So forgive lawmakers, especially the Republicans who dominate the Legislature, if they tend to feel a little undervalued. And understand that when they look at the University of Wisconsin System, they tend to see cushy jobs with fat salaries two, three, four and five times as big as their own.
If that’s a lawmaker’s perspective, imagine how news of the latest UW flap sounds: a vice chancellor earning $191,000 spent seven months on a paid leave of absence in part because of a failed relationship with a grad student. Yet the vice chancellor was well enough to apply for a top job at another university while UW was paying him for not working in a job UW eliminated.