Governor Scott Walker backed away Wednesday from an effort to end the University of Wisconsin’s mission to search for truth and improve the human condition — at least on paper.
Gov. Scott Walker, a possible contender for the Republican presidential nomination, on Tuesday proposed a new spending plan for Wisconsin that relies on borrowing and spending cuts, including deep reductions to state universities, and steers clear of tax increases.
UW–Platteville is facing millions of dollars in budget cuts for its 2015–16 academic year at the time it could face part of a proposed $300 million UW System budget cut.
In addition to unprecedented budget cuts to the University of Wisconsin UW system, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker struck “the search for truth” and the Wisconsin Idea from the university’s mission in his executive budget bill unveiled last night.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker wants to require drug testing for those seeking a variety of public benefits, dramatically cut funding to the University of Wisconsin System and greatly expand a private school voucher program under a budget he delivered Tuesday that comes as he takes more steps toward a presidential run.
Highlights of Gov. Scott Walker’s $68.2 billion two-year state budget released on Tuesday:
Gov. Scott Walker put major changes to Wisconsin’s education system on the table Tuesday as he introduced his proposal for the state budget to the state Legislature.
The UW-Madison Faculty Senate released a unanimously passed resolution Monday stating their disapproval of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed $300 million budget cut to the UW system.
Gov. Scott Walker laid out his $68 billion budget proposal for the next two years Tuesday, calling for major changes at the University of Wisconsin System and an extension of the tuition freeze for in-state undergraduates.
Walker’s proposal to disband the Educational Approval Board, an out-of-the-spotlight agency that decides whether for-profit colleges can operate in the state, comes after the board appeared to conflict in recent years with Republican lawmakers over a proposal to set standards for retention and job placement at for-profit schools.
Lawmakers in both parties are questioning whether a proposed $300 million cut to the University of Wisconsin System is too large.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s state faced a big budget deficit. To solve it, he plans to decimate one of the most respected and productive university systems in the country. And he plans to spend hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars for a professional basketball arena.
UW-Madison officials also prepared to negotiate relief from a hard hit from Walker with legislators and with campus allies, bringing in a state Capitol veteran as a lobbyist and producing a simple, slick summary of its budget that showcases the numbers that make its case.
Noted: ? Cut state funding for the University of Wisconsin System by 13%, freeze tuition for two years, and starting in July 2016 free the system from some state rules on personnel, procurement and building projects.
Gov. Scott Walker unveiled a $68 billion two-year spending plan Tuesday night that calls for a sweeping expansion of private school vouchers, consolidating control over environmental regulation and natural resources, sharp cuts for the University of Wisconsin System and defunding public television and radio.
A great state needs a great state university — as a source of educational opportunity, vital research and economic development. The founders of Wisconsin understood this, making provision in the first state constitution “for the establishment of a state university, at or near the seat of state government.” That provision also speaks of linking the great state university in Madison with “colleges in different parts of the state as the interests of education may require.” And it outlines strategies for supporting and sustaining higher education in Wisconsin.
UW-Milwaukee will have to slash $40 million from its budget if Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed $300 million cut to the University of Wisconsin System becomes law. The state faces a $283 million shortfall in the current budget, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, and a $2.2 billion structural deficit in the next two-year budget cycle.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s 2011 fight with public-sector unions sparked huge protests—and elevated him into a national figure in conservative politics. Now, as he eyes a run for president, he is targeting another group on the public payroll: university professors. (Subscription required.)
If Gov. Scott Walker and his legislative allies support education, they have a strange way of showing it.
With $300 million in cuts proposed for the University of Wisconsin System, it is tempting to say that the sky is falling. But saying that requires real cuts and real impacts that are felt immediately by the general public. Unfortunately, the impact of these cuts will take years to be fully felt.
Three Democratic lawmakers from Dane County on Monday said Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed $300 million cut to the University of Wisconsin System would damage the local and state economy and the quality of a UW education.
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank outlined a strategy Monday at a meeting of the university’s Faculty Senate, where members unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the proposed cut to the UW System in the state biennial budget.
