[media-credit name=’DEREK MONTGOMERY/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly delivered a State of the University System address to the UW-Madison Faculty Senate in Bascom Hall Monday, speaking about such topics as stem-cell research and relations with the Legislature.

Reilly also answered questions from faculty regarding university funding and competitive salaries in his first official meeting with the UW-Madison faculty since taking office last summer.

"My vision for the system is that we should be the state's premiere developer of advanced human potential," Reilly said. "It's clear that UW-Madison has a very big role to play in that vision."

Much of the question and answer session that followed Reilly's speech focused on the system's efforts to convince the Legislature of the need for greater funding, in part to satisfy inadequate salaries among the faculty.

"As a department chair, I feel such an obligation to emphasize to you something which you already know, which is the near desperation from our faculty over the funding of this university," Political Science Chair Graham Wilson said. "Our salaries are at 80 percent of the level of our peer institutions."

Reilly identified with Wilson's concerns and pointed out the similar difficulties in his responsibility to offer competitive salaries for the chancellor positions across the system.

"The Board of Regents very much recognizes the situation you just outlined and is sympathetic and I think will push as far as we can to catch up," he said. "We don't ultimately decide [funding] at the board level — the Legislature and the governor do, which you know, so our role is as advocates for you."

Presumably responding to outspoken criticism from three state representatives last week after he revealed his early knowledge of the scandal involving former top UW-Madison administrator Paul Barrows, Reilly emphasized a few voices do not speak for the entire legislative body.

"There are 132 legislators and I think you have to be careful in translating the comments of any one or two or three into what the Legislature thinks," he said.

Articulating the case he will make to the Legislature for increased funding, Reilly claimed the economic future of Wisconsin is intrinsically tied to the number of baccalaureate degree holders in the state.

"The higher the percentage of the baccalaureate degree holders in a state, the higher the state's capital income and the only way we're going to get that … is figuring out how to use he university to produce and hold more college graduates and attract more college graduates in," he said.

Reilly said the state does an excellent job retaining its baccalaureates, but noted it is exceptionally bad at attracting baccalaureate degree holders from other states into Wisconsin.

"We ranked, the last time I looked at those data, 48th or 49th among the 50 states in attracting baccalaureate degree holders to come here," he said. "We can use the university to do that and we've started to do that."

Reilly also praised Gov. Jim Doyle's veto last week of Assembly Bill 499, which he said would have made it illegal to conduct some of the stem-cell research on the Madison campus.

"I think the veto was important to ensure that Wisconsin remains a worldwide leader in embryonic stem-cell research," he said. "Not just in health research and in scientific discoveries but also in contributing to the economic vitality of the state."

UW System spokesperson Doug Bradley said although these are unusual times for the university, Reilly's appearance before the UW-Madison Faculty Senate was typical.

"Even though the state is our landscape and business, we're here in Madison so they're always cordial about extending those invites," Bradley said. "Unless their agenda is cluttered or full with other stuff then they will extend this invitation on an annual basis."