Category: UW

Alumni Advocacy Fall Forum November 15

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waa_logo_4cAlumni for Wisconsin, the advocacy group of the Wisconsin Alumni Association, will meet at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street on Saturday, November 15. The meeting will begin three hours before the kick-off of the Wisconsin-Nebraska football game, which has not yet been announced.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank will offer her perspective on UW-Madison and the upcoming state budget process. The extension of a tuition freeze coupled with declining state support has forced UW-Madison to examine its budget priorities. This post-election meeting will be among the first conversations about how the university may fare in 2015 and beyond.

Faculty are encouraged to attend this free event. The meeting will be followed by a tailgate luncheon (reservation and fee required). More information here.

Panel Discussion on Gubernatorial Polling

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The University of Wisconsin Department of Political Science is sponsoring a panel discussion on polling in the hotly-contested Wisconsin gubernatorial race at  3 pm, Monday, October 20 in the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street. The panel will discuss the accuracy of polls and what we can learn from them.

Panelists include:

This event, which is free and open to the public, is cosponsored by The Capital Times.

Chancellor Blank on the 2015-17 State Biennial Budget

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Chancellor Rebecca Blank offers her perspective on Wisconsin’s upcoming 2015-17 biennial budget process in her most recent Blank’s Slate blog post.

Blank writes the budget will be the primary focus of the governor and legislators in January, and UW-Madison should prepare itself for the possibility of continued cuts. The state is on track to end the year with an almost $1 billion structural deficit, and the university must compete with other high-need funding areas for limited state resources. Because the budget process is lengthy — it often stretches into June or July — the chancellor has asked deans and directors to model cuts of 2, 4, and 6 percent.

The chancellor plans to coordinate efforts with PROFS and ASPRO, the Academic Staff Professionals Organization, and will reach out to alumni and members of the business community as she makes the case for increased funding for UW-Madison with legislators.

Shared Governance Reception

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sift_winnow_arch06_0292UW-Madison will host its first-ever shared governance reception for faculty and staff tomorrow, Tuesday, October 7 from 3 to 5 pm in the Sonata Room of the Gordon Event Center, 770 West Dayton Street. Chancellor Rebecca Blank will deliver remarks at 3:30 pm.

Unlike some universities, shared governance at UW System institutions is codified in Wisconsin statutes and Board of Regent policy. PROFS is a product of shared governance, having been created by the Faculty Senate in 1976. We encourage faculty to attend the reception and learn more about shared governance and how to become more involved in governance groups and committees.

 

Pocan: State Should Invest More in UW System

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Congressman Mark Pocan

Congressman Mark Pocan

Congressman Mark Pocan recently spoke to the Badger Herald editorial board, sharing his thoughts on Governor Walker’s proposed tuition freeze, the academic reputation of UW-Madison, and cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding.

Pocan said while a tuition freeze can help students, a freeze without increased funding from the state ultimately hurts the university:

“If the state of Wisconsin doesn’t invest money in the UW System, it puts pressure on tuition, and then if he (Walker) freezes tuition, you put double pressure on the UW. I’m not advocating for raising tuition, but I’m advocating for the state putting a proper share into the UW, given how much it is an economic engine for the rest of the state.”

Pocan also told the editorial board about his recently-introduced Next Generation Research Act. The proposal would encourage NIH to promote policies and programs that would improve opportunities for new researchers. The genesis for this legislation began last year when PROFS invited the congressman to UW-Madison to discuss federal funding and the Sequestration.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW Business Partnerships Could Help State’s Economy

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The editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel lauds Chancellor Rebecca Blank for her efforts to foster collaboration between UW-Madison and industry in an effort to improve the state’s economy.

“UW prepares thousands of young people each year for a world that is changing before their very eyes as global competition forces U.S. companies to be smarter and leaner. Those are major challenges for a state such as Wisconsin, which is still so dependent on manufacturing and old-line industries. Good for Blank for recognizing the central role UW can play.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank visited the Milwaukee area last week, speaking to the Wisconsin Innovation Network about the role research plays in driving economic growth, visiting longtime research partner GE Medical, and touring UW-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences

The full editorial is here.

When Does the University of Wisconsin Cease to be a Public University?

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Mike Brost, a University of Wisconsin-Madison senior from Shorewood, asks in Friday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at what point does a state university cease to be a university?

Brost writes that state spending on higher education has fallen 28 percent since 2008, and UW-Madison receives just 15 percent of its budget from the state. Nationally, as state funding drops, tuition increases — 231 percent over the past 30 years.

At the same time, Brost observes investment in public higher education is a good for the state’s economy:

With $1.2 billion in state funding, the UW System contributes more than $15 billion to Wisconsin’s economy.

