When gay and lesbian faculty and staff members at UW-Madison met with Chancellor John Wiley to discuss the state’s passage of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions, many of these talented educators and researchers said they were thinking of leaving Wisconsin.
That’s bad news for the university and for the state, and Gov. Jim Doyle and legislators should respond in a manner that respects the need to maintain the viability of the university system. The best move, in our view, would be for the governor to issue an executive order extending domestic partnership benefits to state employees, as did Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack several years ago.