Lawmakers approved spending millions of dollars for a new engineering building at UW-Madison, part of a funding package sent to Gov. Tony Evers that project advocates cheered as a “long time coming.”
The Legislature on Thursday approved about $740 million in capital investments across the Universities of Wisconsin, including a new engineering building at UW-Madison that rallied massive industry support.
Vos said in October the raises would not be approved until the UW System made concessions on it’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, according to The Badger Herald. The Board of Regents voted to accept a deal in December exchanging pay raises and other funding for the “reimagining” of certain DEI positions, according to The Badger Herald’s previous coverage of the deal.
A lawsuit filed by Gov. Tony Evers against Republican lawmakers who blocked pay raises for university employees and funding for conservation projects has been accepted by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Gov. Tony Evers signed two bills, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 92 and 2023 Wisconsin Act 93, on Friday that will release long-awaited pay raises to employees of the University of Wisconsin System.
One of the legislative vetoes blocked conservation projects selected by the Department of Natural Resources. Evers also challenged a veto that blocked already approved pay raises for 35,000 University of Wisconsin system employees, but after he filed the lawsuit, Republicans and the university system reached an agreement approving raises if the school cuts back on diversity initiatives.
This estimate from the bureau included spending that has passed since June, as well as bills currently working their way through the legislature. That includes $423 million for building projects on University of Wisconsin system campuses and other items.
Republican leaders said the new estimates show there is still enough of a surplus to deliver more tax cuts.
Millions in revenue and state aid dollars could bolster the Universities of Wisconsin’s budget as soon as February, if lawmakers take up two provisions of the deal struck between UW system officials and Republican legislative leadership that gave UW system about $800 million in exchange for changes to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
A pair of Wisconsin Republicans want to give the Universities of Wisconsin $500,000 a year to ensure conservative voices on public campuses are heard.
More than a dozen state legislatures have introduced or passed bills reining in DEI programs in colleges and universities, claiming the offices eat up valuable financial resources with little impact. Last month, the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents voted to cut back diversity initiatives in exchange for state funding in a deal with GOP lawmakers.
The Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance held a public hearing Thursday on legislation to provide funding for the UW System capital projects that were used as bargaining chips in the system’s debate with legislative Republicans late last year over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
The bill would provide more than $400 million from the state’s general fund to pay for new campus buildings, renovations, additions and the demolition of aging infrastructure. The marquee project included in the bill is funding for a new engineering building at UW-Madison.
Lawmakers will bring forward a bill to fund the construction of UW-Madison’s new engineering building, among other projects, that was one of the most significant aspects of the deal struck last month between the Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman and Assembly Speaker Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester.
A long-running standoff over diversity, equity and inclusion in state government, notably on Universities of Wisconsin campuses, boiled over in 2023, as Republican legislators aimed to cut UW budgets before a deal was ultimately reached.
Republican lawmakers and UW System President Jay Rothman reached an agreement earlier this month to restructure diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) positions in exchange for pay raises and building projects.
Each side of the agreement still has to take steps to fulfill various promises they made to each other, a process that is expected to take years and that could face new barriers.
Wisconsin State Superintendent Jill Underly said Wednesday she would have voted against the deal the Universites of Wisconsin struck with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
ARepublican-controlled legislative committee approved 6% pay raises for about 35,000 Universities of Wisconsin workers Tuesday after the UW system agreed last week to repurpose some diversity positions as part of a broader deal with lawmakers to unlock nearly $800 million in state aid.
State lawmakers officially approved raises Tuesday for 35,000 employees of the Universities of Wisconsin after a deal brokered and approved last week with a top Republican legislator.
The Republican lawmaker who forced the Universities of Wisconsin to commit to reducing diversity positions called Tuesday for an in-depth review of diversity initiatives across state government and repeated his claim that he has only begun to dismantle equity and inclusion efforts in the state.
