University of Wisconsin officials have hired the Huron Consulting Group to ensure campus operations are working at maximum efficiency and to help restructure UW’s human resources system should the campus become a public authority.

University Committee Chair Judith Burstyn said the Chicago-based firm will help UW figure out methods to manage $125 million in state budget cuts in the next two years and in the long term operation of the university.

According to a statement from UW, consultants will focus on studying efficiency in areas of human resources, information technology, procurement and other areas.

The contract between UW and Huron, drafted March 9, said the group will provide up to 2,560 hours of time at the discounted, fixed rate of $100,000. Beyond this allotted time, the university will pay on hourly rate of $175 for analysts, $272 for the project director and other rates of managers and associates.

Burstyn said the hourly rate arrangement allows UW the option to contract as much of the group’s services as they deem necessary and called the rates in the agreement competitive in comparison to other organizations for the scope of the project.

She said Huron recently developed a new $80 million human resources system to serve the entire UW system, which will be implemented in the coming weeks. The company also managed the recent renegotiation of indirect cost rates for grants.

Although concerns have been raised about Huron’s unsteady history, with an audit revealing funds were improperly distributed to the company’s shareholders and employees, Vice Chancellor Darrell Bazzell said in an earlier interview with The Badger Herald that these issues are well known throughout the system.

“In the contracts with Huron, we will pursue complete transparency,” Bazzell said. “The UW System has a lengthy track record in working with the company.”

He said a committee selected Huron through a competitive bidding process and the firm has extensive experience in analyzing and helping to restructure institutions of higher education.

This expertise and experience in areas of human resources would prove beneficial to UW as the university makes the transition to a public authority and begins the yearlong process of developing a new human resources structure, Burstyn said.

“Should the budget bill pass as is, one of the big features of the public authority is a completely new human resources system for the university,” Burstyn said. “They can help give us a leg up in helping with this process and we can take advantage of what already exists [in the UW System].”

Burstyn also said the university will also retain the ability to determine whether the recommendations received at the end of the process run counter to campus culture and can choose not to implement the suggestions.

The statement said the project will be advised by three groups aimed at providing a wide range of the campus community’s perspectives during the project. Chancellor Biddy Martin, Provost Paul DeLuca and Bazzell will serve on the steering committee.

An advisory committee will engage representatives from organized labor groups on campus and shared governance, the statement said.

Burstyn added there would be specific working groups for each area being studied to lend specific expertise to the area.