Chancellor Rebecca Blank delivered the State of the University address to the Faculty Senate Monday, outlining her financial and academic priorities for the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Blank, in her third month as chancellor, she said each day she continues to learn more about the “rich history and culture of this institution” and the “many cool things that happen on this campus, both in education and in research.”
Blank said one of the aspects about the university that she finds most attractive is its commitment to outreach.
“I’ve really learned how seriously people here take [outreach],” Blank said. “[They take it] so seriously, that this campus actually has a name for this called The Wisconsin Idea.”
Blank said that one of her “strongest priorities” is ensuring the university is financially stable. She said universities such as UW-Madison have had to diversify funding streams because they no longer receive as much state funding as they did in the past.
Blank also said UW-Madison is cheaper than many other Big 10 schools in the amount it charges for out-of-state tuition.
“I see no reason why we should sell our education to out-of-state students cheaper than schools that quite honestly aren’t as good as we are,” Blank said.
According to Blank, other states use their higher out-of-state tuition to cross-subsidize their in-state students and provide lower in-state tuition. She said she plans to talk about this issue with the Board of Regents.
Blank also said she values shared governance but has heard “horror stories” of collaborative processes taking several years to reach solutions, so she wants the university to work together to come up with a “way to be collaborative but also make decisions in a timely manner.”
“My job is to maintain the high level of quality in instruction and research at UW-Madison … and when possible, to move it forward,” Blank said.
Blank said academic environments are continually evolving and the university must adapt and continue to provide great academics and research.
“In the annual Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai’s Jiao Tong University, we are one of only six American public universities to place in the top 20 and we are the highest ranked university among the Big 10,” Blank said. “That’s the level of excellence that you have achieved here over the years, and that I have pledged to uphold.”
