The Legislature’s state budget committee voted Tuesday evening to approve $1.9 billion for state construction projects, including more than $1 billion for University of Wisconsin System projects.
The Legislature’s state budget committee voted Tuesday evening to approve $1.9 billion for state construction projects, including more than $1 billion for University of Wisconsin System projects.
There are two worlds in the chemistry labs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The first, in an aged and worn building, students and faculty make do with what they have: rows of tables that hinder collaboration, outdated fume hoods, chipping woodwork and spots of corrosion.
Summary of legislature’s budget plan for UW: The UW System would get $58 million, $45 million of which would only be released after lawmakers approve of how the university intends to spend it. That’s far less than university officials expected after weeks of discussions with lawmakers, below the $60 million cost-to-continue and short of the $150 million Evers proposed. Republicans did agree with Evers’ call to continue the tuition freeze, already in its sixth year, for at least two more years.
Could Wisconsin establish itself as the “Silicon Valley of Water”? That’s what the University of Wisconsin System is trying to do with the launch of a Freshwater Collaborative that will bring together its 13 campuses into a first-of-its-kind research hub focused on water topics.
Evers is still pushing to save priorities that have been killed, including more money for K-12 schools, the University of Wisconsin System and expanding Medicaid.
University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross said employers in Wisconsin are “screaming” for more talent offered by graduates from state campuses as he continued his pitch for more investment in state higher education.
Noted: Under the bill, municipalities would be reimbursed for the cost of the health care coverage from the proceeds of an existing fee on phone lines. The fee generates approximately $62 million annually, according to the bill’s sponsors.
The legislation applies to police officers across the state, including those at Marquette University and University of Wisconsin campuses.
University of Wisconsin System leaders on Tuesday urged lawmakers to stop “kicking the can down the road” and support their unprecedented financial request to renovate and repair aging campus buildings.
A researcher says the study of the human genome is just beginning to revolutionize our lives. Professor Jason Fletcher of the LaFollette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison is a health economist and Director for the Center for Demography and Health and Aging. He will be the next speaker in the “Science On Tap” series at the Minocqua Brewing Company. He will be addressing some of the social implications surrounding the genomics revolution.
The article was reported in collaboration with Wisconsin Public Radio for its “High Tolerance” series, which explores the state’s complicated relationship with alcohol.
The Republicans on the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, who hold a 12-4 majority because of arcane legislative rules, have been making a mockery of the state’s political process as they go through the budget recommendations made by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. If Evers likes it, throw it out. If there’s something he doesn’t like, put it in.
For many Wisconsinites, summer means swimming in the region’s freshwater lakes. But in some places, it can also mean danger — especially from rip currents.
Republican legislators on Tuesday rejected Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed $130 million state funding increase for the University of Wisconsin System, a move that system leadership likened to a kick in the shins.
Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, expressed concerns that this amount of money wouldn’t cover increasing costs and would damage the UW System.
University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross says he feels like he’s been “kicked in the shins” after Republicans who control the Legislature’s budget committee approved spending $69 million less on UW than Gov. Tony Evers proposed.
Cross said he had been told up until last week Thursday that the system’s budget ask was reasonable, adding he was shocked by the committee’s action. “The Legislature missed an opportunity to meet the future needs of this state,” he said. “I just can’t get over that. This was a great opportunity for them. We are the solution for a lot of the problems the state has.”
The Republican-controlled state budget-writing committee extended a tuition freeze for undergraduate residents attending University of Wisconsin campuses over the next two academic years.
University of Wisconsin assistant basketball coach Howard Moore and his son are on the road to recovery after the horrific Michigan car crash that killed Moore’s wife and daughter.
Jennifer Moore, the wife of University of Wisconsin-Madison men’s assistant basketball coach Howard Moore, was killed in a multiple vehicle crash caused by a wrong-way driver on M-14 in Michigan on Saturday, May 25, 2019 , according to Michigan State Police.
The University of Wisconsin said Monday assistant men’s basketball coach Howard Moore was up and walking at a hospital after a weekend automobile wreck in Michigan that killed his wife and daughter.
Historically, a lack of insurance has been a major barrier for patients, said Funk, who’s an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.
