The University of Wisconsin System leadership praised Gov. Tony Evers 2021-2023 budget proposed last week, as it nearly doubled the already-ambitious initial request to help UW pull out of its financial deficit.
Category: State news
UW, lawmakers look to comply with Trump Title IX changes; Biden expected to have his own
Wisconsin lawmakers must implement permanent rule changes by May to meet federal guidance on university cases of sexual assault and misconduct, though the provisions are not likely to last long under President Joe Biden’s administration.
As UW Health reschedules COVID-19 vaccine shots, state adds groups eligible
UW Health on Thursday moved back 4,000 COVID-19 vaccine appointments set for next week because of inadequate supply, as the state prepared to make educators and other groups eligible for shots Monday — adding some 700,000 residents to about 1.6 million eligible now.
Tension is growing in the Wisconsin State Capitol as some Republican lawmakers refuse to wear face masks
Quoted: “Indoor settings with prolonged exposure present the greatest risk for transmission, hence why universal masking is particularly important – even if the individuals are immunized,” said Jim Conway, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Global Health Institute.
Patrick Remington, former epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s preventive medicine residency program, said if lawmakers who choose to go maskless are vaccinated against COVID-19, then the risk is lower.
“One obvious question for people not wearing masks is whether they have been vaccinated. If they have, then it seems to be a reasonable thing to do,” Remington said. “That is, the vaccine provides sufficient protection to significantly reduce the risk of becoming sick or getting others sick.”
Budget breakdown: What is in Gov. Tony Evers’ proposals for the UW?
Gov. Tony Evers delivered his $91 billion budget proposal last week, including $191 million in new investments in the University of Wisconsin System over the 2021-2023 biennium.
‘It’s Voter Suppression:’ Lawmaker Floats Overhauls To Wisconsin’s Voting Rules
Quoted: David Canon is a political scientist at UW-Madison, and he echoes many of Gardner’s concerns.
“In my view, it’s clearly voter suppression…Our elections are very secure. The number of cases of voter fraud are so infinitesimally small that it’s just not something that changes the outcome of elections,” Canon says.
Evers announces 4 new locations for COVID-19 community-based vaccination clinics, including one in Racine County
Noted: According to the announcement, the clinics will collaborate with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, the University of Wisconsin System, local public health departments and other local partners.
Initiative to place Vel Phillips Statue at the Capitol more than halfway toward fundraising goal
An initiative to erect a statue in honor of Vel Phillips — a prominent civil rights activist and the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School — at the Wisconsin State Capitol is more than halfway past its fundraising goal.
Tony Evers seeks $2.4 billion for building projects — nearly half for UW campuses
Gov. Tony Evers wants to spend $2.4 billion on building upgrades across Wisconsin — nearly half of which would be spent on University of Wisconsin System campuses.
Thompson lauds Evers’ $190 million hike for UW System
Gov. Tony Evers proposed an increase of $190 million in investments in the University of Wisconsin System over the 2021-2023 biennium as part of a budget proposal delivered this week that prioritized funding for technical colleges and college access and affordability.
Gov. Tony Evers wants $2.4 billion for state building projects, nearly half for UW System
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers wants to spend about $2.4 billion over the next two years on state building projects, with about $1 billion of the proposed money going to the University of Wisconsin System.
Evers recommends new L&S building, other campus projects in capital budget
At the UW-Madison campus, building projects would include Music Hall restoration, a new engineering facility, utilities renovation on Engineering Drive and a new College of Letters and Science building that relates to the university’s goal of demolishing the Mosse Humanities Building.
3 big ideas must stay in Wisconsin’s budget
But three of the governor’s major spending priorities deserve broad bipartisan support:
- Investing in our universities, especially UW-Madison.
- Encouraging more private investment in promising technology startups across the state.
- Expanding access to high-speed internet in rural areas.
Tommy Thompson: 75 Percent Of UW’s Fall Classes Will Be In-Person
At least three-fourths of all University of Wisconsin System classes will be in-person this fall according to system interim President Tommy Thompson.
As COVID-19 vaccines roll out, Thompson sets goal of 75% of courses in person on UW campuses in fall
University of Wisconsin System interim President Tommy Thompson told campus chancellors to aim to have at least 75% of their courses in person next fall, with the hope that COVID-19 vaccines will allow a return to some normalcy.
‘We need beacons of hope’: Community groups gather $125K for Vel Phillips statue in Madison and seeking more donations
The legacy of Vel Phillips is one filled with firsts.
