Some UW System deans and chancellors are speaking out against Gov. Walker’s budget cuts and inaccurately portraying net effects on campuses.
Your Views: UW officials outside Madison must fight for fairer shares
Janesville Gazette
Category: State budget
Our view: UW System budget cuts hit smaller campuses hardest
Stevens Point Journal
We knew that relatively lean regional and two-year campuses would bear the brunt of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed $300 million in cuts to the University of Wisconsin System. Now we know what it would mean for Stevens Point and the region.
Letter: Halt UW system budget cuts
Green Bay Press-Gazette
My father and his two sisters graduated from UW-Madison in the mid-1920s. My two brothers and I graduated from UW schools in the ’60s. My three children graduated from UW schools in the ’80s. My three sons-in-law graduated in the ’80s. Two grandchildren attend UW schools.
Wisconsin Sees Presidential Ploy in Walker’s Push for University Cuts
New York Times
MADISON, Wis. — Atop a steep hill on the University of Wisconsin campus is a granite boulder affixed with a bronze plaque commemorating the university system’s lofty mission: to benefit the entire state by promoting public service and a search for truth.
UW faculty, students gather on Valentine’s Day to protest UW System cuts
Badger Herald
University of Wisconsin students and faculty carried more than boxes of chocolates and roses this Valentine’s Day as hundreds gathered with signs of protest at Library Mall to speak out against the state’s proposed budget cuts to the UW System.
Minnesota, Wisconsin reciprocity hangs in the balance with proposed budget
Badger Herald
Gov. Scott Walker’s University of Wisconsin System budget proposal could give the UW more autonomy over a number of systems which are currently run by the state, including the Minnesota reciprocity system, which provides residents of Minnesota near in-state tuition rates at UW schools and vice versa.
Explained: What happens next with Walker’s proposed budget?
Badger Herald
Gov. Scott Walker’s state budget proposal — announced late January — is set to go into review by the Joint Committee on Finance in the coming weeks, a body with a large Republican majority and considerable legislative authority.
Protesters decry Walker budget cuts at UW-Madison rally
Several hundred University of Wisconsin-Madison students, faculty and staffers braved subzero temperatures to protest Gov. Scott Walkers proposal to cut $300 million over the next two years from the UW system.
Facing budget cut, head of Educational Communications Board emphasizes its value
Capital Times
On WKOW-TV’s “Capitol City Sunday,” the board’s executive director tried to clarify what state dollars to the public broadcasting and communications agency support.
UW-Madison leader predicts 6% departmental cuts under Scott Walker plan
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Schools and colleges within the University of Wisconsin-Madison likely will have to cut an average 6% from their budgets over the next two years, and administrative units will face deeper cuts, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said Friday during a campus forum.
Scott Walker budget would remove oversight of for-profit colleges
Capital Times
A proposal in Gov. Scott Walker’s two-year budget would likely make Wisconsin the only state without oversight of for-profit colleges, at a time when many others are ramping up their level of supervision over colleges that face heavy scrutiny throughout the nation.
Badgers sports: Football ticket price hike approved by Athletic Board
Madison.com
The university’s Athletic Board unanimously voted to increase per-seat prices for season football tickets from $45 to $48 at its meeting Friday afternoon in order to meet its annual services contributions to campus, which increased from $2 million to $5.5 million this year. The request from Bascom Hall for an additional $3.5 million came shortly after Gov. Scott Walker introduced a proposed state budget for 2015-17 that seeks $300 million in cuts to the UW System.
Conroy: Cuts to UW System could seriously hurt state’s economic growth
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin is in a fight to create good-paying jobs for the 21st century economy. Wisconsin’s trend of declining household incomes only will be offset if we can generate new, good-paying jobs and stop the exodus of college graduates to other states. The recent proposal to cut $300 million from the University of Wisconsin System’s budget, in the absence of a concrete plan to ensure that our standards of excellence remain intact, will strike a blow to a key source of potential economic growth and undercut a major opportunity to translate the system’s scientific research into new, high-growth companies and jobs.
Evans: Save the Wisconsin Idea
New York Times
MILWAUKEE — Earlier this month, Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin and potential Republican presidential candidate, unveiled a proposed budget that would cut $300 million of funds to the University of Wisconsin system and shift power over tuition from the Legislature to a new public authority controlled by appointed regents. The initial draft of Mr. Walker’s budget bill also proposed to rewrite the university’s 110-year-old mission statement, known as the Wisconsin Idea, deleting “the search for truth” and replacing it with language about meeting “the state’s work-force needs.”
