmother, Anna Norsman, graduated from UW-Madison in 1902. More than a century after she matriculated, I graduated from that very same school. A member of my immediate family graduated from UW-Madison every generation in between.
Another secrecy provision has been slipped into the state budget with virtually no discussion or public input.
Under Gov. Scott Walker, Wisconsin has become one of the great laboratories of conservative governance, with a record of union-busting, abortion-restricting, voter-ID-enacting policies that are at odds with the state’s tradition of progressivism. Unlike neighboring Minnesota, which has remained far more liberal — and whose economy is doing far better than Wisconsin’s — the Badger State has seen its Republican establishment increasingly entrenched by enacting policies of fear, resentment and suspicion of the sort that were so well described in Thomas Frank’s “What’s the Matter With Kansas?”
What happens in Wisconsin will not stay in Wisconsin. Lawmakers here are moving quickly to hollow out the definition of tenure and strip away due process rights for faculty members and academic staff. For legislators in other states who want to dismantle public higher education, they might look here to find new plays for their playbooks.
Yes, I’m being a bit hyperbolic but not by much. When I read the so-called UW “reforms” that passed the Joint Finance Committee the other day, that’s what popped into my mind: The Republican vision for the UW sort of reminds me of University of Phoenix.
I am writing in hearty support of John Wiley’s rousing guest column Tuesday, “UW-Madison has put Wisconsin on the world map.” Former Chancellor Wiley shows how intentionally, for over a century, our university and its state leaders have helped create a world-class university, one that is known and admired throughout the country and around the globe.
The first half of John Wiley’s guest column Tuesday, “UW-Madison has put Wisconsin on the world map,” cannot be argued with. UW-Madison is positively known worldwide and its founding membership in Association of American Universities has been to its credit since 1900.
On May 27, the Capital Times published a column by 13 students representing the Associated Students of Madison, “UW cops Tweetalong shows disregard for students realities.” Below, Susan Riseling, associate vice chancellor and chief of UW-Madison Police, responds to the students.
Everything that affects the university affects us all, and should be of concern to every Wisconsin citizen. This state has invested a great deal in the university since its very founding, and has a lot at stake in preserving that investment.
Dear Editor: The letter writer who thinks that if part-time faculty at Madison College and UW are paid substantially less than full-time faculty, they can simply apply to become full time, I have two comments. First, it’s extremely difficult to get one of those full-time teaching positions because those position come with generous pay packages. Second, many of those part-timers are women, so if women do the same job as men, shouldn’t they get equal pay?
Question of the day: If Wisconsin was a corporation and not a state, would you invest in its stock? If, as I would argue, one of Wisconsin’s major assets is a world-class public university, why would management decide to undermine it?
The announcement that the Professional Golf Association’s Champions Tour will hold an annual event at Madison’s University Ridge Golf Course is a big deal. It adds some “big league” status to our city.
Wisconsin State Journal editorial from May 28, 1915 on maneuvers of then-Gov. Phillips to create a new governing board made up of his appointees. “Where is the alumni of Wisconsin. Where are its officers? Why are they not engaging in the activities of the defense of a university which needs no defense, before the eyes of the civilized world; needs defense only before those who would cripple it for political purposes, cripple it to gain support of the thoughtless and those who may hate it because it has never preached the right of predatory powers to rule American people.”
Column from Downs, professor of political science, law and journalism: “With increasing frequency, especially on college campuses, speakers presenting unpopular views — or views unpopular with a vocal minority of the audience — are being disrupted or ‘shouted down’ until they leave the stage. This has happened at UW-Madison, where I am a professor, and at many other universities.”
Groundbreaking news was recently announced for Wisconsin: Hunters could soon possibly wear blaze pink in the woods, as well as blaze orange.
Editorial: The governor proposed the $300 million cut to UW System as part of a larger plan to give the state’s 13 four-year universities and 13 two-year colleges more autonomy. Freedom from state purchasing rules and construction fees could have saved UW significant money to help offset the state cut. But lawmakers have largely rejected that flexibility. So they also should reject most of the cut, especially if tuition is frozen. That’s only fair.With the economy improving, Wisconsin shouldn’t be skimping on higher education. Other states are wisely investing in their universities. Ten chambers of commerce representing thousands of businesses across the state sent a powerful letter to the Joint Finance Committee on Wednesday, urging it to reduce $300 million cut to UW. The letter stressed the positive impact the System has on the state economy and jobs.
With increasing frequency, especially on college campuses, speakers presenting unpopular views – or views unpopular with a vocal minority of the audience – are being disrupted or “shouted down” until they leave the stage. This has happened at my own campus and many others.
