It’s back to school for State Sen. Mary Panzer, R-West Bend, who admitted last week that she had never earned a college degree from UW-Madison.
Panzer, who claimed for nearly 30 years that she has a bachelor of arts degree in political science from UW, lacks the foreign language credits required to complete her degree.
Following her meeting with university officials, Panzer said although she had 148 credits, 28 more than required to graduate, she needed to complete additional coursework to obtain her degree.
“Last week questions were raised as to whether or not I graduated from the University of Wisconsin as I have stated in my public resume,” Panzer said. “I have met with the university and here’s what I found. I need 120 credits to graduate and I have 148 credit hours. Unfortunately, I find that the foreign language coursework for my bachelor’s degree is not complete.”
Panzer said she regrets the situation and plans to finish the necessary coursework immediately.
“I take full responsibility for this mistake. I am sorry,” Panzer said. “I intend to fix it. I am promptly preparing to complete the foreign language coursework. I will do this without delay.”
According to university regulations, it is too late to enroll in a class for the spring semester.
Panzer has blocked public access to her transcripts by requesting her records be protected under the federal Family Education Rights & Privacy Act. Panzer said she first placed the ban on her records in the late 70s, before she was involved with state politics, but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that was after her first Assembly run in 1974. At that point Panzer began reporting she had graduated from UW.
Panzer said she values privacy and she placed the ban on public access to records for many reasons. She has not commented on whether or not she plans to lift the ban.
WTMJ-TV reported Feb. 6 that Panzer did not have a degree, after noticing the senator did not have a diploma on her wall. Panzer said she had not questioned why she didn’t receive an actual diploma from the university.
There have been questions raised about the accuracy of her biography, as stated in the 2001-2002 edition of the State of Wisconsin Blue Book.
The current biography states she worked as a banker and state Senate legislative analyst prior to being elected to the Assembly in 1980.
Panzer has also made public claims that she was a research assistant in the state attorney general’s office.
Although Panzer worked in the attorney general’s office in 1969, her 1972 application to be a Senate page, Panzer claims she did only “legal typing” while working for the state attorney general.
The Department of Justice said records of Panzer’s employment no longer exist.
Panzer worked as a Senate page from 1972-74. She ran for Assembly in 1974 and lost. After losing, she worked as an aide for then-state Sen. Walter Hollander, R-Rosendale, for a year. In Panzer’s biography, she claimed to have worked for Hollander for three years. Panzer said this includes her time working for Chief Senate Clerk Donald J. Schneider.
In 1977, Panzer worked as a credit analyst for the now-closed United Bank in Madison. Panzer said her work at the bank was consistent with being a banker.
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