University of Wisconsin System president Kevin Reilly said at a meeting Thursday the UW System is currently at a "crossroads."

The UW System Board of Regents met for the first time this academic year at Van Hise Hall Thursday and will continue the meeting today.

Reilly addressed the regents with "The Strategic Framework of the UW System to Advantage and Advance the Wisconsin's Future," followed by a discussion facilitated by Regent President Mark Bradley.

The UW System needs to "increase competitive knowledge" in three areas, Reilly said, focusing on the people, communities and jobs of the state of Wisconsin.

His solution was to create seven different "think tanks," which would consist of different committees of experts in various areas who would ultimately make suggestions to Reilly. Reilly would then use the information to develop a plan for the future of the UW System.

"The idea is you have to get knowledgeable people focusing on each one of those seven topics," Bradley said.

Reilly said with help from the think tanks, the UW System would be able to "integrate and synthesize the ideas that come out of them and present … a fundamental, strategic framework."

Bradley said the think tanks are a reasonable way to manage issues the UW System will face in the future.

"The process is promising because it's a very well-considered effort to look at the state’s needs and try to bring the best ideas of people inside the university community, in state government, in business, students and parents and say 'How can we address the needs of the university to address the needs of the state?'" Bradley said.

Bradley added the new think tanks are a proactive way of starting a statewide discussion about what the UW System needs and how to address those needs.

Reilly said he hopes to achieve "a new understanding from the state and its leaders about the university — what they expect from us, and what they're willing to invest in us to meet those expectations."

Regent Chuck Pruitt said the discussion was a good first step and a lively conversation.

"It's the first of what I think are going to be a lot of discussions," Pruitt said. "It's all about figuring out how we can better position the university, how we can meet the variety of goals and challenges that we have."

Danae Davis, chair of the Board of Regents Educational Committee, said creating the think tanks was the right thing to do.

"It's exciting that we are going to embark on this," Davis said. "I remain hopeful that we are going to get all the right voices in the room at the beginning in a meaningful and inclusive way."

Student Regent Colleene Thomas said the discussion was promising and looks forward to involving community members outside the university on discussions, despite an "era of decreasing support for the university by way of funding."

Reilly said involving key government and community officials will be crucial in having effective talks that will ultimately benefit the entire state.