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John Wiley stepped down from his position as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin on Aug. 29 — but not before making a final statement on what he calls the “crossroads to crisis” between Wisconsin’s economy and educational system.

In a letter published in the September issue of Madison Magazine, Wiley wrote the state of Wisconsin has lost touch with its traditions and values and hoped to instigate “some badly needed public debate” necessary to improve the situation.

Wiley reprimanded the business lobby group Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce for opposing many measures aimed at improving jobs for entry-level and low-income workers essential to the Wisconsin economy and for opposing actions favored by labor unions.

Wiley wrote WMC is the biggest influence over Wisconsin’s “toxic political environment” and cited the group as the single biggest obstacle toward the recovery of Wisconsin’s economy.

Another major issue, Wiley wrote, is the “hyper-partisan political environment at the state Capitol,” citing the many conversations he had with state legislators while he was chancellor.

“A depressingly large number of those meetings began with a monologue about how all the state’s problems were caused by the policies and positions of the other party and how things would get better quickly if we just came out publicly in the support of their own party’s position,” Wiley wrote.

The former chancellor concluded the letter by encouraging the people of Wisconsin to “stop electing fanatically dedicated partisan ideologues” and to start electing “pragmatic problem solvers.”

He also said WMC needs to control their staff and to “stay focused on legitimate issues of Wisconsin’s economic development.”

In an interview with The Badger Herald, Wiley said he hoped the situation would improve but acknowledged he was not better than anyone else at predicting the future.

“As a matter of public policy, for the good of the state and the economy, what fraction of public education is most appropriately paid for by all taxpayers, and what fraction are the students and families themselves?” Wiley asked. “What is the right mix? I don’t know the answer.”

Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, said Wiley “completely and purposely ignores” other large special interest groups while solely focusing on WMC.

“He conveniently leaves those groups out of his commentary and focuses only on a business group,” Suder said, adding he believes Wiley has always had a left-wing political agenda.

Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, disagreed, saying Wiley “nailed” the issue of WMC’s destructive power over the state.

“He did a real public service by calling attention to both the role of higher education in the state and its role in the future of Wisconsin,” Black said.

In a statement released by WMC, Vice President of Government Relations James Buchen said his group’s agenda includes establishing appropriate priorities for spending limited government resources and that WMC recognizes the economic development benefits from UW.

“A thorough ‘sifting and winnowing’ in search of the truth that is part of the UW tradition would show that in the last budget, WMC supported the University of Wisconsin’s budget as supported by Gov. Jim Doyle and passed by both houses of the Legislature,” the statement said. “WMC actively lobbied for final passage of the UW budget.”

Wiley said inspiration for his letter came when he was transitioning out his office and he found a similar piece he wrote for Madison Magazine in 2003.

“I was cleaning out my office, getting ready to move, and I found an old copy of that letter I wrote five years ago,” Wiley said. “I reread it and I thought, ‘you know what, this is just as true today as it was then, and nothing much has happened in between.'”

Wiley will be anything but absent from UW in the years to come, as he will become the interim director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and will resume a teaching position as a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and at the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs.