With the state of Wisconsin’s budget plummeting into a deep deficit and significant cuts expected, University of Wisconsin System president Katherine Lyall spoke yesterday about the fiscal future of UW-Madison and the UW System as a whole.

Lyall’s speech, given to the University’s Roundtable, an organization of UW faculty and staff, called for a renewed emphasis on the long-term future of higher education in Wisconsin. She said that with a new governor and state legislators taking office, this is an important time to think about the more than 160,000 students in the UW System.

Lyall said that she thinks the current path of the UW System is plagued with some serious problems but for the most part is in extremely good shape.

“‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,'” Lyall said, quoting the famous words of Charles Dickens.

Among the positive changes she said have taken place over the last few years are increased graduation and retainment rates throughout the UW System. She also said that last year saw a record number of applicants to Wisconsin schools, a trend she said is expected to continue in the future.

Lyall also said monetary rewards for research done at UW are on the rise. Recently, she said, UW-Madison has received gifts totaling over $100 million in support of various research endeavors on the campus.

Despite the positive status much of the UW school system, however, she said there are some grave problems that will have to be faced in the upcoming years.

“The state of Wisconsin is not doing so good,” Lyall said. “The economy is not rebounding as was predicted, and per capita income in the state is below the national average.”

If these problems are not dealt with in the right way, she said, it could create a real dilemma for higher education in Wisconsin.

Lyall said she thinks the UW System over the past few years has done a great job in handling its share of the burden in finding a way to provide higher education within the budget.

“We have squeezed and pushed and pulled,” Lyall said.

The federal government, she said, needs to start doing its part in the process of keeping higher education alive. One way she thinks this can be done is if the federal government were to provide more money for educational aide.

Even with more support from the federal government, however, Lyall said the UW System still needs to make some internal changes to address the budget crisis. She said she is not sure at the moment what the exact solution to this problem is, but that she thinks cuts in enrollment and an increase in tuition might be part of it.

Lyall said she does not want this to mean a decrease in the quality of education. She said she thinks it is possible to cut enrollment and raise tuition and still maintain a good reputation for UW schools.

“We cannot serve more and more students as they knock at our door ever more vigorously,” Lyall said. “This might require an increase in tuition.”

Jennifer Holschuh, a sophomore at UW-Madison, said she is happy Lyall is concerned about the future of the school, but she is skeptical that a tuition increase will solve the problem.

“It is already hard for a lot of students to pay tuition,” said Holschuh. “This is especially a problem for out-of-state students. I think an increase in tuition will only make it more difficult to have a diverse population of students here at Madison.”

Jeff Pertl, the president of the United Council of UW students, said he also does not think cutting enrollment and raising tuition will lead to an immediate solution.

“We need to make a change to the state budget,” Pertl said. “But we can’t do this by balancing everything on the backs of the students.”

He thinks a positive change can be made if the state’s economy can take a turn for the better. He thinks the UW System can do its part to help the economy by making it more desirable for out-of-state students to stay in Wisconsin after they graduate. He thinks an increase in tuition will only make this more difficult.