Before an audience of faculty, staff and legislators, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank pointed out that none of the university’s revenue sources—like federal aid, tuition and fees and gifts—have grown as much as the state aid has declined in decades.
During the recession, states across the country struggled to support higher education, Blank explained. But when those other states began increasing their investment again, by about 4.1 percent on average, Wisconsin did not, placing 36th in the nation for state investment in higher education.
The chancellor was joined by Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Laurent Heller, Vice Chancellor for University Relations Charles Hoslet and Board of Regents President Regina Millner Wednesday afternoon in the Gordon Dining and Event Center for a presentation on the upcoming state biennial budget.
Each member of the panel called for the state to reinvest in the UW System.
Blank addressed several concerns that arose from the 2015-’17 biennial budget, which dealt UW-Madison $50 million in cuts. She stressed that although the university was able to handle the cuts well, they are beginning to wear.
“Once a slide begins in reputation and quality, it is extremely costly and difficult to reverse,” Blank said.
UW-Madison also fought hard last year to retain faculty, administrative staff and university staff, losing 420 in the last biennium—50 of which were actual layoffs.
Blank said all the new revenue the university has pulled in has gone to fill the holes left by budget cuts, meaning campus leaders have “slipped” in the past few years and not hired faculty as aggressively, while losing other members.
“Nothing saps the morale more among our faculty and staff than the loss of valued colleagues,” she argued.
Millner said that the regents intend to prioritize increased compensation for system faculty and staff this year, a goal she said is not just for superstar faculty members, but for all who contribute to the universities.
UW-Madison is also launching a few new campaigns to increase public awareness throughout the state about the importance of the university, Hoslet explained, like Faculty Hometown Engagement, a strategy that asks faculty members who are from Wisconsin to return to their communities and share the university’s work. Two dozen faculty have already committed to the effort.
Blank highlighted other key areas in which she’d like to see increased state investment, such as funding for maintenance and increased resources for high-demand majors like computer science and engineering.
However, she also detailed her own commitment to making sure the university does not constantly face budget crises.
“I need to get ahead,” Blank said. “I need to find the investment money that lets us reinvest in this campus, that lets us compete with our competitors, that moves us forward, rather than just keeping us in the same place.”
UPDATE Sept. 15, 8:54 a.m.: This story has been updated to clarify that the 420 job eliminations within the last biennium were of faculty, administrative staff and university staff.