Brost argues that if current trends continue, Wisconsin’s funding of higher education will end in 2040.

The full article is here.

 

June Board of Regents Meeting

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uw system logoThe University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents is meeting at UW-Milwaukee today and tomorrow, June 5 and 6. The regents will meet in committee Thursday morning and in full Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. Video and audio stream of the full meetings is available here.

Four new regents are participating in their first meeting — José Delgado, Eve Hall, UW-Madison student Nicolas Harsy, and UW-La Crosse student Anicka Purath.

The board will discuss the 2014-15 annual budget and begin discussion on the 2015-17 biennial budget process. UW System President Ray Cross told the Wisconsin State Journal he expects the current tuition freeze to continue into the 2015-17 biennium. Governor Scott Walker recently expressed support for a continued tuition freeze.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank has repeatedly said she would like to raise professional school tuition to levels similar to peer institutions, but Cross said the timing is not right for such an increase and tuition will be frozen for all undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of residency.

The board will also discuss plans to spend down financial reserves. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the current budget will spend down about 15 percent of the reserves, much of it coming from tuition reserves. UW System will carryover about $61 million in unspent tuition in 2014-15, down from $151 million one year ago.

 

Legislative Update

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The 2013-14 regular legislative session ended last month and attention has shifted to fall elections.

PROFS was very active in the legislative process, registering positions on bills and maintaining regular contact with key legislators and staff on important issues like compensation, faculty governance, and funding for the university.

Classified Research AB 729, a bill that will allow classified research on UW System campuses, was signed into law. PROFS registered in favor of this bill.

Financial Reserves The legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance approved a revised plan for managing and disclosing UW System cash balances and fund reserves on May 6. The legislature directed UW System to develop a plan as part of the 2013-15 biennial budget (Act 20), and the Joint Committee on Audit requested additional changes after a plan was presented to them on November 20, 2013. The Board of Regents and audit committee approved those revisions, but the finance committee voted for several changes.

The finance committee-approved plan requires individual campuses that hold more than 12 percent of their total fiscal year expenditures in reserve to provide justification to the regents and submit a spending plan for tuition, auxiliary operations, general operations, and unrestricted program revenue. Campuses are not required to hold a minimum fund balance, but campuses with a deficit must report a savings plan to the regents. The plan approved by the regents and audit committee required minimum reserves of 10 percent and the reporting threshold was triggered when funds exceeded 15 percent of expenditures.

HR Design The legislature’s Joint Committee on Employment Relations approved new personnel plans for UW-Madison and UW System. The legislature directed the university to develop plans to be implemented by July 1, 2015 as part of the 2011-13 biennial budget, but never approved them. Chancellor Rebecca Blank told the committee she plans to request the authority to award merit raises, which are not currently allowed under state statutes.

Tuition Freeze Governor Scott Walker proposed an additional two-year freeze on University of Wisconsin System tuition. The governor said his proposal was a direct result of the recent disclosure that UW System will finish the current fiscal year with about $1 billion in reserve. Last year, the governor called for a two-year tuition freeze after the university was found to have just over $1 billion in reserve.

Voter ID Wisconsin’s voter ID law (2011 Wisconsin Act 23) was struck down April 29. United States District Judge Lynn Adelman wrote in his decision the law places an undue burden on minorities and the poor and violates the Voting Rights Act. Adelman’s ruling bars enforcement of the law. Governor Scott Walker said last month he could call the legislature into special session if the law was overturned, and State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said he will appeal the decision. PROFS registered against AB 7, legislation that became the state’s voter ID law in 2011.

Fall Elections The legislature will experience its largest turnover since the 1970’s. Seven state senators and 22 members of the assembly have announced they will not run for reelection. Legislators must declare non-candidacy by May 23, and nomination papers must be filed by June 2.

The Legislative Reference Bureau has prepared a bulletin on tenure and turnover in the Wisconsin Legislature between 1940 and 2012.

JCOER Approves UW-Madison Personnel Plan

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The legislature’s Joint Committee on Employment Relations approved new personnel plans for UW-Madison and UW System today. The legislature directed the university to develop plans to be implemented by July 1, 2015 as part of the 2011-13 biennial budget, but never approved them.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank told the committee the new human resources system will allow UW-Madison to attract and retain the best faculty and staff through increased management flexibilities:

This new system will give us flexibility in some places where we need it, greater coherence in how we deal with staff across all positions, and should help us recruit more effectively. Making sure we have the best talent is crucial if UW-Madison is to remain a world-class university, provide an excellent education to our students and help drive the economy of the state.

Merit raises based on performance, currently not allowed under state statutes, will be requested, according to Chancellor Blank.