Walker budget cuts would mean layoffs at UWSP
Stevens Point Journal
STEVENS POINT — Faculty and staff at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point are facing certain job eliminations if Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed cuts to the UW System — the largest in school history — are adopted by the Legislature, according to Chancellor Bernie Patterson.
UW supporters rally against budget cuts
Wisconsin Radio Network
University of Wisconsin students, faculty, and supporters rallied in Madison over the weekend. Hundreds braved bone chilling cold temperatures and high winds, to voice opposition to a state budget proposal that would slash $300 million in state funding for the system, while giving campuses more autonomy.
Gov. Scott Walker mixes it up on higher education, generating national headlines
Inside Higher Education
Wisconsin’s governor, Scott Walker, hasn’t announced a presidential run. But it’s a safe bet that higher education will come up often if he seeks the Republican nomination, as many presume.
UW-Madison Chancellor Says Permanent Tuition Cap Would ‘Actively Harm’ UW
Wisconsin Public Radio
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank says a permanent tuition cap like the one being discussed by some Republicans could “actively harm” the university, especially if state funding continues to drop.
Cuts to UW System could seriously hurt state’s economic growth
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Wisconsin is in a fight to create good-paying jobs for the 21st century economy. Wisconsin’s trend of declining household incomes only will be offset if we can generate new, good-paying jobs and stop the exodus of college graduates to other states. The recent proposal to cut $300 million from the University of Wisconsin System’s budget, in the absence of a concrete plan to ensure that our standards of excellence remain intact, will strike a blow to a key source of potential economic growth and undercut a major opportunity to translate the system’s scientific research into new, high-growth companies and jobs.
Scott Walker’s risky college experiment
Bloomberg
It’s hard to believe that Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to cut $300 million from the University of Wisconsin’s budget over the next two years would allow the school to maintain its quality.
Here’s a Wisconsin Idea: Don’t make me take classes I don’t need
Watchdog.org
Perhaps saving students money by cutting courses the undergrad doesn’t want or need doesn’t fall in line with the “Wisconsin Idea” the state’s higher ed establishment has been so breathlessly defending in recent weeks.
Walker said he is open to extending tuition cap for UW past 2017
Badger Herald
Gov. Scott Walker said he would be open to extending his proposed tuition freeze for the University of Wisconsin System Thursday.
UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank discusses layoffs, sick leave at forums
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Between a late-night meeting with third-shift employees and daytime forums with faculty, staff and students, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank this week has been fielding questions ranging from how soon potential layoffs could happen to whether sick leave could be threatened under Gov. Scott Walkers proposed budget.
Walker suspends merit raises to deal with budget gap
NBC-15
Gov. Scott Walkers administration has suspended merit raises and retention pay increases to help deal with a $283 million budget gap that must be plugged by the end of June.
Assembly Leaders At Odds Over Permanent UW Tuition Cap Idea
Wisconsin Public Radio
The Republican leader of the State Assembly said he’s open to creating a permanent tuition cap at the University of Wisconsin System. But his Democratic counterpart said he fears the UW may not recover for decades if Gov. Scott Walker gets what he wants in this state budget.
A day in the life of a UW-L professor
LaCrosse Tribune
Gary Walth’s workday on Wednesday started like it does many other days: before he even got to the office.
Future of UW-W in budget’s hands
UW-Whitewater Royal Purple News
After Gov. Scott Walker proposed his 2015-17 biennial budget on Feb. 3, many questions arose as to what would happen with the University of Wisconsin System.
UW’s TA union: Strike ‘not off table’ over Walker budget cuts
WISC-TV 3
Leaders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s teaching assistance union said there is a possibility they would walk off the job in response to Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to cut the UW System’s budget by $300 million.
Walker opens door to UW System tuition limits after 2017
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Republican governor raised the prospect Thursday of limiting tuition increases at the state campuses to inflation, after his four-year freeze expires. Gov. Scott Walker raised the prospect Thursday of limiting tuition increases at University of Wisconsin schools to inflation after his proposed freeze expires in two years.
Deregulation of tuition in Texas could provide cautionary tale for Wisconsin
Capital Times
Eleven years after the state of Texas deregulated tuition at its public universities, soaring tuition bills have both university and state officials rethinking the more autonomy/less public money proposition.
