Tag: federal

Election Update from PROFS

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Last week, Michael Bernard Donals, President of PROFS, and Jack O’Meara, PROFS’ lobbyist, sent an email to all faculty with an update on the federal and state elections. The text of that message is below:

Hello UW-Madison Faculty Member:

With the election a few days behind us, we wanted to get in touch to summarize what happened and where we see things going in the days and months ahead. We particularly want to make sure you are aware of the results in the state legislative elections.

On Election Night, Wisconsin–long a battleground state–gave former President Donald Trump the electoral college votes he needed to declare victory. Trump won the state by roughly 30,000 votes.

We can expect major changes in higher education policy under President Trump. Here are some articles on that topic:

Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin won a close election, defeating her opponent, Eric Hovde, by about 29,000 votes for a third term in the Senate. Our longtime local congressman, Democrat Mark Pocan, was also re-elected. PROFS has strong relationships with Senator Baldwin and Congressman Pocan, dating to their times in the Wisconsin Legislature, and we look forward to working with them and their staffs in 2025.

Because of Democratic losses in other states, control of the U.S. Senate will shift to the Republicans. Control of the U.S. House of Representatives has yet to be determined, as many races, particularly on the West Coast, have not been called. This will be a significant factor in whether President Trump will be able to fully advance his agenda.

The balance of power in the Wisconsin Legislature will be much closer in January following a lawsuit over gerrymandering that resulted in new, more competitive legislative maps. Democrats, however, were not able to take control of the State Assembly, as they had hoped. Given that only half the Senate is up for election every two years, it was not realistic for the Democrats to take back the Senate, but it is noteworthy that the Democrats won all of the most competitive races on the Senate side.

Democrats picked up 10 seats in the State Assembly and four seats in the State Senate. This means there will be 54 Republicans and 45 Democrats in the Assembly, and 18 Republicans and 15 Democrats in the Senate. In the previous legislative session, the balance was 64-35 and 22-11, meaning the Republicans had a supermajority in the Senate and a near-supermajority in the Assembly. Legislators can override vetoes from Democratic Governor Tony Evers with supermajorities.

Some of the notable new faces in the Legislature include Democratic Representative-elect Renuka Mayadev, who will serve in the newly-created district that represents UW-Madison and many areas where UW employees live. Rep.-elect Mayadev currently works at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Also of note, Democratic Senator-elect Jamie Wall, a business consultant in Green Bay, was a Rhodes Scholar after receiving his bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison. Senator Kelda Helen Roys (D-Madison), a strong advocate for the faculty and UW-Madison, was also re-elected.

Legislators are beginning to elect their leadership. Senator Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) was elected by her caucus to serve as Senate President. Senator Felzkowski is a long-time member of the Joint Finance Committee. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) will continue to serve as leader. More leadership votes will take place next week, and committee memberships will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 2025-27 state budget, including funding for UW-Madison and the Universities of Wisconsin, will be at the top of the agenda for the new Legislature when they take office in January. Following the recommendation of UW System President Jay Rothman, the UW Board of Regents has requested $855 million in new funding for the universities.

Last week, the Legislative Council Study Committee on the Future of the UW System endorsed the idea of a separate board and separate funding for UW-Madison, along with bonding authority for the university, plus other suggestions. PROFS will monitor developments and advocate for the best possible result for UW-Madison and its faculty.

As always, let us know if you have concerns, suggestions, or questions.

Sincerely,

Michael Bernard-Donals, English & Jewish Studies
PROFS President

Jack O’Meara
PROFS Lobbyist

March Board of Regents Meeting

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The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will meet Thursday morning, March 4. Registration to watch the meeting via Webex is here.

This half-day meeting does not include any committee work. Instead, Regents will meet in full session and then move into closed session.

Items during open session include the introduction of new Regent John Miller, updates from Board of Regents President Andrew Petersen and UW System President Tommy Thompson, a panel discussion on how to better connect students with career opportunities, and a discussion on UW System’s 2021 federal priorities (below).

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March Board of Regents Meeting

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The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will meet at UW-Madison’s Gordon Dining and Event Center Thursday, March 7. Livestream coverage of the meeting is here.

In the morning, the board will hear an update from UW System President Ray Cross and hear presentations on student success and faculty teaching, research and service. The regents will discuss the 2019-21 biennial budget and federal higher education issues in the afternoon.

