Following presentations on recommendations for increased flexibilities from University of Wisconsin System officials, members of the Special Task Force on UW Restructuring and Operational Flexibilities sparred over the creation of institutional governing boards to oversee UW institutions.

JoAnne Brandes, a member of the Carroll University Board of Directors, said she supported the creation of institutional governing boards. She said it once made sense to have a strong central system for the universities when most of the funding came from the state. However, she said now less than 20 percent of funding for universities comes from the state.

“Yet, our structure has not changed at all to reflect any of the new realities, and consequently my big concern is [that] the quality of the campuses is eroding because we can’t pay for it,” Brandes said. “In my mind, we need to push much more authority down to the campuses who are in the best position to be responsible and accountable for what happens on the campus.”

Fred Mohs, a former UW regent, said increased flexibility could come at a cost. He said the creation of local governing boards could lead to a “survival of the fittest” mentality as campuses compete for a limited amount of state funding.

“If it’s just eat what you kill that doesn’t sound like something sustainable … for instance if the campus has an influential legislator or a couple [of legislators] in their district that have to answer to constituents and all of a sudden we have winners and losers and nobody’s driving the ship,” Mohs said. “I would want to think long and hard because we might be talking about closing campuses as part of this concept.”

However, UW-System Senior Vice President Emeritus David Olien said the state will not close a campus. He also said he supports the creation of local governing boards.

He said institutions should have governing boards that will appoint the chancellor, approve their mission, approve programs, and determine faculty and staff compensation and tuition. He said the system board could be modernized into a coordinating board that would not be “command and control,” but would make recommendations to the governor and the Legislature.

“I think it’s absolutely vital if we’re moving into a [new] era, and I think we all realize we are, where the institutions are state-assisted rather than state-funded, and that it’s going to be critical that we and the governor and the Legislature pay attention to the donors and to the alumni who have a vested interest in supporting the institutions,” Olien said.

Before the discussion on institutional boards, members of the task force received presentations from UW System officials and Department of Administration officials on reforms that need to be made to capital budget and planning and procurement.

During discussion, UW-Madison Vice Chancellor for Administration Darrell Bazzell said it felt a little like a scenario from the 1993 film “Groundhog Day,” since he has been involved with discussions on procurement and capital planning topics with the state for nine years.

“Part of the reason it feels like ‘Groundhog Day’ is, I feel like we’ve been put on a treadmill, like with a hamster. On a treadmill with no exit or an on-ramp, if you will, in sight,” Bazzell said.