[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]

Gov. Jim Doyle told students across Wisconsin if they do
their part, there is an opportunity for them all in higher education,
highlighting education?s role in the Grow Wisconsin strategy he introduced in
his State of the State address Wednesday.

Doyle said fostering innovation through research and
development would be a priority in his plan to improve Wisconsin?s economy, and
?it all begins with a commitment to education.?

?Today our universities and public institutions are global
centers for research and development,? Doyle said. ?We must drive private
sector investment in research and development as well.?

Doyle reiterated his Wisconsin Covenant program ? a pledge
for eighth graders guaranteeing that if they keep a high grade point average
during high school, they will be admitted to a UW institution.

?Seventeen thousand kids said they wanted to go to college ?
and they?re willing to work hard to get there,? Doyle said.

The governor also praised the recent University of Wisconsin
stem cell breakthrough by UW biologist James Thomson. Thomson and his team
?embarked on the next frontier of stem cell research,? Doyle said.

The breakthrough involved using skin cells to create stem
cells, which can become any of the 220 types of cells in the human body and
could cure diseases like Parkinson?s, diabetes and spinal cord injuries.

?Because [Thomson] kept politicians out of it, Wisconsin
remains the world leader in stem cell research,? Doyle said.

The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, soon to be built on
the UW campus, will enhance both the economy and human health in general, Doyle
said. ?We?ll bring biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology
together to turn new discoveries into economic opportunity,? he added.

In contrast to the optimism surrounding UW?s accomplishments
and students? futures there, Doyle called the system of compensating teachers
?broken.?

?Nearly one third of Wisconsin teachers ? some of the most
dynamic and energized we have ? leave the profession within five years for a new
career and more sustainable future for their families,? Doyle said.

Rep. Kim Hixon, D-Whitewater, said he was pleased to hear
Doyle?s attention to education, being a professor himself.

?I?m more than aware of the problem of our teacher pay in
Wisconsin. I think it?s absolutely ridiculous and horrifying that we are No. 48
(in salary ranking) for teachers starting out,? Hixon said. ?I?m really glad
that the governor?s going to address that.?

Doyle also mentioned adding a mandatory third year of math
and science for high school graduation.

Despite mention of ?deep cuts and hard sacrifices,? the
address was low on details for these cuts.

?We need to significantly reduce state spending for the rest
of this budget cycle,? Assembly Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Horicon,
wrote in a statement. ?Tonight, no specifics were offered from the governor on
how that will be accomplished.?