In the two years since becoming chancellor at UW-Madison, Biddy Martin has worked toward strengthening and rebuilding relationships between state lawmakers and the university.
Martin began her shift from the private to the public university scene in the midst of heated relations between former Chancellor John Wiley and lawmakers when he left his post in September 2008.
Martin met with lawmakers and sat in on committee hearings almost immediately upon her arrival to the university in summer 2008. She said she was told there was a ""great deal of tension and animosity"" between UW-Madison and lawmakers because of various incidents with Wiley, but she tried to keep an open mind.
""I met with a number of legislators then just to get a sense of how they saw the relationship and what we could do together. My immediate perception was that the members of the legislature … are really proud of the higher educational system across the state,"" she said.
Near the end of Wiley's tenure, members of the state Legislature criticized him as ""confrontational."" According to state Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, a former chairperson of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, Wiley ""didn't get everything he wanted financially"" for UW-Madison during his term.
Nass said system-wide budget cuts in 2004 and a relationship scandal between a graduate student and a vice chancellor at UW-Madison in 2005 hurt relations between Wiley and lawmakers.
Wiley said the biggest challenge he faced was budget cuts during nearly every year of his term as chancellor. He also said micromanagement from the Legislature in terms of personnel rules and reporting requirements ""hamstringed the university's ability to be creative and do things in ways that are more efficient.""
In a farewell article titled ""From Crossroads to Crisis"" and written by Wiley and published in ""Madison Magazine"" just days before he left office, Wiley called Wisconsin's business community ""partisan"" and the political climate ""poisonous.""
In Wiley's article, he criticized Wisconsin's tax policy, Wisconsin's largest business lobby Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, and permanent budget reductions for state universities and technical schools.
According to Nass, Wiley's ""parting shots did more harm than good.""
""He basically was lashing out and that was unfortunate for the [UW] System and the campus,"" he said. ""When you get into name calling, as far as I'm concerned you lose.""
Martin said periods of budget cuts during Wiley's chancellorship were a ""very difficult circumstance"" for a chancellor to deal with. Martin also said the negative perceptions she initially formed about the relationship between UW-Madison and lawmakers turned out not to be true.
State Rep. Kim Hixson, D-Whitewater, who serves as the chair of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, said he thinks Martin has successfully reached out to lawmakers and has ""done much to build strong relationships.""
""She's just done an excellent job,"" he said. ""I had many frequent conversations with her and when she first became chancellor she made a point to come up to the Capitol and introduce herself and visit with us.""
Nass said Martin has shown she wants to improve relations but doesn't feel ""she has to go on stage and let the world know."" He said few controversial issues have arisen since the beginning of her term, and the 2009-'11 biennial budget preserved much of the UW System funding. Nass said both of these factors allow Martin to maintain a more ""low-key"" attitude than Wiley could have toward the Legislature.
""The University wasn't cut much. That helped her. She didn't have to battle for more money,"" he said.
Martin said the relationship between the university and the state goes ""far beyond questions of financial support."" She said Wisconsin's culture and history shapes UW-Madison's relationship with the Legislature.
""It's a complicated picture. It's a rich relationship between the state and the university … I think the relationship … is probably uniquely close, even as far as other public universities go,"" she said.
However, she said if she were faced with budget cuts on the scale Wiley dealt with during his term, she would defend the university and find ways to deal with reductions.
""I will be a very strong supporter of the university because I think [the interests of the university] are also the interests of the state, and I will fight hard … to help the Legislature, the next governor, [and] the citizens of the state understand what it is we have to contribute to the well being of the … state as a whole,"" she said.