Walker has said he will propose cutting $300 million from the University of Wisconsin System, about a 13 percent reduction, over the next two years while also freezing tuition. In exchange, Walker wants to give the UW System more freedom from state oversight and laws, a move that university officials have sought for years to give them greater control of their own operations. Much of the debate in the Legislature is expected to focus on the size of the proposed cut and just how much latitude to give UW as it moves toward a public authority model.
On the eve of Gov. Scott Walker’s long-awaited budget proposal, including $300 million in cuts to the UW System, student and faculty organizations around the state are planning their reaction to the expected hit.
To preserve his past property and income tax cuts and avoid a gas tax increase, Gov. Scott Walker’s budget would cut state universities by $300 million over two years and borrow the more than $1billion needed for state roads.
Noted: Kirsten Kukowski, a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, will serve as “Our American Revival” communications director. Kukowski previously worked for the Republican Party of Wisconsin in 2007-2008 and since 2011 has been Republican National Committee press secretary.
Regarding “UW System defends importance as Walker says professors can work more,” imagine a worker at Briggs & Stratton Jan. 29.
In the six weeks before word began leaking out about unprecedented budget cuts Gov. Scott Walker had in mind for the University of Wisconsin System, efforts already were underway to negotiate a deal that would satisfy the governors desire for something “BIG,” while reducing the impact on campuses.
Gov. Scott Walker will unveil his next two-year state budget on Tuesday night, fleshing out the details on what he wants to cut to fill Wisconsin’s budget shortfall.
Much about what Gov. Scott Walker planned to propose in his state budget remained unknown Monday, but that didn’t stop Democrats from blasting details that have come to light so far and arguing the second-term Republican is focused too much on pleasing a national audience at the expense of Wisconsin as he looks at a presidential run.
A Democrat on the state legislature’s joint finance committee said she’ll lobby to reduce Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed $300 million budget cut for the University of Wisconsin System.
In December, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank met with The Gazette’s editorial board and made compelling arguments for state support. (Subscription required.)
The UW System could see a shift in the source of its state funds, along with a $300 million budget cut over the next two years, if Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal is approved.
On Tuesday, Walker will propose a roughly $70 billion two-year budget plan that must solve a shortfall of about $2 billion. Among other things, it is expected to include a dramatic $300 million cut to the University of Wisconsin System in exchange for more autonomy, flat funding for K-12 public schools, agency mergers and borrowing for road projects rather than raising gas taxes or vehicle fees.
We Are Wisconsin, a labor-backed advocacy group formed in the 2011 “uprising” protests of Gov. Scott Walker’s first biennial budget, is organizing a campaign to stop steep cuts to the University of Wisconsin System penciled into his third biennial spending plan.
To say the state can cut $300 million from the University of Wisconsin System without affecting the quality of education and research is simply not true. Far from saving money, failing to invest in higher education will results in a further lag on our already lagging economy compared to our neighbors.
Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget cut of $300 million to the University of Wisconsin System comes as other states, nationally and in the Midwest, have inched up funding for higher education, restoring support lost during the economic recession. More increases are expected in coming years.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s recently unveiled higher education budget plans would only exacerbate the burgeoning student loan debt crisis.
Some University of Wisconsin students are concerned a proposed $300 million cut to the UW System will ultimately have a negative impact on college affordability and student input.
Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to slash $300 million in funding from the University of Wisconsin and in return for greater autonomy would make it make it harder for low-income and minority students to go to college there, said affiliates of WISCAPE Wisconsin Center on the Advancement of Post-Secondary Education, a UW-Madison think tank on post-secondary education.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Faculty Senate is calling for a full and open analysis of Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to give the UW System autonomy from state government.
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A governor suggests that educators have a sweetheart deal, and, by golly, he’s going to do something about it on behalf of Wisconsin taxpayers. He will supply a set of “tools” to get the job done.
The implication from the headline is that faculty and staff have more time and effort they can give. This is more of the “politics as usual” from the Walker administration. As Gov. Walker stated, “divide and conquer.”
Once again, Gov. Scott Walker has hit the nail on the head. The proposed $300 million cut to the University of Wisconsin System over a two-year period with an increase in its responsibility to self-manage its financial decisions is overdue “UW System cuts could bring layoffs,” Jan. 28.
