Chancellor Rebecca Blank updated University of Wisconsin’s Faculty Senate Monday on recent developments to raise money to make up for the deficit created by Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed $300 million budget cut to the UW System.
Budget Cuts
In April, the Board of Regents voted to increase nonresident undergraduate, international and certain graduate school tuitions over the next four years. Out-of-state undergraduate tuition will increase $3,000 next fall and $10,000 over the next four years.
UW-Madison’s out-of-state tuition will increase by $10,000 over next four years
The increase in nonresident undergraduate tuition will raise less than $18 million for UW, Blank said. Another $35 million will be raised by eliminating and consolidating programs in information technology, agriculture and the arts.
This means $53 million out of a $100 million budget deficit has been covered, which is a sign of how large the projected budget cuts are, Blank said.
Legislators have expressed interest in finding ways to reduce the budget cuts and their ability to do so is dependent on a re-estimate of tax revenue that will be released Tuesday or Wednesday, Blank said.
If the re-estimated tax revenue is near $100 million, Blank does not expect a change in the budget cuts, she said. If the re-estimated tax revenue is near $300 million, Blank said she expects there will be a chance to change the budget cuts.
The Joint Finance Committee is waiting for the re-estimate before making a decision, but it should be made within the next month, Blank said.
Blank said she expects the public authority proposal is “not going to fly.”
Ray Cross, UW System president, is currently working to see if in lieu of a public authority UW might be able to gain a select few flexibilities UW is interested in, Blank said.
Chapter 36 is the policy which details tenure and shared governance. Walker’s current budget proposal eliminates Chapter 36 entirely when UW becomes a public authority.
There is still an open question about Chapter 36, Blank said. It could be rewritten, returned as it is or taken out and replaced with what the Board of Regents decide upon. Blank said she would not like to see the Board of Regents rewrite Chapter 36 and would prefer for the policy to be under UW System control, because they have a better idea of how tenure and shared governance works.
UW has put together two task forces, one to focus on the tenure review process and one to focus on shared governance. The purpose of these committees will evolve as the budget discussion progresses, Blank said.
Blank announced to the Faculty Senate an economic impact study that was conducted by NorthStar Consulting. This study will be important for legislators to view while looking at budget debates.
The study shows that UW and university affiliate organizations account for $15 billion in economic impact in Wisconsin and highlights the importance of UW to the state’s overall economic health, Blank said.
Campus Master Plan
Gary Brown, director of campus planning and landscape architecture, updated the Faculty Senate on the 2015 Campus Master Plan, a campuswide construction and maintenance plan that is revised every 10 years.
UW seeks input as it begins revising campuswide construction, maintenance plan
The plan will include a comprehensive stormwater master plan so rainwater from the roofs of buildings will be utilized across campus in a more productive manner.
Currently UW has 7 million square feet of available space to build. Thirty to 35 percent of available space was used when the 2005 Campus Master Plan was developed so there is a lot of capacity left, Brown said.
Over the summer UW will develop a draft of concept plans, Brown said, and next fall UW will present preliminary information and hold public forums before refining concept plans. In the spring, UW will present final draft plans, he said.
The Faculty Senate also made memorial resolutions for the deaths of the following professors: professor emeritus William Craig, professor emeritus Francis Nagle and professor emeritus Arthur Peterson.
