Leaders of the University of Wisconsin and UW System responded to the governor’s rumored budget plan which would separate the Madison campus from the other schools in the UW System.

In a letter addressed to Gov. Scott Walker, UW System leaders said though flexibility for the schools is necessary in the current economic climate, separating the flagship institution would weaken the unified experience for students on all campuses.

The letter, submitted by Board of Regents President Charles Pruitt, Vice President Michael Spector and UW System President Kevin Reilly, said a two-tiered model would complicate joint research efforts and the single application process.

“Competing systems gave rise to wasteful duplication, unnecessary competition and conflict,” the letter said. “The strength of the Wisconsin Idea has been all of the UW institutions serving the needs of all Wisconsin citizens together.”

While UW leadership has considered the idea of increased flexibility for several decades, the letter said restructuring could provide more non-state revenue and reduced costs of operation for the university.

The UW leaders also said removing Madison from the UW System would cause confusion among state policymakers receiving contradictory requests from the various UW campuses and urged Walker to pursue “broad consultation and careful deliberation.”

Walker’s spokesperson Cullen Werwie would not confirm to the Associated Press the contents of the budget proposals, which will be presented Feb. 22.

Though Chancellor Biddy Martin’s New Badger Partnership, which aims to obtain more flexibility for UW in anticipation of cuts in state budget funding, has garnered support, Martin said it was not her school’s goal to be removed from the UW System.

“I’ve been advancing the idea that we need more flexibility to survive and thrive,” she said.

A draft of a Jan. 7 memo to Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary of State Mike Huebsch from Martin titled, “UW-Madison Structure Modeled After a Public Authority,” details some of the potential structure of the New Badger Partnership, including a separate governing body for UW. 

While Martin and other administration had indicated Walker’s budget would be the framework for the New Badger Partnership’s details and discourse, the Jan. 7  memo obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel suggests Martin knew Walker would propose splitting the Madison campus from the UW system.

According to an AP report, the Madison campus would be controlled by a board of representatives appointed by Walker, effectively increasing the state government’s hand in the university’s operation.

UW System spokesperson Dave Giroux told the AP the goal was to allow for a level playing field among all campuses to allow the system to compete with other universities across the country.

Nearly 182,000 students are enrolled on UW campuses, with around 41,000 in Madison.

-The Associated Press contributed to this report.