Rep. Vos: UW-Madison unlikely to be spun off from System

Speaking with Mike Gousha on UpFront, State Representative Robin Vos (R-Burlington) said that while he agrees with the governor’s plan to offer UW-Madison greater flexibility, he does not think a spin-off is likely to be approved (video here):

I am positive that we are going to give some additional flexibility, but probably not all the way to allowing Madison to spin off and set its own tuition and all those things without more oversight.

PROFS is actively communicating with key legislators regarding increased flexibility for UW-Madison. Several steering committee members and PROFS’ legislative representative Jack O’Meara have met and continue to meet with members of the Joint Finance Committee. Jack says:

The public statement from Co-Chairman Vos is a significant development in the debate over the public authority proposal. It is consistent with what we have been hearing — that there is not a lot of enthusiasm for the public authority among Joint Finance Committee members. His statement also confirms something else we’ve heard — that there is a willingness to give UW-Madison much more flexibility than we currently have. PROFS will continue to work with key legislators to get the best possible outcome for the UW-Madison faculty.

Upfront is a public affairs show produced by Milwaukee’s WISN-TV in conjunction with WisPolitics.com. It airs Sunday mornings at 10:30 am in Madison on WKOW-TV.

Wisconsin’s two largest newspapers also contributed to the discussion of public authority status for UW-Madison yesterday. Regent Michael Falbo argued for greater flexibility for all UW System campuses in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Wisconsin State Journal editorial page editor Scott Milfred wrote how the proposal has created some very unusual alliances. The paper also featured an article about Chancellor Biddy Martin and her efforts to encourage others to support the plan.

Updated 4/19  to include link to the Wisconsin State Journal article about Chancellor Martin.