PROFS recognizes the importance of paid family leave to UW-Madison faculty and supports paid family leave for all state employees. We have had discussions with Governor Tony Evers and his staff on the issue and continue to make it a top legislative priority.
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This legislative update was shared with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Senate on Monday. 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.
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Last night, Governor Tony Evers delivered his biennial budget address, announcing a $104 billion in spending over two years. His plan for the 2023-25 state budget reflects increased spending as a result of a projected $7.1 billion budget surplus at the end of the current fiscal year. The largest items include a $2.6 billion K-12 budget, $1.2 billion in middle-class tax cuts, a second year $576 million increase in aid to local governments, and almost $250 million to seed a new family leave program for public and most private sector employees.
Evers’ budget also includes pay raises of 5% in the first year of the biennium and 3% in the second year and funding UW System’s Wisconsin Tuition Promise.
Our statement on Governor Evers’ budget proposal:
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Governor Evers’ University of Wisconsin System proposed budget:
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This legislative update will be shared with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Senate on Monday. 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.
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Yesterday, the University of Wisconsin System released results from a survey (below) of students on their perceptions of free speech on campus. The survey was proposed last spring, but its implementation was delayed due to questions about how the survey would be administered. PROFS was very concerned about the survey and called on UW System Interim President Michael Falbo to cancel, rather than postpone, the survey.
The survey was completed last December by nearly 10,500 students representing every four-year campus within UW System. The response rate ranged from 9.4% at UW-Milwaukee to 19.1% at UW-Platteville.
About 40% of students identified as liberal or very liberal, while more than 52% indicated they were moderate, conservative, or very conservative.
Results showed that many students are concerned about how others may view their opinions and worry their grades could suffer if they expressed themselves in class.
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Governor Tony Evers will deliver his first State of the State Address of his second term in office at 7 pm tonight. Coverage of the speech is available on Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin.
While a preview of the speech was not made available, the governor is expected to offer some insight on where he might direct some of the state’s record $6.6 billion budget surplus as part of the 2023-25 biennial budget.
PROFS has already met with members of Governor Evers’ staff to discuss the upcoming budget, and UW-Madison has outlined its priorities in the handout below. The budget process is lengthy and begins on February 15 when the governor delivers his biennial budget message.
PROFS is actively involved throughout the entire process and will continue to keep faculty and the entire university community informed over the coming months. Follow PROFS on Facebook and Twitter for the most current information.
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This legislative update was shared with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Senate Monday. The senate meets the first Monday of every month at 3:30 pm during the academic year, October through May, except in January.
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Hundreds of students from each University of Wisconsin System institution received emails today inviting them to participate in a survey on perceptions of free speech and civil dialogue on campus. The full survey is below. Last week, UW System President Jay Rothman announced the relaunch of a revised survey that had been planned for last spring.
PROFS spoke out against the need for such a survey last spring, and last week PROFS President Michael Bernard-Donals told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that faculty are “still unsure why the survey is needed in the first place because climate studies have shown pretty clearly that students from various groups, political and otherwise, feel that they can express their opinions freely.”
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As we enter the final week of the 2022 campaign season, PROFS President Michael Bernard-Donals shares his thoughts on the value of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin System to the state and why it’s important to set aside political partisanship when it comes to the university.
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Last Friday, the United States Supreme Court voted 6-3 to overturn Roe v. Wade. PROFS is deeply concerned about the negative effects this will have on Wisconsin citizens, but also on the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its School of Medicine and Public Health. Our statement is below:
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