Rothman continues push for increased UW System funding despite GOP opposition

University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman continued to push for an increase in state funding, defending the system’s 2025-27 biennial budget request at a committee hearing Thursday while impending federal funding cuts cast a long shadow over higher education in Wisconsin.

Republican lawmakers on the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities grilled Rothman and other higher education leaders on their requests for additional funding, pointing to current spending levels.

Before the committee, Rothman defended Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed Capital Budget, which called for an over $856 million investment in the UW System and asked lawmakers if the state is going to let its public universities “atrophy.” 

Currently, Wisconsin ranks 43rd nationally in public funding per student, a stark contrast to other Midwestern states like Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, and Minnesota, all of which rank in the top 10. Rothman said the additional funding would help the UW System maintain its remaining two-year campuses and avoid raising tuition. 

“We are at a state that without additional support from the state, student successes that we are seeing across our universities are at risk,” Rothman said, calling on lawmakers to invest so college could continue to be accessible for Wisconsinites.

Rothman’s testimony came a little over a week after he defended the request at an agency briefing held by the Republican-controlled budget writing committee at which he called this year’s budget a “make it or break it” one for the system.

During Thursday’s hearing, Committee Chair Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Greenville, asked Rothman where he expects the additional funding to come from. Rothman reiterated that additional funding is an “investment in the future of the state.”

“At this table, you represent districts that have 9,000 students currently in school at the Universities of Wisconsin… More than half of you have attended one of our universities and hopefully you have benefitted from that,” Rothman said, citing a 2018 study that found there is a $23 return on every dollar invested in the UW System. 

While Republican lawmakers pushed back on the requests for additional funding, Democratic lawmakers on the committee voiced concerns about cuts to federal research funding and the potential threats to Pell grants and student loans.

UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee are both tier one research institutions. The federal government invests about $1 billion annually in the system for research, Rothman said. 

Without additional funding from the state, UW-Madison would need to increase tuition to cover the potential annual $65 million loss if a federal decision cutting research funding is implemented. 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, told The Daily Cardinal on Feb. 12 “it would be impossible for the state [of Wisconsin] to replace federal funding,” citing the need to maintain a balanced budget.

DEI continues to haunt budget discussions

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have remained at the center of budget discussions in recent years. 

In 2023, legislative Republicans struck a deal with the UW System to freeze diversity hires, reclassify about 40 DEI roles as “student success” positions and drop an affirmative action hiring initiative. In exchange, lawmakers approved funding for staff raises and construction projects.

At the time of the agreement, the UW System had 123 full-time DEI-related positions. That number dropped to 110 by May 2024 and stands at 64 as of March 2025. 

Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, questioned Rothman about DEI efforts at UW institutions after audits released on April 11 found campuses haven’t been tracking spending on DEI initiatives. 

The audits, ordered by the Republican-controlled Legislature, found that neither the system nor 15 state agencies kept specific records on DEI-related expenditures during the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which ended June 30. Despite the lack of precise tracking, audits estimated the UW System spent about $40 million on DEI-related offices and activities.

“We’re trying to see more of an effort to see in money savings, and I know there’s been reductions in positions, but there’s also been requests to add more,” Nedweski said, asking Rothman if the UW System held up its end of the DEI deal. 

While Rothman said “yes,” Nedweski said the audits say otherwise, outlining concerns about the system’s ability to measure the outcomes of monetary investments in DEI programs. 

“We now have a pattern within the UW System and our other state agencies where taxpayers are making investments in things like employees teleworking without knowing if there’s productivity. We’ve heard repeatedly from the UW System that we don’t really know their actual impact,” Nedweski said. 

Rothman asserted that the UW System had worked to honor the terms of the deal. 

“We were on our way when the [Legislative Audit Bureau] did its field work in May of 2024,” Rothman said. “Since that time, we have made significant progress, and we are in compliance with the agreement as it relates to the positions. We’ve exceeded what we said we were going to do.” 

The UW System is not alone in its request for an increase in funding from the state. Both the technical college system and public K-12 schools are looking for additional state funding. It is unclear if additional funding for all three, if any, will make the final cut. 

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