Category: State news

t’s time to pack off junior to summer camp to experience the wonder of nature.
But why should kids be the only ones to get a break from their regular routines?

Take, for example, the Republican representatives who voted to halt future stem-cell research by lumping reproductive cloning (the wacky idea of cloning people) with therapeutic cloning (which uses, for example, unfertilized eggs injected with skin cells and could cure horrible diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and diabetes). They voted to ban all human cloning in Wisconsin.

The numbers ought to speak for themselves.
Wisconsin, under the Senate’s version of the state budget approved last week, will increase state spending on the University of Wisconsin System by about 0.5 percent in the coming budget year and about 0.3 percent the following year, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

If there was ever any doubt before, there certainly shouldn’t be any now — it’s not UW’s fault that state finances are screwed up. UW took a big cut in state funding two years ago. Now UW’s state funding is basically being frozen.

MADISON ââ?¬â?? In July of 2003, UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley created the Office of Corporate Relations in a major effort to build bridges with the Wisconsin business community.

Quoted: Thomas German, professor of entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The $192,000 Paul Barrows problem at the University of Wisconsin-Madison became a $1 million problem Friday when Republicans pushed through the state Senate $500,000 in annual cuts to the university’s budget over the next two years, citing the embattled administrator as the reason.

When applying to be Vice President of Student Life at the University of Toledo, former University of Wisconsin Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Paul Barrows asserted in writing that he planned on returning to UW in the capacity of Vice Chancellor April 1, 2005.

Susan Steingass, a Madison attorney and former judge, will investigate the Paul Barrows matter for the University of Wisconsin, the UW has announced.

UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley and UW System President Kevin Reilly selected Steingass, taking the investigation out of Wiley’s hands, the university said Thursday.

The only title onetime vice chancellor of student affairs and current University of Wisconsin-Madison “consultant” Paul Barrows should have is “fired!”

University officials Thursday announced that Madison lawyer Susan Steingass will conduct an independent investigation of the charges and counter-charges swirling over embattled UW-Madison administrator Paul Barrows.
Also Thursday, UW-Madison officials released records at the request of the Wisconsin State Journal showing that a reorganization of the student affairs division that Barrows led cost $183,600, about 97 percent of that in new staff and raises in the dean of students office.

Senate Republicans were said to be weighing a $40 million cut to the University of Wisconsin System and across- the-board cuts to several state agencies but had yet to introduce long-awaited budget amendments by late Thursday.
Among the revisions, Republicans were preparing a dramatic change to the way the state collects and spends money, requiring any revenue that exceeds specified levels go into a special fund off-limits to legislators unless the governor and three-fourths of the Legislature approve using the money.

The world of the University of Wisconsin is so insular that you get the feeling officials donââ?¬â?¢t see what all the complaints are about when they try to justify something like a ââ?¬Å?backup job.ââ?¬Â

It�s perfectly normal to them, it seems. If a high-level administrator is failing at his job, has somehow embarrassed the university or just wants a different job, he already has a built-in plan for another job. It�s at a lower salary, sure, but it might not involve any actual work.

MADISON – Former Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Steingass will lead a probe into whether a University of Wisconsin-Madison administrator looked for another job while he was on paid sick leave, UW officials said Thursday.

There’s now an independent investigation looking into all of the issues surrounding a former U-W vice chancellor. U-W spokesman Brian Mattmiller says Chancellor John Wiley and System president Kevin Reilly have picked Madison attorney and former judge Susan Steingass to investigate the Paul Barrows controversy.

A law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been selected to lead what is described as an independent investigation of Paul Barrows, but there were concerns Thursday over how independent and how extensive the investigation would be.

When Paul W. Barrows announced in November that he was stepping down from his administrative position at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, he cited ââ?¬Å?changing family circumstancesââ?¬Â and said he would use his eligible leave time while preparing for a career change. The university press release included praise for Barrows for his work as vice chancellor for student affairs.

Gov. Jim Doyle is urging Senate Republicans not to take out their anger at top UW-Madison officials by further cutting the university’s budget.

