The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will meet at 9 am on Thursday, March 7 in Madison. Audio and video streaming of the meeting will be available here.
In the morning, the regents will hear an update on chancellor searches at UW-Madison and UW-Eau Claire along with an update on UW System’s plan to increase the number of adult degree-holders in Wisconsin by 80,000 by 2025. System notes in the agenda that they are well on their way to meeting their goal but that declining faculty salaries could impede future progress:
The quality of the education depends critically and principally on the quality of the faculty and staff employed at UW institutions. With salaries for faculty now 18 percent below peer salaries, hiring and keeping high-quality faculty is seriously threatened. It is a threat that must be addressed if the System is to ensure that the education students receive over the next decade meets the standards Wisconsin has come to expect from its universities and what the state needs to power its economy.
The regents will discuss the 2013-15 state budget in the afternoon, observing in the agenda that the budget includes “one of the most significant reinvestments in the University of Wisconsin System since merger.” Topics to be discussed include the incentive grant program and challenges surrounding block grant funding and new management flexibilities.