The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents and chancellors agreed increasing flexibilities within the system and on individual college campuses will be important with budget cuts from the state government looming during a meeting on Friday.

The board and chancellors discussed the importance of having more flexibility in setting tuition, building facilities on campus, hiring and compensating employees and purchasing goods.

On Tuesday, UW System President Kevin Reilly sent a letter to Gov. Scott Walker asking for more statutory freedoms from the state government.

“Overall, I think it is fair to say our message has been generally very well-received,” said Chuck Pruitt, Board of Regents president.

Regent Ed Manydeeds said he was concerned about how the New Badger Partnership would fit into the context of the new flexibilities the system is requesting from the state government.

The system should act as a whole, Manydeeds said. If UW would have a proposal different from the system, Manydeeds said he didn’t know if he could support it.

In response, UW Chancellor Biddy Martin said the New Badger Partnership is no different than what the system is now requesting. 

The New Badger Partnership has been in development for over a year, and although it did not aim to be separate from the system, it might be due to the lateness of a system-wide proposal, Martin said.

“I hate to see what will happen to UW and the other campuses if there is no flexibility,” Martin said.

Several chancellors had the opportunity to speak on behalf of their own campuses and how increased autonomy in the face of budget cuts would benefit them.

UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells said more management flexibilities would mean there would be more leadership opportunities and allow campuses to utilize their human resources.

“When you overregulate people, you sap their ability, you sap their innovation to be able to do the things we need them to do,” Wells said.

UW-Whitewater Chancellor Richard Telfer and UW-River Falls Chancellor Dean Van Galen expressed their frustration with the state’s drawn-out process for approving leases and building projects.

“The flexibilities suggested in the [letter] can go a long way in making us much for efficient on many different levels,” Van Galen said.

A final decision on the New Badger Partnership and the flexibilities the UW System requested will be delivered by Walker after he announces the state’s 2011-2013 budget on Feb. 22.

During a closed session, the board also amended employment agreements for head football coach Bret Bielema and offensive coordinator Paul Chryst.

Bielema’s compensation package will be increased to $2.5 million in the deal’s first year, up from $1.7 million, according to a statement from UW Athletics.

Chryst’s compensation package will be set at $100,000 annually, which will be added on to his base salary of $305,000.

“The university requested the increases in order to make sure that we would keep our coaches and avoid a loss of excellence in our program,” said Martin in an e-mail to The Badger Herald.

Martin added the compensation package given to Bielema will put his in the top half of the of Big Ten coaches, but well below the most highly-paid coach.