Faculty, staff, students to rally Saturday against UW System cuts
Madison.com
The “Stop the Cuts-Save UW” rally will be at noon Saturday on Library Mall, exactly four years after the first protest against Act 10, the budget repair bill that gutted public unions, was held on Valentine’s Day, 2011.
UW-Madison faculty, staff offer up ideas to deal with Scott Walker’s cuts at campus forum
Capital Times
Recap of Thursday budget forum.
Scott Walker raises prospect of long-term tuition cap
Wisconsin State Journal
The suggestion might win over lawmakers concerned that more autonomy for the University of Wisconsin System would lead to runaway tuition increases, but it calls into question how much independence university officials would have under Walker’s 2015-17 budget proposal.
Assembly Speaker Vos: If state revenue improves, UW cut should be smaller
Capital Times
Vos told reporters he’s met with Blank and new UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone and is “sympathetic to the plight that they are expressing.” … Vos said if lawmakers do impose significant cuts, they need to ensure the universities are given the “maximum amount of flexibility” to absorb them. He also acknowledged that it would be difficult to implement such large reductions at the beginning of the fiscal year, July 1, because new students will have been accepted and classes will have been scheduled at that point.
Scott Walker’s administration suspends merit raises, retention pay hikes for public employees
Wisconsin State Journal
The announcement about the raise suspensions, “effective immediately,” was made in a Feb. 5 memo to state agencies’ human resources directors.
UW faculty union idea floated under new public authority, ultimately shot down
Madison.com
University of Wisconsin faculty and academic staffers would have won the right to unionize and collectively bargain for wages, same as other public employees, in an early draft of Gov. Scott Walker’s 2015-17 state budget, a proposal that the UW System quickly moved to stop. It ultimately didn’t end up in Walker’s budget, which was released publicly last week.
Walker open to extending UW tuition freeze
AP
MADISON — Gov. Scott Walker said Thursday that he would be open to extending a tuition freeze at the University of Wisconsin System beyond the next two years he’s currently proposing, offering the idea as yet another option to help sell his reorganization plan to a reluctant Legislature.
Assembly leaders share concerns over cuts to UW System
Wisconsin Radio Network
There is bipartisan concern, over the governor’s proposals for the University of Wisconsin System – especially for the impact it could have on smaller campuses. Assembly minority leader Peter Barca D-Kenosha said Thursday that he’s been meeting with chancellors of UW campuses, and has come away with serious concerns about potentially deep impacts, from Governor Scott Walker’s proposed $300 million dollars in cuts to the UW System over the next two years.
Blank seeks solutions to UW budget cuts
Wisconsin Radio Network
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank told members of the campus community Thursday afternoon, “There are almost surely going to be layoffs in many units across the university. I don’t see how we avoid that. I am very sorry about that.”
Hebl: Proposed cuts to UW will have devastating impact
Sun Prairie Star
I have numerous concerns regarding the governor’s budget plan, but felt it especially important to draw your immediate attention to the governor’s proposal to gut the University of Wisconsin system by slashing $300 million from its budget.
Walker Open To Giving Uw System More Freedom Sooner Section
Gov. Scott Walker is open to giving the University of Wisconsin System more freedom sooner than he originally proposed to help it deal with a $300 million budget cut, his spokeswoman said Wednesday, opening another potential avenue for negotiations over the plan that’s drawn bipartisan opposition.
Coordinating Council seeks student interaction surrounding UW System budget cuts
Daily Cardinal
The Associated Students of Madison Coordinating Council reviewed the biennial budget developments and brainstormed ideas to encourage student activism against the proposal.
Gov. Scott Walker again refuses to clarify position on evolution
Wisconsin State Journal
He also says he’s open to a long-term cap on UW tuition during a conference call with local reporters from London.
Jonathan N. Pauli: Alumni should step up to challenge UW cuts
Capital Times
The UW’s long tradition of academic excellence includes 19 Nobel laureates and more. To keep that tradition going, Badgers need to fight to stop Scott Walker’s cuts.
Noted: Jonathan Pauli is assistant professor of forest and wildlife ecology.
UW President Ray Cross feared lawmakers would curtail shared governance, tenure
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank urged Cross to include Darrell Bazzell, UW-Madison’s chief financial officer who’s experienced and respected at the state Capitol, on the System’s negotiating team. Cross said Tuesday that he heeded Blank’s suggestion, agreeing that Bazzell “has a good financial mind.”
