Despite a landmark year in stem-cell research and sports, even his staunchest supporters admit Gov. Scott McCallum spoke little about UW-Madison in his first State of the State address Tuesday.
Students expressed concern that the governor paid little attention to the university, devoting only a small portion of his speech to UW’s Big Ten basketball title and the recently approved BioStar project.
United Council, UW System’s student-governance body and political lobbying group, called the governor’s failure to address UW “glaring” and “naíve.”
“The governor neglected to talk about higher education in his State of the State address,” Matt Fargen, president of United Council, said. “He failed to talk about the UW System’s vital role in recovering the state’s economy.”
Roman Patzner of the College Democrats, agreed.
“I think the level the governor spoke about UW shows what is to be desired,” he said. “It shows what his priorities are.”
However, John Torphy, vice chancellor of administration, said McCallum’s message held no surprises.
“It was accurate in what I expected,” Torphy said. “The major thing he was trying to deal with is that there is a negative mood and environment, because of the budget. I think he wanted to make a positive focus.”
The bulk of McCallum’s university comments centered around sports and bio-technology. He first acclaimed basketball coach Bo Ryan for being named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
“This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Badger basketball — we had a new coach with a new system, a group of young players and one of the toughest schedules in the country,” McCallum said.
“But with each game, the Wisconsin character emerged. We watched the new coach and determined players react to adversity with confidence and conviction to overcome every challenge thrown their way.”
He also briefly commented on the high priority the Legislature has given to funding scientific research and biotechnology buildings for UW.
“Working together in a bipartisan fashion, legislative members of the Building Commission were influential in getting the first BioStar project approved — a project that keeps UW-Madison at the forefront of biotechnology,” McCallum said.
Matt Modell, a member of College Republicans, felt McCallum’s scant mention of UW was appropriate.
“He didn’t address UW much because he is doing his best to protect UW in the budget cuts,” Modell said. “He hasn’t received a lot of flack from Democrats because they wouldn’t do anything different.”
But students continue to debate.
“Wisconsin deserves better than this,” Fargen said. “When the governor addresses access to higher education and the role of the UW System in reviving the economy, then and only then will his plan to improve Wisconsin have all the components needed to succeed.”
