University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin showcased the Madison campus as a premiere research institution and praised it for the work being accomplished with diversity and affordability as a university at the UW System Board of Regents meeting Thursday.
Martin opened with a presentation highlighting UW’s status as a unique institution in the state and world. The presentation explored examples of UW’s strides in research and spoke on behalf of the quality of students and faculty alike.?
“We are one of those universities who could attract faculty from all over the world. The students and faculty are enormously talented and ambitious,” Martin said.?
While highlighting the strengths of UW, Martin also said an area she hopes will improve in the future is diversity of cultures and background in the student body.?
She said she would like to increase the number of international students studying at the university.
“I think increasingly, if our students don’t live and work with students who come from all over the world, they will be at a serious disadvantage,” Martin said.?
To maintain the quality of research, faculty and students of UW, Martin said measures such as the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates are essential. This, however, comes with the challenge of keeping college affordable for students.?
“We need financial aid. We cannot afford to compete on the scale I’ve shown you here by keeping tuition low,” Martin said.?
Tyler Junger, chair of Associated Students of Madison, and Tom Templeton, vice chair of ASM, presented the initiative’s progress thus far to the Business and Finance Committee meeting.?
Templeton outlined eight of the proposals that have been passed by the committee, including expansion of the First-Year Interest Groups and a campuswide shared adviser note system.?
“We want to keep the Madison campus relevant to the state and the world. From my perspective, student participation is absolutely key. We want to make sure we’re using the money as efficiently as we can,” Junger said.?
There has been an increase in the number of proposals submitted for review, from 29 proposals in the first round to 114 proposals in the second round. Junger attributed this to the competitive nature of the proposals and said the student-based system of review will make sure the best proposals get passed.?
According to Junger, some of the problems the initiative has run into deal with the amount of proposals submitted, which has set back initiative deadlines.
Junger also expressed concern that while a proposal may be denied, it does not necessarily mean it was a bad idea.?
Both Junger and Templeton thought the presentation was well-received by the committee.?
The regents will meet today to discuss quality, affordability and differential tuition at 9 a.m. at Memorial Union.?
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