Chancellor Biddy Martin outlined her vision for the New Badger Partnership and addressed student concerns Monday night during a forum hosted by the Associated Students of Madison.
The New Badger Partnership is a proposed plan to provide the University of Wisconsin with more freedom from state oversight in the face of dwindling funding.
Several students expressed concerns about the possibility of UW becoming a private university as a result of the New Badger Partnership during the forum hosted by the ASM Legislative Affairs Committee.
Other students mentioned they come from working-class families in Wisconsin and they rely on the university to provide top-notch education at low costs for residents. They were concerned about the potential rise in tuition.
According to Legislative Affairs Chair Sam Polstein, approximately 90 people attended.
UW graduate student Peter Rickman said he was opposed to the idea of the New Badger Partnership privatizing the school and the university should preserve the ideals surrounding the Wisconsin Idea.
“We are moving away from the public mission of the university and I am deeply concerned,” Rickman said.
Martin said all aspects of the Wisconsin Idea would still be maintained, including the vast technological, medical, agricultural and veterinary advances that have resulted from UW’s world-class research. She said she does not want the university to be privatized and takes pride in the fact that UW is a public institution with such an outstanding reputation.
Max Love, UW sophomore and former Student Council representative, said he was disappointed by the lack of a comprehensive student voice at the forum.
Love said there are only a few more months available for discussion about the New Badger Partnership before the state budget is announced and the fact that there aren’t many students concerned about it is disturbing.
Love said UW students should have been consulted about their opinions about the proposal all along and should have a direct say in how their university is dictated.
He added the potential rise in tuition that will come along with the New Badger Partnership could change the face of UW.
“This partnership will cause a huge shift in the demographic of the university due to an increase in tuition…,” Love said. “It is unfortunate that many first-generation students will be at a disadvantage.”
UW Director of State Relations Don Nelson said Gov. Scott Walker is drawing up his budget for the state of Wisconsin and has taken requests from all state agencies into consideration.
Nelson said the New Badger Partnership will be needed to compensate for the amount of state funding the university could potentially lose.
The New Badger Partnership would provide better means for UW to make important financial and administrative decisions independent from the state government, Martin said.
“We need to do more to help ourselves so we can help the state of Wisconsin,” Martin said. “It takes years to acquire the reputation that UW-Madison has, but it does not take long in the face of an economic crisis to diminish that reputation.”
Walker is expected to announce the state budget toward the end of February and, at that time, the process for developing the New Badger Partnership may progress further.
