University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank met with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board last Thursday to discuss her plans for campus. Video from an interview with opinions editor David Haynes is here. Blank discussed a range of topics including the launch of a new fundraising campaign, improving relations between the governor and legislators and the university, and the role of UW-Madison in a larger state university system. Blank told Haynes she is a fan of systems:
“I have no objection to being part of a system. I believe in systems. If you don’t have them, you have to create them.”
She also said that competition between campuses for state support can lead to a budget free-for-all that is “never helpful for anyone” and coordination across the system is beneficial. The new chancellor also plans to embark on a major fundraising campaign, noting that state dollars cannot fund endowed professorships, and that fundraising could help with merit pay and bonuses for faculty. Blank told the paper that she is very concerned about faculty pay:
“We are well below our peers. Only some of it can you make up with a beautiful lake and a fun place to live.”
She also emphasized that fundraising can help with access and affordability and said any state student who gains admission should be able to attend UW-Madison. The Journal Sentinel used its editorial page on Sunday to support the chancellor in her fundraising efforts writing that UW System is at the center of the state’s effort to revitalize the economy and deserving of more support. They praise Blank for her plans:
“Repairing relationships at the state Capitol is high on Blank’s to-do list. We get the sense that she’ll get it right, and with the support of Gov. Scott Walker she has a running start. Blank is wise to look to alumni for more support. We’d like to see more taxpayer funding for the institution, which hardly qualifies as a public school any longer, but that’s unlikely in the near term.”
Chancellor Blank also appeared on UpFront with Mike Gousha, a public affairs news program. She told Gousha that she met with Milwaukee area legislators to discuss the importance of UW-Madison to the entire state. She discussed her time with the Department of Commerce and the role major research universities in economic development. She has made the universities role in the state’s economic development a priority:
“The research and innovation that happens at the university is transferred into the marketplace in a whole variety of ways. We can do a better job of that transfer and we are working hard to encourage entrepreneurship . . . helping bring ideas from the lab to the marketplace, and working in collaboration with the private sector and public sector to create an environment that is an attractive environment for businesses to come into and to grow.”
Blank also reiterated that UW-Madison should have affordable tuition for in-state students, but that out-of-state tuition should be set by the marketplace, saying the university’s out-of-state tuition is probably underpriced compared to neighboring institutions.