Martin makes case for flexibility before UW Regents

The opportunity for UW–Madison to become a public authority would offer the university a combination of self-reliance with oversight, even in the face of deep budget cuts, Chancellor Biddy Martin told the UW System Board of Regents Feb. 25.

“Delaying, tabling or opposing the governor’s proposal will put us all in the position of taking deep cuts with no flexibility in the way we deal with them and no alternative strategy that appears to have political traction,” Martin told the board at a special

meeting at the Pyle Center.

Martin has been talking for a year about the New Badger Partnership, her vision for UW–Madison to operate with greater administrative flexibility.

Martin was greeted with applause from supporters when she entered the room and when she concluded her remarks.

“My approach has been to say, begin with the hand we are dealt, and the hand we’re dealt has no money in it,” Martin said. “We must become more self-reliant, and we must do more to help ourselves so we can continue to help the public.”

A proposal to give UW–Madison flexibility through a public authority was expected to be part of the state budget presented by Gov. Scott Walker on March 1, as this edition was going to press. More details about the proposal as it appeared in the budget bill will be available at budget.wisc.edu.

Board President Chuck Pruitt started by saying the meeting was not about Martin’s leadership, but instead was about “the idea and substance of a proposal that would be a sea change for higher education in Wisconsin.”

UW System President Kevin Reilly said Walker has expressed strong support for management freedoms for all UW institutions. Martin has said she’s consistently advocated for flexibility for all institutions in the UW System.

The Board of Regents also heard from representatives of UW–Madison’s shared governance groups, as well as chancellors from other UW System schools.

The chancellors argued that all institutions would be better off as part of a unified system and told the regents they were concerned that they would be forced to compete with UW–Madison for already limited state funds.

“I fear a separate system of governance for UW–Madison will lead to unnecessary duplication, greater competition for limited resources, confusion among our citizens, increased cost, and will negatively impact the recruitment and retention of quality faculty and staff,” said UW-Parkside Chancellor Deborah L. Ford.

The chancellors also reiterated their call for flexibility for all campuses, which they said would allow them a new way of managing funding to retain quality.

“The state budget cannot save us, whether Madison is in the group or out of the group,” said UW-Platteville Chancellor Dennis J. Shields. “We have to find a new paradigm to fund our public higher education.”

Martin said she disagreed with the notion that UW–Madison will be “spun off” from UW System and said the brand of other institutions would not be harmed if UW–Madison were to be treated differently.

“UW–Madison is not going anywhere,” Martin said. “Shared prestige does not come from any given administrative structure but quality of institutions, their connections with one another, the service they provide to young people and the state, and the sharing of a name …the name the University of Wisconsin.”

During the next two weeks, Martin will hold a pair of forums on developments regarding the New Badger Partnership and the state budget process. Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend.

The first forum is scheduled for 9-10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, March 2, in the Ebling Symposium Center on the first floor of the Microbial Sciences Building.

The second forum will be held from 1:30-3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8, in the Plenary Room at Grainger Hall. It was rescheduled from March 1 because of changes in the time of the announcement of the governor’s 2011-13 budget.

Martin will also hold a Web chat with the campus community to answer questions and share thoughts about the state budget and the future of the public authority proposal. The event will be held from 3-4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2. The chat can be accessed online.