It was, by most measures, a difficult year for the University of Wisconsin. The administration endured a series of high-profile embarrassments and budget headaches. But there were research breakthroughs and sweeping new plans for the UW-Madison campus.
The seeds for the university’s biggest problem of 2005 were planted in November 2004, when UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley announced that his longtime vice chancellor for student affairs, Paul Barrows, was stepping down to take a backup job in Bascom Hall, citing vague family considerations.