When UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin says she wants her university to set sail from the constraints of the UW System, I say bon voyage! Respected public universities such as UW-Madison increasingly have sought status and brand-recognition as they prey on that bizarre middle-class American fetish for higher education that assumes a student?s choice of college is possibly the most important choice of his life. Despite Martin?s assurances to the contrary, a standalone UW-Madison would be more expensive and harder for state residents to get into, while benefiting from the hype among out-of-state and well-heeled students that expense and exclusivity confer.
Office of Strategic Communication