UW chancellor addresses UW and state budget cuts during series of forums
WKOW-TV 27
UW chancellor, Rebecca Blank, is inviting the campus community to come together to discuss Governor Scott Walkers proposed budget cuts to the U-W System.
Timothy Shaw: Purpose of education is more than getting a job
Capital Times
We need a free-thinking University of Wisconsin now more than ever. What transpires in the next few months between our state Capitol and UW, just 2,000 human paces apart, may determine our “human condition” the next 2,000 years.
Randy O’Connell: Proposed cuts to UW warrant stiff resistance
Capital Times
Dear Editor: Why would anyone want to destroy a $15 billion economic engine for the state? That is an absolutely great return on a $1.2 billion investment as a state we make.
Walker Dodges Questions On Foreign Policy, Evolution During UK Event
Wisconsin Public Radio
Walker was also asked by Chatham House moderator, Justin Webb of the BBC, why his budget rewrote the UW’s mission statement to delete what’s known as the Wisconsin Idea. “Well how did you get in this mess though about changing its sort of — its stated purpose?” Webb asked. “I don’t want to get into too much detail and sort of bore people who don’t know a lot about the University of Wisconsin and I certainly don’t, but you’ve fiddled with something that a lot of people felt very strongly about. Do you regret it?”
Walker Says He’s Open To Permanent Tuition Cap At UW
Wisconsin Public Radio
Walker was asked about that prospect at the Chatham House think tank in London and floated the idea of permanent caps on tuition. “I think there’s some lawmakers in the state Legislature that want to put in the statutes — I’d be open to that — to permanently putting in place some sort of a cap on tuition,” said Walker.
Rebecca Blank: UW-Madison layoffs could begin in April
Wisconsin State Journal
The state’s biennial budget may not be finalized until May or June, but layoffs as a result of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed $300 million cut to the University of Wisconsin System could hit UW-Madison as soon as April, Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced Wednesday.
Don’t close records of UW animal researchers
Capital Times
The blanket exemption in Walker’s budget from open records laws for UW researchers could lead to abuse and public distrust.
Faculty, staff and students to rally against UW System cuts
Madison.com
Quoted: Karma Chávez, associate professor of communication arts.
“We need to decide whether affordable and high-quality public universities are the vital resource they have always been to Wisconsinites, or if the UW System is worth giving up, to be replaced by something inferior, or to shut down access in some parts of the state altogether,” Chavez said. “Clearly the Walker administration has chosen the latter.”
Scott Walker’s risky university experiment
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
It’s hard to believe that Gov. Scott Walkers proposal to cut $300 million from the University of Wisconsin System’s budget over the next two years would allow the system to maintain its quality. Walker would prohibit the university system from raising tuition during that period, but instead give university officials more flexibility in managing contracting and construction projects.
Deregulation of tuition in Texas could provide cautionary tale for Wisconsin
Capital Times
After seeing tuition skyrocket after the public university system was given more autonomy, leaders are looking for a different strategy.
PolitiFact: Checking in on Scott Walker education promises
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
New today from PolitiFact Wisconsin: With Gov. Scott Walker’s 2015-17 budget introduced, we turn to the Walk-O-Meter for an early look at several education-related promises from the 2014 campaign, including ones on private-school vouchers, Common Core standards and college tuition freezes for tech schools and the UW System.
Walker aide: UW System cuts are flexible, complaints unwarranted
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
While Gov. Scott Walker is on a trade mission in London, his administration threw a curveball at University of Wisconsin System leaders upset by $300 million in proposed state budget cuts over the next two years.
A fundamental question in UW debate: Will it be pursuit of knowledge or simply employable skills?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Wisconsin State Journal Editorial Board captured the prevailing opinion last weekend when it called the jaw-dropping $300 million cut to the University of Wisconsin “inexplicable.” Unfortunately, the board is wrong. There is a plausible vision behind what Gov. Scott Walker is trying to do, which makes his proposal much more dangerous than a simple misunderstanding of university operations.
Some of $300 million in cuts could be covered by cash balances, UW acknowledges
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
It’s not a done deal that the University of Wisconsin System will have to find $300 million in cuts over the next two years if Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget stands in the Legislature.
Blank to UW Staff: ‘I’m sorry’ layoffs are coming
WISC-TV 3
A large, standing room-only UW-Madison faculty and staff audience heard Chancellor Rebecca Blank apologize late Wednesday night as she warned layoffs under Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal were unavoidable and could come as early as April.