The update below was shared with more than 100 UW-Madison new faculty members last week.
Author: Michelle Felber
PROFS Urges JCOER to Approve State Employee Pay Plan
The 2023-25 state budget signed into law by Governor Tony Evers on July 5 included funding for pay increases for state employees, including UW-Madison faculty and staff — a 4% pay increase effective July 1, 2023 and a 2% pay increase on July 1, 2024.
The Joint Committee on Employment Relations must approve the pay play for the raises to take effect. Our letter urging the co-chairs to schedule a committee meeting to approve the plan as soon as possible is below:
PROFS Statement on Governor Evers’ Budget Vetoes
PROFS Statement on Passage of the 2023-25 State Budget
June Board of Regents Meeting
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will meet at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday and Friday, June 8 and 9. The meeting will be held at the Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts, 2419 E. Kenwood Boulevard. Registration to view the meeting remotely is here.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Regents will present the Regents Business Partnership Award to WEC Energy Group. UWM Chancellor Mark Mone will host the Regents at a reception following the award presentation.
The Regents will meet in committee Thursday morning:
- The Audit Committee will hear the 2022-23 NCAA Division I Athletics report, consider approval of the FY24 Audit Plan and FY24 Annual Plan for the Office of Compliance and Risk Management, and hear from UWM on the culture and community of compliance.
- The Capital Planning and Budget Committee will consider a lease agreement for the UW-Madison College of Engineering and a transfer of greenhouse ownership agreement at UW-Madison’s Arlington Research Station, and hear several updates, including one from UWM on capital planning and progress.
- The Budget & Finance Committee will hear several reports and consider approval of an application fee increase for UW-Madison undergraduates, a reduction in segregated fees at UW-Madison and UW-Oshkosh, and various agreements.
- The Education Committee will consider approval of the annual request from the Vilas Trust Fund to UW-Madison and UWM and several new degree programs, including three at UW-Madison. The committee will also hear the 2023 Annual Report of Faculty Promotions.
The full board will meet in closed session Thursday afternoon before attending a reception at the James and Yvonne Ziemer Nursing Simulation Center. On Friday, the Regents may meet in an optional closed session.
PROFS Statement on Joint Finance Committee Action
On Thursday, the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee voted along party lines to reject funding for the UW-Madison Engineering Building Project. Our statement on the Committee’s vote is here:
May Legislative Update
This legislative update was shared with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Senate yesterday. The senate meets the first Monday of every month at 3:30 pm during the academic year, October through May, except in January. Guests are welcome to attend the meetings. More information is here.
Updated: PROFS and ASPRO State Budget Forum

Due to a scheduling conflict, State Representative Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) is not able to participate in the PROFS/ASPRO State Budget Forum on Tuesday, May 2. State Senator Kelda Roys (D-Madison) will take her place on the panel. Senator Roys, elected to the State Senate in 2020, is a member of the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee. She served two terms in the State Assembly from 2009-2012. She was also a candidate for the House of Representatives in 2012 and Governor in 2018.
The forum will be held at 4 pm, Tuesday, May 2 in the Wisconsin Idea Room in the Education Building, 1000 Bascom Mall. The additional panelists:
- State Representative Robert Wittke (R-Racine), member Colleges & Universities Committee
- Crystal Potts, Director of State Relations, UW-Madison
- UW Madison Professor J. Michael Collins (School of Human Ecology and La Follette School of Public Affairs) and PROFS Steering Committee member
- PROFS Legislative Representative Jack O’Meara, moderator
Each panelist will offer insight to the 2023-25 state budget and members of the audience will have the opportunity to submit questions to the moderator. We expect a lively, bipartisan discussion.
This event is open to the public and refreshments will be served.
PROFS & ASPRO State Budget Forum
PROFS and ASPRO State Budget Forum
PROFS and ASPRO will host a campus forum on the state budget at 4 pm, Tuesday, May 2 in the Wisconsin Idea Room in the Education Building, 1000 Bascom Mall. This event is open to the public and refreshments will be served.
Our panel:
- State Representative Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison), member Colleges & Universities Committee
- State Representative Robert Wittke (R-Racine), member Colleges & Universities Committee
- Crystal Potts, Director of State Relations, UW-Madison
- UW Madison Professor J. Michael Collins (School of Human Ecology and La Follette School of Public Affairs)
PROFS Legislative Representative Jack O’Meara will moderate.
In February, Governor Tony Evers announced a $104 billion spending plan that reflected the state’s record $7.1 billion surplus. The governor’s budget focused on increased funding for K-12 education and aid to local governments, middle-class tax cuts, and seed funding for a paid parental leave program for most of the state’s workers, but Republican leaders said they plan to work off the current base budget and create their own plan in the Joint Finance Committee.
The governor also announced a $3.8 billion capital budget, which directed $1.8 billion to UW System. Evers’ plan included four major projects at UW-Madison: a new Engineering Building, a new Athletics practice facility, new space for the Art Department, and restoration of Music Hall, but his proposal was deadlocked in the State Building Commission, leaving the Republican-led Joint Finance Committee to determine the capital budget as well.
Our panelists will offer insight on what a GOP-crafted budget may look like and how Governor Evers may use his veto authority once the bill reaches his desk later this summer.
