The Daily Cardinal: At the Wisconsin Economic Summit III last month there was a proposal that would cut nearly $500 million to the UW System. ... If a proposal like that was suggested to you, would you support a cut like this, and so how would you keep the UW as attractive as it is today?
Scott McCallum: The university system is a partner in creating job and economic development. At the same time I expect the university to continue finding efficiencies and saving money wherever they can as we work through this economic downturn. During the last budget repair process I worked closely with the UW System president and the Board of Regents. We had to come up with reductions that would not affect students. My goal is to dramatically increase the number of Wisconsin citizens with bachelors degrees and we do that by keeping tuition affordable, which is why I capped tuition in the last budget, I put a cap on that, and we linked increases in financial aid to increases in tuition ...
DC: Also at the economic summit the importance of plugging the brain drain was stressed. ... One thing that I have noticed, is that right now, the UW has a deplorable retention rate for minority students. And over half the students of color that attend the UW System transfer to other schools before they graduate ... is that something that you'll attack as governor?
SM: It is not a problem that is unique to the University of Wisconsin System. It is one that needs to be addressed in the entire minority community, and I am attacking it by going directly after jobs and job growth. That's why my Build Wisconsin Plan, which is the first statewide economic blueprint, is so focused on the University System with direct benchmarks and goals for retaining students. Among the items we're looking at is providing student loan forgiveness to graduates who stay and work in Wisconsin [and] encouraging the use of internships to connect students to potential employers [to] expose them to career opportunities in Wisconsin.
DC: I'm noticing that even with the new class of freshmen that came in there were a lot of, compared to previous admissions, minority students that came into the UW System. It just seems in terms of retaining them that that becomes a problem.
SM: And there are a number of other steps we can take. As an example, addressing college student completion issues. As you know a significant number of students who enter the UW do not complete the degree. There are many issues that contribute to this, such as binge drinking, lack of counseling, race issues and poor academic preparation. But this issue should be researched to determine the factors that contribute to nongraduation with an objective of increasing. Again our benchmark is increasing the number of college graduates within the state. We'd also minimize barriers between the technical college system and the UW System to make a student friendly seamless system ...
DC: ... Do you think the UW system should be doing more to go into high schools and recruit minority students or do you think what is happening now is adequate?
SM: Well, no. Not only do we want to have minority students, but we want to be able to retain students. You can put all kind of effort into attracting people, but if you don't have opportunities for them in the school or job opportunities afterwards, it doesn't do much good. So we need to make sure there's quality programming, that there are opportunities for people once they're in the system and when they graduate.
DC: With failing schools and the disparities between ACT and SAT performances of minority students and their white counterparts, it really does seem at this point that the
o child left behind"" philosophy for schools is pretty slow to be enacted for minority students, at least for the K-12 levels. As a frontrunner for the gubernatorial race, what are ways that you would try to get resources to failing schools in light of looming budget cuts?
SM: Failing schools are unacceptable. There are a number of steps that can and are being taken. I was very pleased earlier this year to help kick off the Milwaukee Partnership Academy. That essentially puts the responsibility for educating [the] children of Milwaukee, especially [in the] inner city, on everybody, saying we all have a partnership in making sure people get a good education. The purpose of the program is to improve education by ensuring that teachers are prepared for the challenges they face, that they have the training and resources to do the job ... I've protected education funding, of course, from cuts during two difficult budgets and I continue to make education a top priority...
DC: With respect to higher education, especially the UW System, what separates you concretely from Attorney General [Jim] Doyle at this point?
SM: In the general side, first there are several things that separate Jim Doyle and I. One is that I'm committed to not raising taxes. On two budgets I have not raised taxes and [Doyle] has not shown how he would have be able to do that, much less with his promises of spending in the future. ...
DC: But specifically as it pertains to education, are there any concrete separations that you have?
SM: We had a debate a week ago, several days ago, and the university system came up and in the end he ended up agreeing with many of the steps that I am taking. I've capped the tuition, of course, I've put more funding in and linked increases in financial aid so they go up automatically. And I believe the university system is very much a partner in building Wisconsin's economy.
DC: [Doyle's] supportive of stem-cell research and would like to get funding for that at the university. Is that something that you're against? Because from what he was saying, that was something that you were definitely against.
SM: Typical Jim Doyle. No, there's been an increase in funding ...
DC: And that includes stem-cell research?
SM: That is correct, that is part of the program, and I have visited the research several times and I am very proud of what we're doing in the state of Wisconsin.
