[media-credit name=’Derek Montgomery’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]A panel of professionals met Wednesday at the Kohl Center to discuss the marketing of Wisconsin’s educational assets.

Among those on the panel were University of Wisconsin Chancellor John Wiley, Wisconsin Alumni Association President Paula Bonner and Senior Partner for Venture Investors LLC John Neis.

The panel discussed a variety of topics ranging from the marketability of Wisconsin’s educational system to the necessity of educating those in Wisconsin public schools and gearing students toward future jobs.

Several panel members focused on the progression toward a “knowledge-based” economy.

“The importance of the connection of knowledge to the future of our economy is clear,” said Roberta Gassman, secretary of State for Workforce Development.

The panel mentioned UW several times in the discussion, noting it is home to one of the most superior research programs of any university in the United States. Several panelists agreed there is a need to spread the reputation of the entire UW System, both nationally and internationally, to attract more students.

The panel briefly discussed the UW budget and expressed concern over rising tuition.

“Everything about our budget is in really great shape but our base budget,” Wiley said.

Wiley said the greatest chunk of the UW budget is comprised of federal research grants. The second biggest part of the budget comes from gifts and grants from alumni and other sources, followed by athletics.

The panel said that to bring more revenue to Wisconsin’s economy, it is necessary to “sell” Wisconsin to businesses that will bring higher-paying jobs into the state. This also would provide more jobs for UW graduates, the panelists said, which would keep them in Wisconsin, where they can help bolster the state economy.

Panelists also discussed the high quality of the public education system in Wisconsin, which includes all grades and schools from preschool to college.

“Wisconsin has the most highly educated teaching staff in the United States,” said panelist Dick Vander Woude, director of public relations for the Wisconsin Education Association Council.

Some panelists expressed concern over the outsourcing of jobs. The board said their main concern is that college-age Americans are uneducated in the fields in which most businesses need employees, especially since countries like China, India and Japan are training their students in those fields at a much higher rate.

The panel felt marketing UW more aggressively nationally and internationally to businesses would raise awareness of UW students while encouraging students to graduate with degrees in fields that need them most.

The panelists concluded that the Wisconsin public education system has a lot to offer the state, national and international economy, but it is still necessary to market Wisconsin schools in order to increase their success.

“We have something of value here in Wisconsin that we’re trying to bring to the forefront,” Vander Woude said.