A mixture of optimism and concern surrounds Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to split UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee from the UW System.
As Chancellor Biddy Martin has asserted that the public authority model will give UW-Madison the ability to deal with deep cuts in state aid, other UW System chancellors have expressed concern that the split could negatively affect their schools and the state as a whole.
UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells said although he understands the need for more management and administration flexibility, all the system schools share that need.
Wells said the understanding was that UW-Madison would be the first to be rewarded more independence while remaining in the system and the others schools would follow suit.
""The bombshell for all of us is that we all agreed that Madison should go in the lead, but stay in the system,"" Wells said. ""No one ever assumed they would ever try to break up the system, which is one of the most admired if not the most admired system of public higher education in the country.""
Martin said she supports more autonomy for all the system schools.
""I know well how badly other chancellors need those flexibilities and I hope it will be possible to gain some of them for everybody,"" Martin said.
Wells said the split will lead to a less effective use of resources and will create competition among the separated schools. Wells said the competition is not necessarily the problem but that there would not be a fair playing field with UW-Oshkosh as ""huge underdogs.""
All the UW System chancellors have great respect for UW-Madison as the system's flagship, but added that the other schools have helped UW-Madison establish its world-class status through collaboration, Wells said.
""We all love UW-Madison. It's really respected across the country as probably one of the best examples of an authentic flagship who is given the honor, rightly so, to carry our flag. It's not just Madison's flag, it's our flag,"" Wells said.
However, Martin said collaboration between the UW System schools and UW-Madison will continue if the proposal passes.
""Many of our partnerships and collaborations were established and operate directly from campus to campus, and there is no reason why that direct collaboration should change,"" Martin said in a live web chat Wednesday.
Wells said he is also concerned that as UW-Madison's tuition rises, other system schools will be pressured to keep their tuition low, positioning them as the ""affordable alternatives.""
As their resources dwindle and they attempt to keep their tuition low, the UW-Oshkosh chancellor said he worries the school will be unable to provide the same quality educational experience.
""Breaking up the system and putting it into these tiers with have and have-not institutions will be contributing … [to] the dismantling of the middle class, because people won't have access to the same kind of quality education,"" Wells said.
