It’s cool that Gov. Scott Walker wants to focus on improving public higher education, but he needs to slow his roll when it comes to his overall impact on University of Wisconsin System policies.
With as many changes to UW System policies he’s made over the last few years, it’s not hard to see Walker has a substantial influence over higher education in Wisconsin. He’s slashed state funding of the UW System to shreds and has been scaring off top-notch professors through his tenure changes, all while constructing an A-team governing body with his appointees taking up almost all of the seats on the UW System Board of Regents.
Some of Walker’s latest schemes include trying to reduce the amount of time it takes students to get career-ready so the amount they pay for school is reduced. He also wants the UW System to prioritize preparing students for the workforce rather than focusing on a broader education.
But, apparently, all of these shenanigans are meant to ensure the UW System ultimately works for the betterment of the Wisconsin economy: an economy primarily rooted in agriculture and manufacturing.
I love my Wisconsin dairy products as much as the next guy, but the fact of the matter is the majority of students here at UW are not majoring in something directly related to agriculture or manufacturing. For example, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences only offers 24 majors out of the 232 majors and certificates that UW offers as a whole.
Along with that, one of the biggest reasons UW even has its name on the list of top national colleges is because of its groundbreaking research, which is something that might not necessarily prepare students for the state’s workforce in the most efficient way.
But hey, I guess we’re really only here to prepare for entering the Wisconsin workforce.
Granted, Walker is trying to make public higher education more affordable and kudos to him for that. But in all honesty, he should really just stay on the square when it comes to running UW System policy at this level.
I mean come on, Walker didn’t even finish college. He dropped out of Marquette University about a year before his graduation. Sure, he’s pretty well off now, but the fact he has significant control of the UW System without an actual college degree is rather ironic.
Furthermore, great technological and societal advancements that benefit the lives of everyone stem from innovation, and innovation is the result of being able to think outside the box and solve problems in creative ways.
The purpose of college, and the reason we as undergraduates take all these seemingly pointless classes, is to allow us to develop that innovative creativity. We are here to learn how to solve problems that have not been solved before, or at least work towards a solution.
Walker’s grand scheme to turn Wisconsin public universities into glorified technical colleges that fold students into nothing more than agents of the Wisconsin workforce and pump them out in as little time as possible sounds like a recipe for societal stagnancy.
Everyone has a role in society and every role is just as vital as the next. Some will work the jobs that drive Wisconsin’s labor-based economy, and some will work towards advancements and innovations that can improve society as a whole. We need to value each equally, and Walker is not doing so with his current public higher education plans.
Phil Michaelson ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in biomedical engineering.