UW-Madison’s chief diversity officer on Thursday tried to allay concerns that the Universities of Wisconsin is stepping back its support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs, despite UW system President Jay Rothman and legislative Republicans brokering a deal that authorizes about $800 million for the UW system in exchange for DEI changes.
Backed into a corner on a deal seen as selling out students of color in exchange for state money, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents talked around the problem this week.
The UW System’s Board of Regents approved the controversial deal yesterday, in what the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports was the board’s fifth meeting in seven days.
After a months-long standoff between the University of Wisconsin system and the Republican-controlled Legislature, the two parties brokered a deal to release $800 million in state funds — for long-delayed UW pay raises and key campus building projects — if the system agreed to realign dozens of diversity, equity, and inclusion positions and support several other Republican-backed priorities.
A Republican-controlled legislative committee is slated to approve 6% pay raises for Universities of Wisconsin workers Tuesday after the UW system agreed this week to repurpose some diversity positions as part of a broader deal with lawmakers to unlock nearly $800 million in state aid.
In a surprising about-face, the Universities of Wisconsin regents approved a deal Wednesday evening with Republican legislators to limit diversity positions at the system’s two dozen campuses in exchange for money to cover staff raises and construction projects.
The Universities of Wisconsin will have the opportunity to give pay raises to its 34,000 employees and build a new $347 million engineering building in Madison under a deal approved Wednesday by the Board of Regents. But the universities will also freeze DEI staffing through 2026 and eliminate or refocus about 40 positions focused on diversity.
Just days after rejecting it, the UW Board of Regents on Wednesday approved a sweeping deal with Republican legislators to free up more than $800 million in staff raises, a new engineering building at UW-Madison and other infrastructure spending in exchange for scaling back diversity efforts.
The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents reversed itself Wednesday and voted to approve a Republican-brokered deal that would unlock pay raises for employees and fund UW-Madison’s new engineering building in exchange for slimming its diversity, equity and inclusion staffing.
Three members of the UW Board of Regents changed their votes on a controverisal deal over diversity efforts and pay raises.
The vote-flipping by Regents Karen Walsh, Amy Bogost and Jennifer Staton solidifed a deal months in the making between the University of Wisconsin System and Republican legislative leaders.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents flip-flopped Wednesday, voting 11-6 to approve a deal on diversity positions and pay raises it had rejected just four days earlier.
The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents on Wednesday voted to approve a deal with the Republican-led state Legislature to provide funds for the school system in exchange for a freeze on diversity, equity and inclusion positions, among other conditions.
During a brief press conference following the UW Board of Regents vote that ultimately changed the role of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion positions at UW schools, President Jay Rothman stated multiple times that he understood this was a ‘difficult decision for the regents’ and he respects all the people who voted for it or against it.
UW–Madison student, Madison City Council member weighs in on lack of student involvement in deal.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents is calling for a do-over.
The board is scheduled to vote 5 p.m. Wednesday on the same deal it rejected Saturday. It will be the board’s fifth meeting in a chaotic seven days.
The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents will vote again on a Republican-brokered deal it rejected Saturday that would unlock pay raises for employees and fund UW-Madison’s new engineering building in exchange for slimming its DEI positions.
The UW Board of Regents will meet again on Wednesday to reconsider a deal brokered between Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman and legislative Republicans to secure pay raises for UW system employees and funding for UW-Madison’s long-awaited engineering building in exchange for restructuring system diversity efforts.
The salaries of more than 34,000 University of Wisconsin system employees are in limbo because of a few on-campus programs.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Monday the deal was his final offer and would prefer if the UW System moves forward with the deal despite Democrat opposition.
The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents could be positioning itself to reverse a surprise decision made over the weekend.
On Tuesday, Dec. 12, the board will meet in a special session and is expected to discuss the rejection of an $800 million funding deal.
Members of the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents will consult with attorneys Tuesday about a lawsuit challenging the power of the Legislature, a move that comes just days after the board rejected a deal with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos involving pay raises and limits on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will meet on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing fight over funding after the regents voted to reject a deal with Republican legislators that would have traded money for concessions on diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman knew the vote on a deal over campus diversity efforts was critical.