Waukesha – Mayor Carol Lombardi has urged Gov. Jim Doyle to veto a plan for merging two college campuses in the Milwaukee area, saying that the move toward consolidation stems from “more politics than practical study.”

Madison – For the second straight day, Republicans who control the state Senate on Wednesday failed to round up the 17 votes needed to pass their version of a 2005-’07 state budget.

Amid speculation they were considering deep cuts to the University of Wisconsin System, Senate Republicans on Wednesday continued to hunt for a budget compromise that limits spending but doesn’t gut vital programs.
For the second day in a row, Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, said he was optimistic members were close to an agreement and would soon bring the budget to the floor for a vote, perhaps today.

WAUKESHA – Several University of Wisconsin-Waukesha professors held an emergency meeting Monday to discuss what they believe is an impending merger between their campus and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

A state lawmaker says it appears the University of Wisconsin-Madison wanted to cover up the reasons for former vice chancellor Paul Barrows’ demotion.
Meanwhile, the UW regent president appealed for patience while the UW System considers a review of what happened.

When applying for a senior position at the University of Texas at Austin, told search committee members that his leave from the University of Wisconsin was physician advised, according to Marilyn Kameen, chair of the Texas search committee.

27 News first uncovered thousands of dollars in questionable, publicly funded sick leave, paid to former UW-Madison Vice Chancellor Paul Barrows, at his annual salary rate of more than $191,000.

In a published report, Barrows claimed he was never sick.

27 News has obtained documents which raise more questions and Governor Doyle said answers from UW-Madison officials should be immediate.

For UW-Madison junior Dylan Rath, the case of absentee administrator Paul Barrows is symptomatic of a continuing problem at the university – students paying more but getting less than they deserve.

“We need an administrator on campus so they are ready to deal with student issues, not looking for another job or focusing on personal problems,” said Rath, who also helps lead the student government at UW-Madison, where tuition has increased by $1,400 in the past two years.

David Walsh, the president of the University of Wisconsin-Board of Regents, said Tuesday that university officials are considering an independent investigation of Paul Barrows, the embattled UW-Madison official, and the university’s handling of him.

Walsh’s comment came as Barrows, who has drawn fire for taking a seven-month paid leave and for allegations of misconduct, said UW-Madison was not in a position to conduct a fair investigation of the allegations because its chancellor, John Wiley, told him last week: “quit or I’ll fire you.”

IN RECENT BUDGET CYCLES, the University of Wisconsin has experienced significant cuts as state leaders struggled to overcome multi-billion-dollar deficits. To make up a portion of the shortfall, university officials enacted stiff tuition increases. Meanwhile, UW leaders have bitterly criticized the state’s decision to limit resources, claiming the system is being damaged and will not be able to keep its best and brightest professors and administrators.

Well.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison on Monday denied Paul Barrows’ contention that he made several requests to return to the university during a seven-month paid leave that has sparked outrage in the state capital.

An ousted top University of Wisconsin-Madison administrator says his doctor never signed off on his extended sick leave, during which he continued to collect his annual $191,000 salary.

University of Wisconsin Chancellor John Wiley has one story of what is behind the controversy involving former Vice Chancellor Paul Barrows.

Barrows has another story.

University of Wisconsin System officials can thank their lucky stars that the Assembly didn�t beat up on their budget with the Barrows case for boxing gloves.

Paul Barrows was the University of Wisconsin-Madison vice chancellor of student affairs who kept his annual $191,000 salary while on sick leave for what now look like less-than-honest reasons.

In what could be the most important decision of his term, Gov. Jim Doyle is threatening to veto the entire state budget passed by the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee and Assembly.

The budget approved by those bodies, but still pending in the state Senate, contains a major reduction in state funding for public schools that Doyle claims would either trigger a massive property tax increase or result in deep cuts in school budgets across the state.

In an interview, Doyle acknowledged that he’s taken the rare step of considering an across-the-board veto – instead of just using his pen to rewrite the most objectionable parts – because Republicans want to “get me in a box.”

