New Badger Partnership tops chancellor’s Senate speech

Chancellor Biddy Martin delivered a host of good news and cautionary notes to the Faculty Senate on Oct. 4 and said her priority this year is to gain administrative flexibilities that would allow UW–Madison to operate more efficiently.

In her annual State of the University speech at the Faculty Senate’s first meeting of the academic year, Martin said one of the most important things she’s doing now is promoting the New Badger Partnership, a proposal to give UW–Madison flexibility to operate in ways that would help the university as well as the state.

In Wisconsin’s challenging economic environment, the university is capable of fueling growth, she said. The university brings in about $1 billion in outside research funding, as well as millions of dollars in out-of-state tuition and philanthropy, Martin told the Faculty Senate.

“UW–Madison can be the kind of job creator the state needs, and not just through technology transfer, important as that is,” Martin said. “It can actually be an economic engine by virtue of the export business that it is. In order to fulfill that role, that responsibility, we need more flexibility and greater autonomy.”

Like the UW System, UW–Madison is looking for ways to operate more efficiently when it comes to such areas as facilities and construction management, and purchasing. Martin is also making a case for increased tuition flexibility, which would give UW–Madison authority to better manage the revenue it generates.

“What I propose is that we change the business model for the university in such a way as to spell out our accountability, and in return gain some flexibility to generate our own revenues and use them in the ways we need,” Martin said.

In an interview after the meeting, Judith Burstyn, professor of chemistry and pharmacology and chair of the University Committee, said it’s important to have a discussion about the New Badger Partnership and said people on campus to be aware of what the potential benefits and drawbacks are.

“All these things sound great, and the question is whether, in fact, they can get put into place in a way that really benefits the university, or does the state try to recoup some of the savings?” she asked.

In an interview after the meeting, professor John Sharpless, a faculty senator representing the history department, praised Martin for thinking ahead to protecting the university from further budget cuts.

“Regardless of who gets elected (governor in November), I think the university has to be prepared one more time to make some tough choices,” Sharpless said.

Martin also reported on a related plan to have a third-party consultant assess how the university’s administrative functions are organized and help the university assure itself and the broader public that it is as effective and efficient in its operations as possible.

“We need independent help in assessing out whether we can be organized more effectively to serve students, faculty and staff and whether there are any redundancies in operations,” Martin said.

But some faculty members have concerns about hiring an outside consultant. Burstyn told the Faculty Senate there needs to be a broad campuswide discussion about hiring a consultant.

She pointed to the estimated minimum $3 million cost of hiring a third-party evaluator, as well as the potential for consolidation of administrative services to mean a negative effect on faculty productivity or a loss of jobs.

“It’s a lot of money, and it’s hard to know what comes of it and whether, in fact, we’re able to save that much money,” Burstyn said. “Is it for cost savings or is it for making us function as efficiently as possible?”

The university has asked for proposals from potential consultants and a procurement committee, which includes a representative from the University Committee, will interview the consultants and decide whether and whom to hire.

The limited flexibility offered by the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates has already produced results, including relieving bottlenecks in popular classes and adding $5.1 million in need-based financial aid, an 86 percent increase in grant dollars for students in need, Martin said.

In other news, Martin told the Faculty Senate that the board of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation had agreed to provide $5 million over five years for new support for graduate students, a gift that has been matched by the UW Foundation.

Martin said the University Committee and Graduate School would work with the provost to decide how to allocate the funds. Increased funding for graduate students at UW–Madison was also part of a proposal for the 2011–13 state budget advanced recently by the UW System Board of Regents as part of its Research to Jobs initiative.

Martin indicated she has also requested from a major foundation a “significant” grant for humanities over the next five to 10 years, but isn’t able to provide details yet.

To balance the current budget, Gov. Jim Doyle has ordered state agencies to lapse some of their funding back to the state. While $60 million in lapses have already been assigned to other state agencies, $140 million remains unassigned and a portion will come from the UW System.

However, Martin said that if UW System schools were assigned lapses, she didn’t expect that UW–Madison would have to allocate any lapses or cuts to colleges and other units.

“We expect to handle it at the university level,” she said.