In fact, in the days leading up to it, he floated resigning if the vote failed, according to UW student Regent Evan Brenkus.
Wisconsin’s top Republican lawmakers said Monday that they are done negotiating with the Universities of Wisconsin over a deal that would have given the university system’s employees a pay raise and paid for the construction of a new engineering building in exchange for reductions in staff positions focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Monday that Republicans “are not changing one thing” in the compromise plan the Universities of Wisconsin Regents rejected Saturday to roll back diversity efforts in exchange for staff raises and a new engineering building and other infrastructure improvements.
In an unexpected move Saturday, the board overseeing state public universities narrowly rejected a deal University of Wisconsin System leaders brokered with the state’s top Republican over campus diversity efforts.
Universities of Wisconsin regents narrowly rejected a deal Saturday reached with Republicans that would have given employees a pay raise and paid for construction of a new engineering building in exchange for reductions in staff positions focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.
A narrowly divided UW Board of Regents on Saturday rejected an agreement between Universities of Wisconsin system President Jay Rothman and legislative Republican leaders authorizing UW system funding and pay raises in exchange for changes to universities’ diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The Board of Regents rejected a deal Saturday that would have unlocked pay raises for employees, funded UW-Madison’s new engineering building and allowed the Universities of Wisconsin to recoup the $32 million cut from its budget earlier this year.
In a deal months in the making, the University of Wisconsin system will “reimagine” its diversity efforts, restructure dozens of staff into positions serving all students and freeze the total number of diversity and administrative positions for the next three years.
In exchange, the universities would receive $800 million to give pay raises for 35,000 employees and move forward on some building projects, including a new engineering building for UW-Madison.
On the table are pay raises for 35,000 employees, a new engineering building for UW-Madison and $32 million recouped back into UW’s budget after lawmakers cut it earlier this year. Also being discussed is millions of dollars for building projects at some other campuses and a change in how the state manages money from the tuition reciprocity agreement with Minnesota that would bring more money to campuses.
Universities of Wisconsin leaders are said to be nearing a deal with Republican legislative leaders that would reclassify a third of the system’s diversity, equity and inclusion employees and put a yearslong moratorium on hiring more, in return for a new UW-Madison engineering building and moving ahead with employee pay raises already approved in the budget.
Co-authored by State Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, represents the 7th Senate District. State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, represents the 26th Senate District.
The leader of the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate said Wednesday that lawmakers are nearing a deal that would allow for long-blocked pay raises for Universities of Wisconsin employees to take effect and for funding to be released to pay for construction of a new engineering building.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said Monday that he opposes withholding the money.
Further emptying out the Mosse Humanities building by building a new music academic building and adding nearly 2,000 beds to University Housing could rank high on UW-Madison’s list of priorities for the next state budget.
When Jeff Roznowski and Bill Monfre first joined a coalition in 2020 to advocate for a new engineering facility on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, they figured they’d work with the group only a year or two.
The Evers proposal rejected by the Legislature would have spent $365 million on child care, $65 million on University of Wisconsin funding, $200 million on a new engineering building at UW-Madison and $243 million toward a 12-week family medical leave program for Wisconsin workers.
But instead of embracing Evers’ plan to put $365 million toward a pandemic-era program to support child care providers, create a state paid family and medical leave program and provide more funding for a new engineering building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Republicans opted to go in a different direction.
Evers’ proposal would have allocated $365 million in new child care funding, increased spending for the Universities of Wisconsin by $65 million, devoted $200 million to paying for a new engineering building on the UW-Madison campus, established a 12-week family medical leave program costing $243 million, and created workforce education and grant programs.
It’s pretty hard to explain, isn’t it? While Wisconsin is sitting on a multibillion-dollar budget surplus, its highly regarded state university campuses are being forced to lay off faculty, cut back classes, even close some two-year campuses to balance their own budgets.