Legislative Update

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The Legislature is in session and PROFS is closely monitoring several bills that could severely affect UW-Madison:

Proposed Bill to Assist Faculty Entrepreneurship, LRB-4627

Led by faculty experts, PROFS worked with a bipartisan group of legislators who plan to introduce legislation related to University of Wisconsin research contracts. The faculty group, led by the late Mark Cook (Animal Science), identified the need to change state statutes that regulate how the university contracts with companies in which faculty or other university employees have a financial interest, noting current law is slow and cumbersome and ultimately leads to lost contracts.

Bills Limiting Scientific Research, Senate Bills 422 & 423

PROFS is carefully monitoring two bills that would limit the use of fetal tissue in scientific research and is registered against Senate Bill 423. Our statement is on the PROFS website and Facebook page.

Bill Limiting University of Wisconsin OB/GYN Training, Assembly Bill 206

PROFS is also registered against AB 206, a bill that would restrict abortion-related activities of UW System and UW Hospitals and Clinics employees. UW School of Medicine and Public Health Dean Robert Golden testified in July this bill would seriously hamper student training in obstetrics and gynecology and could possibly jeopardize the medical school’s accreditation.

Campus Carry

Supporters of campus carry have said they intend to introduce legislation allowing concealed weapons on campus, but nothing has been introduced to date. PROFS is opposed to campus carry and continues to carefully monitor the issue.

Federal Budget

PROFS is closely monitoring Senate and House tax reform efforts and has contacted members of the Wisconsin Congressional delegation to express concern that both bills would seriously harm higher education. In particular, PROFS is opposed to a provision in the House version that would tax graduate student tuition waivers, making the cost to attend graduate school out of reach for many students. The federal budget proposals coupled with many years of declining state support, seriously threaten public higher education.

UW System Restructuring

Last month, the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved the implementation of a plan to reorganize UW Colleges and Extension. Under the proposal, UW Colleges would be integrated with four-year institutions, Cooperative Extension would become part of UW-Madison, and Wisconsin Public Television would shift to UW System.

State’s Higher Education Leaders Express Concern Over College Ratings System

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Leaders of the University of Wisconsin System, the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the Wisconsin Technical College System released an open letter to President Barack Obama and members of the United States Congress expressing support of the president’s overall vision to improve access and affordability in higher education.

At the same time, the chancellors and presidents expressed deep concern over changes to the Postsecondary Institution Ratings System (PIRS). They are worried that the system could limit student choices and financial aid, ultimately harming affordability and access for the state’s students.

Their letter listed three items of concern:

  • The proposal to tie federal financial aid to college rankings which could unfairly harm institutions that serve disadvantaged students who might take longer to complete a degree.
  • Data about admission, cost, students and faculty are public and widely available. The creation of  a new system could be redundant.
  • Ratings systems can lead to standardization, resulting in less innovation. The leaders support regulatory waivers that would allow campuses to pursue new educational delivery models.

Coffee and Conversation with F. King Alexander

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F. King Alexander

F. King Alexander

Louisiana State University President and Chancellor F. King Alexander will visit UW-Madison tomorrow, Friday, January 17, for a discussion of federal oversight in higher education, including President Obama’s College Scorecard.

Alexander was named to the newly-merged position of LSU Chancellor/ LSU System President last year. He received his Ph.D in higher education administration from UW-Madison and served as president of California State University-Long Beach before arriving in Louisiana. He also served as president of Murray State University in Kentucky.

This event, sponsored by WISCAPE, the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education, will be held at 9 am in Room 290 Education. It is free and open to the public.

 

Reminder! Congressman Mark Pocan on Campus Tuesday

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Congressman Mark Pocan

Congressman Mark Pocan

Join Congressman Mark Pocan in a conversation about current events in Washington, the effects of Sequestration, and the changing landscape of public higher education at 11:30 am, Tuesday, November 26.

“PROFS is excited to welcome Congressman Pocan to UW-Madison. The university receives more than 30 percent of its budget from federal funding, and faculty are concerned about the future consequences of the federal sequestration,” said agronomy professor Bill Tracy, President of PROFS.

The event will be held in the Wisconsin Idea Room on the first floor of the Education Building, 1000 Bascom Mall. It is free and open to the public.

Congressman Pocan was elected to represent Wisconsin’s Second Congressional District in 2012 after serving 14 years in the Wisconsin Legislature. He currently serves on the House Budget Committee and was recently named to the House Education and Workforce Committee. Pocan graduated from UW-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1986.

PROFS to Host Conversation with Congressman Mark Pocan

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PROFS will host a brown bag conversation with Congressman Mark Pocan (D-Madison) at 11:30 am on Tuesday, November 26. The event will be held in the Wisconsin Idea Room on the first floor of the Education Building, 1000 Bascom Mall.…

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