As the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents meets to discuss Biddy Martin's New Badger Partnership and potential ""split"" from the UW System, today many UW-Madison student leaders stand in support of Chancellor Martin.
We express our full support for Chancellor Martin and the principles for flexibility and autonomy espoused in the New Badger Partnership. To achieve this flexibility, Chancellor Martin correctly notes that UW-Madison is different from its peers in the UW System. Her argument is not that UW-Madison deserves special treatment or is uniquely better.
UW-Madison is just different. For example, unlike other UW schools, UW-Madison brings in $1.1 billion in research funding to the state of Wisconsin and attracts a substantial number of students from outside the state. Indeed, our university will face an extraordinary cut in funding from the state—no matter what. If we are to maintain a preeminent public flagship university in the state, which is of critical importance to the entire state's economy, UW-Madison must have the tools to act more nimbly and efficiently.
Additionally, we express great concern over the misinformation spread by other student groups and opponents to Chancellor Martin's plan. We want to set the record straight:
1. Chancellor Martin has repeatedly stated that UW-Madison has no intention of adopting the private university model of extremely high tuition and high financial aid.
2. State statutes concerning shared governance will be retained. With more decision-making closer to Madison, the entire shared governance system, which has served UW-Madison well for decades, is empowered and strengthened.
3. With less administrative bureaucracy, we can more quickly connect the millions of outside research dollars to our faculty and students, allowing UW-Madison to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking discoveries that lead to new jobs and patents.
These are just a few of the positive aspects of Chancellor Martin's plan.
We join Professors Suri and Cronan, the Deans of each of the colleges at UW-Madison, and former UW-Madison Chancellor Shalala in supporting Chancellor Martin's vision.
On Wisconsin!
—Brandon Williams
Adam Johnson
Matthew Beemsterboer
Seamus Fitzgerald
Matt Manes
Michael Romanesko
Lindsay Bembenek
Tyler Junger
Ali Ahan
Steven Olikara
Nichole Powell
Adam Ernst
Tom Templeton
David Sandvig