About 20,000 Wisconsin state employees will give up an across-the-board pay raise for most of 2003-2005 to cover the increased cost of health insurance if they approve a tentative labor agreement next month.
Instead, the workers would get a 1-percent salary increase for only the last three weeks of June. That wouldn’t provide much extra pay, but it would build the raises into workers’ base pay when bargaining for the 2005-2007 contract begins.

The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents will review the university’s policy on administrative leave and back-up appointments, Regent President David Walsh said on Friday.

The review will come after lawmakers raised concerns about a seven-month paid leave taken by former UW-Madison Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Paul Barrows

University of Wisconsin-Madison officials handed the tax freeze crowd a nice fat target, complete with crosshairs, with the way they handled the case of Paul Barrows, onetime vice chancellor of student affairs and then a $150,000-a-year “consultant” and now a program specialist. Who can blame anyone for wanting to put more taxpayer controls on a state agency that shows such disregard for taxpayer dollars?

UW-Madison Sick Leave records released to 27 News showed, as embattled UW administrator Paul Barrows interviewed for at least one top job elsewhere, he was claiming to be sick, and getting paid.

These records fly in the face of what UW-Madison officials and Barrows’ attorney, Lester Pines had assumed about Barrows’ use of publicly funded sick leave.

It’s important to be clear in this matter of human cloning. We’re not at all certain that state legislators understand the distinctions. Worse, maybe they do and are intent on ignoring them.

Reproductive cloning creates an embryo for the purpose of giving it birth. In therapeutic cloning, the process is stopped at the blastocyst stage – an early stage of an embryo consisting of a hollow sphere and an inner cell mass.

The president of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents announced Friday that the regents would investigate university employment agreements, administrative leaves and the backup appointments that are guaranteed to hundreds of top administrators in light of UW-Madison’s handling of Paul Barrows.

UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley on Thursday further demoted administrator Paul Barrows and placed him on paid leave while university officials investigate reports of “improper conduct” that could result in his firing, Wiley said.

“During this leave, you will have no university responsibilities and should not be on campus,” Wiley told Barrows in a terse, four-paragraph letter.

UW Madison announced Thursday there will be an investigation into possible misconduct against embattled administrator Paul Barrows.
UW-Madison officials have also decided to slash Barrows’ salary from $150,000 to $72,881.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced Thursday that it is demoting Paul Barrows, slashing his salary and placing him on paid leave while it investigates new allegations of improper conduct when he was vice chancellor of student affairs.

The announcement came as a top official in the UW system acknowledged that hundreds of administrators at Wisconsin’s public universities and colleges – like Barrows – routinely are guaranteed “backup” jobs if they don’t measure up or if they do things to embarrass their institution.

The GOP-crafted state budget may have flown through the Assembly early Wednesday, but the plan still faces major roadblocks before it can become law.

Standing in the way are fiscal conservatives in the state Senate, who want deeper spending cuts in the state’s $52.9 billion two-year spending blueprint, and Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat who has warned he could veto the entire plan if it doesn’t give more money for schools.

A newly hired lawyer for embattled UW-Madison administrator Paul Barrows said Wednesday his client has done nothing wrong, despite growing legislative pressure to have him fired for taking a seven-month paid leave triggered in part by a failed relationship with a graduate student.

“There’s no basis to fire him,” said Madison attorney Lester Pines. “A lot of legislators, their only reaction to any problem is one of two things: cut taxes or fire the person. That’s the extent of the intellect of some legislators.”

State budget passage not certain in Senate

Phil Brinkman Wisconsin State Journal
June 22, 2005
With their 60-39 majority, Assembly Republicans were able to do without the four dissenters who joined Democrats to vote against the 2005-07 state budget shortly before sunrise Wednesday.

Later today, some State Lawmakers plan to ask University of Wisconsin Board of Regents to fire him.

Barrows is the former Vice Chancellor who’s been part of a 27 News investigation.