Noted: Not only is Wisconsin lagging behind the rest of the country in job creation, the jobs being added in our state are mostly poverty-wage occupations, according to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center on Economic Development. The job quality crisis is so severe that the UW-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty recently found that poverty levels are increasing in Wisconsin even as employment increases.
Patents on scientific discoveries made in academic or non-profit settings don’t necessarily limit research. Generally speaking, inventions made with federal funding can be patented, but the university or nonprofit institution behind the researcher usually owns the patent rights. The researcher is credited as the inventor but the researcher’s employer — usually, the university — controls the patent and determines who may use the invention and for what purpose.
While scientists cannot ever fully control how their scientific discoveries will be used, they can profoundly affect the application by example and moral persuasion. Fears that scientific breakthroughs might lead to a slippery slope, ethically or medically, shouldn’t scare society into trying to prohibit controversial work.
When the state of Wisconsin is facing fiscal challenges, it’s more than fair to expect the University of Wisconsin-Madison and all the campuses in the UW System to play a role in closing the budget gap. Universities across the system are already doing their part by streamlining staffing, making cuts to operations and finding ways to generate additional revenue.
MINNEAPOLIS — IF you want to see just how long an academic institution can tolerate a string of slow, festering research scandals, let me invite you to the University of Minnesota, where I teach medical ethics.
Letter to the editor from mother of Henry Mackaman, a 21-year-old UW-Madison student who died two years ago of meningitis strain B. “At the time, there was no available vaccine in the United State for this particular strain. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration approved two vaccines to help protect against Type B meningitis. However, not many parents and students know about them. Colleges are treating the new Type B vaccines in different ways. Some, like UW-Madison, make the vaccines available to those who ask. I commend UW-Madison for doing this, and I encourage other colleges in Wisconsin and elsewhere to follow that lead.”
As this year’s crop of college graduates don their caps and gowns and listen to inspiring commencement addresses before embarking on uncertain futures, they’ll also hear a lot about the consequences of the large debts most of them amassed attaining a degree.
To find oneself, as a child, able to perform a specialized activity at an extraordinary level — say, tennis or jazz piano or mathematics — is unquestionably more of a blessing than a curse. People like other people who are good at things. When I was a child math prodigy, people treated me as if I mattered, and listened to me as if I had as much right to speak as a grown-up. Every child deserves this treatment, but most don’t get it.
UW–Madison faculty members Allyson J. Bennett, Marina E. Emborg, Jon E. Levine and Robert Shapiro, in a letter to the editor addressing criticism of animal research: “Animal research is an issue that requires thoughtful, serious consideration based on accurate information and an understanding of what is at stake for the public that benefits from scientific and medical progress.”
Tenure gives proven, productive faculty members (the only ones who are awarded tenure) the confidence to stick out our necks and take risks. There are rewards for success and penalties for failure in the academic world, but most faculty would dial back on pursuit of risky ideas if not for tenure.
Something was missing from the heated debate over the proposed new University of Wisconsin authority and $300 million budget cut for the UW system. The UW leaders have been on a public relations blitz. Layoffs have been threatened. Billions of dollars of economic impact have been claimed.
Column from detailing a report by progressive groups One Wisconsin Institute and Demos titled “Wisconsin’s Great Cost Shift: How Higher Education Cuts Undermine the State’s Future Middle Class.”
Opinion column critical of Gov. Walker’ and Assembly Speaker Vos’ disposition toward UW.
Noted: Marc V. Levine is professor of history, economic development, and urban studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Noted: Noah Williams is a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
I write this from the perspective of a retired University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW Marathon County faculty member. I also served as chairman of the UW Colleges Psychology Department and acting dean at UWMC. In those positions, I saw various beneficial and seriously damaging effects of budget and policy changes.
Reader Diane Beversdorf in her recent letter to the editor seems to have overlooked an important point in her response to University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Chancellor Bernie Patterson’s April 23 column. She cites Patterson’s statement about university leaders recognizing the need to operate more like a business; she then lists several ways in which businesses need to focus on the bottom line — “all of which are required to remain profitable.”
Noted: Unfortunately, Noah Williams of the University of Wisconsin-Madison violated this principle last week in a Journal Sentinel op-ed on the state of the Wisconsin economy. Williams opinion is that the states economy has performed “quite well” under Gov. Scott Walker. He is perfectly entitled to make that argument, although as I have argued elsewhere, the evidence is overwhelming that he is wrong.
Letter to the editor: Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature need to consider the students as our fuel to build Wisconsin’s economy. The students need a strong, dependable vehicle with a great engine to take them to their destination.