Still, when I hear System officials complain that Walker’s cuts and tuition freeze could cause layoffs, I also hear the sound of the world’s smallest violin playing mournfully in the background.
Those squeals of indignation you hear echoing from one end of Madison to the other are likely occasioned by Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed cuts to the University of Wisconsin System budget.
The governor’s proposal would grant the System greater autonomy over purchasing and the like, which, in the long run, will afford substantial savings. But it is the short-run cut in state support that should concern all of those who value the University. It’s a baffling recommendation given the state’s economic recovery and the governor’s claims to have repaired the structural deficit. Perhaps some in the governor’s circle assume UW is just another state agency. This is, frankly, akin to saying the Green Bay Packers are just another NFL team.
Speaking on WKOW-TV’s “Capitol City Sunday,” UW-Madison Atmospheric Science professor and the president of faculty lobbying group PROFS Grant Petty said Gov. Walker’s comment about teaching more was out of touch with the responsibilities of faculty who he said work an average of 63 hours per week at UW-Madison, combining teaching, research, mentoring and more.
Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal came through with the flexibilities that University of Wisconsin System leaders have been asking for, but the catch is what drew ire last week
WAUSAU — More central Wisconsin lawmakers have weighed in with views of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to cut $300 million from the University of Wisconsin System in the 2015 to 2017 state budget — and they’re open to at least part of his plan.
3rd District Democrat Ron Kind believes cutting 300-million dollars from the UW and freezing tuition is a huge mistake. When it comes to education and job creation, Kind believes the Republican Governor could learn from his Democratic colleague in Minnesota. “Governor Dayton there is sitting on a billion dollar surplus, and he’s talking about increasing investment in education programs including higher education, and they’re doing laps around us today when it comes to job growth and economic growth overall, so I think there’s a lesson to be learned here in regards to economic policies what’s working and what isn’t.”
The price of freedom from state regulation has gone up for the University of Wisconsin.
Already grappling with a $4.5 million budget gap, the University of Wisconsin-Superior could face even greater financial strain if Gov. Scott Walker has his way. The governor is proposing a 13 percent cut in state funding for the University of Wisconsin System in his 2015-2017 state budget proposal. That amounts to $300 million less to spread around the state’s 26 campuses over the next two years.
Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to cut state aid for the UW System by $150 million in each of the next two years, and then give the board that sets system policy the power to completely run it by 2017, will prompt the biggest Capitol fight over public universities in 44 years.
Higher education costs a lot of money. The University of Wisconsin System, which serves 180,000 students and employs 39,000 people in Wisconsin, asks a lot. Its budget includes more than $1 billion in state money; tuitions have been rising, putting pressure on many middle-class families; the system leans on federal grants and private donations and other revenue sources. It’s expensive.
As I watch many valued colleagues leave the University of Wisconsin-Madison for other institutions, I react with dismay. Not at them, but at the lack of any substantive educational vision that now seems to pervade the governor’s officer and the Legislature. We do a disservice to any serious understanding of the importance of education if we simply see it as a vocational path to more money and jobs. When the governor said that he didn’t need to finish college because he already had a job, he demonstrated how limited was his view of education as a self-making process.
I am writing about University of Wisconsin System Ray Cross’s response to Gov. Scott Walker’s suggestion that UW professors should teach more classes, and therefore absorb most of Walker’s proposed funding cut in that way.
UW-Milwaukee is considering strategic budget cuts as opposed to a systemic cut to the entire institution, the provost told the Faculty Senate Thursday. And the UWM chancellor announced a plan to try to meet with 32 legislators in the next month, as well as a planned lunch with the lieutenant governor, as administrators try to counter a proposed $300 million System-wide budget cut.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison professor had strong words for Gov. Scott Walker over his comments that the UW System staff should be more productive.
Gov. Scott Walker announced details of his 2015-2017 budget proposal that would turn the University of Wisconsin System into a public authority, extend the tuition freeze and cut funding by $300 million. In anticipation of the governors biennial budget address on Tuesday, a dynamic conversation already has begun among policy-makers, members of the UW and citizens in the state.