The budget committee is planning to meet again next Tuesday, when members are expected to vote on budgets from the University of Wisconsin System and Department of Natural Resources, among others.
Advocates for K-12 schools and the University of Wisconsin System say they think Republicans will want to spend more money on education, but they don’t anticipate it will be as much as Democratic Gov. Tony Evers proposed.
The correctional pay raise includes the 2 percent increases that would also be awarded to other state workers, as well as UW System employees. Those payments would be doled out on Jan. 1, 2020, and Jan. 1, 2021.
Advocates for K-12 schools and the University of Wisconsin System were optimistic Tuesday that Republicans will spend more money on education, but they don’t know how much to expect other than something less than what Democratic Gov. Tony Evers proposed.
Republicans on the state’s budget-writing committee approved a 2% annual wage increase for most state employees Tuesday, plus a 14% boost to the minimum wage for state prison employees.
A Republican bill introduced in the Legislature last month is looking to offer financial incentives to out-of-state University of Wisconsin System graduates who stick around for at least two years following graduation.
Quoted: “I think this will be a huge opportunity for many state employees to improve their health,” said Dr. Luke Funk, a bariatric surgeon at UW Health who had urged the state to offer the coverage.
The Wisconsin dairy industry, challenged in numerous ways, remains an inescapable presence in the state — from the remaining number of small family farms dotting the landscape from county to county to the sprawling mega-farms housing thousands of cows.
UW System president’s column: An investment in UW System will help us continue these successes and generate more graduates — especially in high-need areas such as nursing, engineering, business, computer science, information technology and data science. Across the System, our campuses have plans to expand these vital areas through our 2019-21 state budget capacity-building initiatives.
The committee’s other co-chair, Republican Rep. Samantha Kerkman, said attracting nonresident students means more money and a chance to persuade them to stay and work in the state after graduation. Republicans and businesses often contend that Wisconsin faces a worker shortage that will only worsen as the population ages.
After years of having plenty of students, colleges and universities across the country now have the opposite problem — dwindling enrollment leading to cost-cutting measures like buyouts and other changes.
Gov. Tony Evers made two appointments to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents Monday — his first to the university system oversight panel on which he served until his election in November.
Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Travis Tranel are sponsoring a bill that would give the University of Wisconsin System $7.9 million fund annually to create and fund the UW Dairy Innovation Hub at UW-Madison, UW-Platteville and UW-River Falls.
Chris Taylor, Shelia Stubbs talk transportation, campus renovations, housing, university funding.
Quoted: Michael Light, associate professor of Sociology and Chicano/Latino Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said he is not surprised to see that level of public opposition. He said general views on immigration crackdown are linked now to the family separation policy, which Democrats unanimously oppose and Republicans are split on.
“The family separation issue galvanized many people,” he said.
The appointments include Karen Walsh, of Madison, and Edmund Manydeeds III, of Eau Claire, both of whom will serve seven-year terms that begin May 2 and run through 2026. Evers also announced the appointment of a UW-La Crosse student.
Premiering in April 2019, the documentary marks the 10-year anniversary of UW-Madison’s Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine, which trains and incentivizes medical students to practice in underserved rural communities around the state. The program aims to alleviate some of the most pressing rural health challenges, which the documentary investigates.
The report comes at a time of guarded optimism for the University of Wisconsin System and its campuses. The election of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is seen by higher education advocates as a way to offset some of the cuts imposed by his predecessor, Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
Quoted: David Canon, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said there are only eight to 10 states, including Wisconsin, that have the power to determine the outcome of the election.
“We’re one of the handful of so-called battleground states which are always in play during a presidential election,” Canon said.
A liberal advocacy group is suing Wisconsin elections officials in federal court over requirements for college students to prove their identity in order to vote.
Quoted: “Bills such as these are pure inflammatory rhetoric,” said Alta Charo, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of law and bioethics who supports broad access to abortion. “Any baby born alive is granted equal protection of the law from the moment of birth, and thus is covered by child abuse statutes, homicide statutes and any other law that guards children from harm.
“These bills (are offered) merely to create the false impression that abortion providers practice infanticide,” Charo said.
