Chancellor Biddy Martin outlined how she thinks UW-Madison can remain a top public research university in her speech at the UW System Board of Regents meeting Thursday.
According to Martin, UW-Madison currently ranks among the top research universities in the world. She cited the number of awards and amount of research dollars UW-Madison has received, as well as the number of start-up companies that stemmed from UW-Madison.
Martin said for UW-Madison to retain this high ranking, it must focus on retaining and attracting excellent faculty and students.
She said to do this UW-Madison needs to pay its faculty competitively and provide financial aid to more students, something she believes can be achieved.
According to Martin, the tuition hikes instigated by the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates are necessary to achieve that goal.
""We cannot afford to compete by keeping tuition low,"" she said.
Martin said UW-Madison not only has one of the lowest tuition rates in the Big Ten, but also among all of the top public research universities in the world.
""If you compare us to other global research universities, we're so far at the bottom it's almost amazing that we are what we are,"" she said.
Martin also said UW-Madison's increasing reliance on private funding, as well as its reduced state funding, are also challenges deterring UW-Madison from continuing its top-notch public research status.
""Some people worry that our public purposes will be threatened by this revenue mix, but this university has a long commitment to public purpose, and that will never change,"" she said.
According to Martin, it is important that UW-Madison works to achieve these goals because of the necessity of a college education in today's job market.
""A great sense of urgency has been created by virtue of the fact that nearly two-thirds of all high-growth and high-rate jobs will require a college degree,"" she said.
Martin said she believes the well-being of Madison and Wisconsin rely on UW-Madison's success as well.
""I can't imagine the state of Wisconsin without UW-Madison operating at the level at which it operates now,"" she said.