Staff editorial: The Legislature could delay a $5 property tax cut to fund more UW aid. Most people wouldn’t notice the modest change. The Legislature could slow a sweetheart tax cut for manufacturers. It could accept more federal money for Medicaid. What our state leaders shouldn’t do is weaken UW System just as the economy is improving. Doing so will slow our state in the global race for knowledge, entrepreneurs, private investment and good-paying jobs.
The controversy over how to fund the University of Wisconsin System goes on. The current proposal is for a cut of $300 million and a tuition freeze. It’s clear that the proposal as it stands will have a negative impact on the quality of education in our universities.
In the meantime, no one thinks the lawmakers can undo the $300 million cut the governor wants to give the University of Wisconsin schools. They have decided the added flexibility Walker proposed as a means of having the schools find ways to cut costs should be dumped. So the UW will get all the negatives of the Walker budget and none of the proposed positives.
Letter to the editor from Goldberg, a professor of Sociology at UW–Madison.
Noted: Noah Williams is a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This could be the year that Congress finally passes patent reform. Last week, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the Patent Act, a bill designed to reduce the number of patent lawsuits filed to collect nuisance settlements. The bill’s companion in the House, the Innovation Act, passed that chamber in 2013 with White House support but stalled in the Senate; it was reintroduced in February by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.). (Subscription required.)
Letter to the editor from Hansen, a professor emeritus in economics.
Column about UW’s budget position with input from Kathy Cramer, director of UW-Madison’s Morgridge Center for Public Service.
Chancellor Blank has a blog that talks about the need to weaken the University of Wisconsin-Madison to make room for state budget cuts.
An editorial about Walker’s shifting stances mentions a recent paper, “The Whiteness of Wisconsin’s Wages,” by Dylan Bennett, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, and Hannah Walker, a doctoral candidate in political science at the University of Washington, which argues that “Governor Walker and his allies activated the racial animus of white workers.” The piece also mentions Walker’s proposed $300 million budget cut to the UW system.
Noted: Spencer Black represented the 77th Assembly District for 26 years and was chair of the Natural Resources Committee. He currently serves as the vice president of the national Sierra Club and is an adjunct professor of urban and regional planning at UW-Madison.
Column about the UW–Madison appearance of “MeatEater” author and TV/podcast host Steven Rinella.
Editorial: A public plaza all the way from the UW-Madison campus to the Capitol Square could bring new vitality to the shopping district.
Column by longtime wildlife activist from Portage.
Letter to the editor from Jonathan Burkham, an assistant professor of human geography at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
“You’ve told us about the 18 initiatives and the 40 or so metrics in the diversity and inclusion implementation plan. What should I tell my colleagues about how to focus our individual and group efforts? Which five initiatives should we concentrate on?” That is the essence of the question I heard posed by a department chairman at the first of the eight recently scheduled listening sessions on the new University of Wisconsin diversity framework. (W. Lee Hansen, emeritus professor of economics)
These folks are willing to shell out big bucks to show their support of the university through its athletic teams, in itself a commendable philanthropic gesture. Yet they actively support anti-tax politicians who have done their best to make things tough for the rest of the taxpayer-supported school.
Gov. Scott Walker’s attack on the Wisconsin Idea did not end with his botched attempt to re-write the University of Wisconsin’s mission statement. The substance of the attack is ongoing in his state budget.
Defending state employees has been an invitation to argue over the last several years as a fair number of our elected leaders have found it politically expedient to demonize state workers. And so the value of the services we need and value and pay for gets lost in self-serving government bashing.
Certainly one way to measure the importance of government workers is to visit your child’s classroom, or appreciate the graciousness of the park ranger who welcomed us to the dog park recently and thanked us for buying a permit to support the parks. But another way came to our attention last week, and that’s the $2.5 million over 7,000 state, university and UW Hospital employees in Dane County donated to charities last year.
A lively debate underway in Wisconsin and across the nation questions the value of public research universities to the state taxpayers who help support them. This debate indicates that many do not understand the role these universities play in driving innovation and keeping the state and U.S. competitive.
A lively debate underway in Wisconsin and across the nation questions the value of public research universities to the state taxpayers who help support them. This debate indicates that many do not understand the role these universities play in driving innovation and keeping the state and U.S. competitive.
Lee’s visit to Wisconsin — part of a Midwest tour that has included other patent hotspots — came at a time when Congress is again debating how to streamline the U.S. patent system … It also underscored why major research universities such as UW-Madison are vital to the innovation economy, not only nationally but in the states and communities they serve.