Retired UW-Madison political science professor Donald Downs, who specializes in constitutional issues, said he didn’t know whether the proposal includes protections already in state law but said once a baby is born, the state has an interest in providing them.
“Clearly, if you have a baby outside of the womb, that would seem to be a clear case the state has an interest in protecting the rights of the baby,” Downs said. “If indeed this is redundant, then there’s no need for it, but I don’t know what the previous protection is.
“The law protects you when you’re born — you’re a person,” he added.
Noted: In part to help prod talks this time, a University of Wisconsin center named for Thompson is hosting a conference on the issue Friday at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee.
The Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership event will feature panel discussions on transportation funding, public transit and the movement of freight.
Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed budget for the 2019-’21 biennium includes a recommendation to allow undocumented students to receive in-state tuition at UW System and Wisconsin Technical College System institutions — and this is not the first time Wisconsin legislature has considered it.
Quoted: Jennifer Murphy is a program coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She’s been teaching for the past 21 years, and now has a class with only four students in it who want to become teachers.
Murphy’s small classroom is a representation of the bigger issue across the state: a teacher shortage.
“I can vividly remember having to sift through applicant upon applicant for jobs and now, we have jobs that go unfilled,” Murphy said.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos attacked Gov. Tony Evers as naive Thursday and said he wouldn’t be able to win approval of changes to Wisconsin’s job-creation deal with electronics-maker Foxconn Technology Group.
Foxconn, meanwhile, said in a statement that it remains committed to the deal, while being “open to further consultation, collaboration, and new ideas.” Foxconn mentioned its other planned projects in the state, including innovation centers in Green Bay, Eau Claire and Racine, and a $100 million partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison for medical and other research.
Quoted: The court is expected to rule in those cases by the time Wisconsin’s trial begins in July. UW-Madison Political Science Professor Barry Burden says those rulings could have an impact on the state’s case.
“If the court for example, were to rule in a majority opinion that the Maryland and North Carolina districts should be redrawn in some way because they violated some constitutional rights, that might lead to a remedy being proposed in Wisconsin without a full trial. If the Supreme Court instead issues a kind of mishmash of different opinions without a clear majority on one side or the other, the trial might go forward trying to resolve some issues that didn’t come up in the Supreme Court opinions,” he says.
Meanwhile, the study released Wednesday by two UW-Madison economists looked at extending Medicaid coverage to about 80,000 people whose pay is up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, as Evers proposed.
Noted: Cory Dudka, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wasn’t as sure about Sanders’ prospects.
“I don’t think he can win, but I think he can influence the debate,” said the 18-year-old from Arlington, Virginia.
First-year UW-Madison students Katie Andahl and Ekaterina Kabaee came to take in their first presidential rally as they get prepared to vote in a presidential election for the first time next year.
“I wish I knew more so I could be energized,” Andahl said.
On Tuesday, just over 50 of Deltas came to the Capitol from across the state. There are three alumnae chapters and four collegiate chapters in Wisconsin, including one at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
UW-Madison officials are hoping lawmakers will help pay to build a new veterinary school on campus.
Those who were not reappointed include Public Service Commissioner Ellen Nowak and University of Wisconsin Regent Scott Beightol. The Evers’ administration denied Nowak access to her building when she tried to return to work. The Regents took a different approach, allowing Beightol and student Regent Torrey Tiedeman to attend the board’s meeting last week.
Evers voided 82 appointments made during the lame-duck session and later reinstated 67 of them. Fifteen positions, including a spot on the Public Service Commission and University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, were not reinstated.
UW officials say the increase could indirectly help with a key university mission–research.
Noted: The appointments include ones on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, the Public Service Commission and the Labor and Industry Review Commission.
Noted: Lawmakers approved resolutions to honor the Milwaukee Brewers; proclaim April as Donate Life Month, Kidney Month and Women’s History Month; and recognize the service of Mike Leckrone, the retiring longtime director of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band.
Next came a $100 million gift to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a venture fund, and competitions to design the innovation centers, with fast turnarounds — just two weeks to submit proposals — and plans to open in just months.
University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross says university officials will continue to push lawmakers for investment in campus buildings despite the State Building Commission rejecting $2.5 billion in state renovation projects around the state.