In 1951, she was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. In 1956, she was the first woman and first Black member of Milwaukee’s City Council. In 1971, she was the first woman and first Black judge in Milwaukee County.
UW System to get $191 million in Gov. Evers’ budget, doubling UW’s original request
In the 2021-23 budget package Gov. Evers presented Tuesday, an additional $191 million is allocated towards the UW System — doubling the number UW officials asked for and marking the largest state funding increase in nearly two decades.
Vel Phillips statue effort gets a big financial boost
Phillips, who died in 2018, experienced many “firsts” in her lifetime. She was the first Black woman to graduate from the UW-Madison Law School, the first female judge in Milwaukee County and the first Black judge in Wisconsin.
Gov. Tony Evers’ budget calls for borrowing authority, major spending boost for UW System
Gov. Tony Evers is calling for a major spending boost in public higher education, doubling the University of Wisconsin System’s own request in a proposal that would be the System’s largest state funding increase in at least two decades.
Gov. Tony Evers calls for justice overhaul, Act 10 rollbacks, state exchange in budget
In higher education, Evers is looking to direct $191 million more in general purpose revenue toward the University of Wisconsin System over the next two years, including funding to backfill the continued tuition freeze implemented by former Gov. Scott Walker.
Gov. Tony Evers’ budget looks to ‘bounce back’ from COVID-19, revives measures opposed by GOP
Evers’ $91 billion budget includes $1.6 billion in new tax revenue along with about $600 million in tax cuts, a major boost in University of Wisconsin funding and extension of the tuition freeze, and 2% annual raises for state employees.
Gov. Tony Evers Unveils $91B ‘Bounceback’ State Budget
Evers’ budget would increase state spending on the University of Wisconsin System by about $192 million over the next two years. The governor would continue the UW System tuition freeze and backfill it with more than $50 million in state funding to offset the lost tuition revenue.
Journal Times editorial: UW System initiative a pipeline for the future
It’s a challenging time for colleges and universities, and for the students who want to attend those institutions to prepare for life in a rapidly changing world.
“Especially now, with COVID, we are seeing that (high school) seniors especially are having a difficult time getting prepared for college,” UW-System President Tommy Thompson said at a Feb. 3 press conference announcing plans for a new precollege pipeline initiative.
Wisconsin Assembly Minority Leader right on relationship between mask mandates and COVID-19 cases
Quoted: When studying the impact of mask mandates, it’s important to consider whether people follow them and if they’re enforced, said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He said it can be difficult to assess mandates individually when they’re issued with other public health guidelines, but he believes the Kansas study offered compelling data on the matter.
“You could argue that with or without a mandate, people might wear a mask because that’s what they do and the mandate is just confirming what they do,” he said. “At the end of the day, an entire county had fewer cases.”
Economist Says Wisconsin Should Increase Minimum Wage To At Least $10
Quoted: The rate has stayed consistent in the state with the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Workers earning minimum wage who work 2,000 hours a year — 40 hours for 50 weeks — make about $14,500 before taxes and work expenses.
“That’s just about enough to keep one single person out of poverty,” said economist Tim Smeeding, a professor of public affairs and economics at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Experts Highlight Issues Ahead For Next State Superintendent
Quoted: Erica Turner, a University of Wisconsin-Madison education professor who specializes in equity issues, said the incoming superintendent will face steeper-than-usual challenges. Education funding in Wisconsin, as in many states, hadn’t fully recovered from the recession more than a decade ago by the time the pandemic began. With some state revenue sources having taken a hit, and the unexpected costs of managing a pandemic, Turner said the new superintendent will likely have to contend with more limited funding.
“This is an equity issue because it has been the case, and it’s likely to continue to be, that a lot of the cuts will come from equalization aid — efforts to make school funding more equitable,” she said. “For educational equity, you need someone who can be an effective advocate around the budget, and then also will have to prioritize that what cuts happen, and how they happen, happen in an equitable way.”
Spending in Wisconsin’s fall legislative races skyrocketed to nearly double the levels of 4 years ago
Quoted: Barry Burden, director of UW-Madison’s Elections Research Center, said the fall spending levels appears to be a case of politics in Wisconsin “moving in line with some surprising national trends.”
He said both the presidential campaigns and congressional campaigns around the country more than doubled their spending from 2016, and the jump may be the biggest step increase ever between two consecutive presidential election cycles.
Bice: Supreme Court didn’t release study showing Black men 28% more likely to do prison time in Wisconsin
Quoted: “Overall, when I read the study, I think I’m looking at clear documentation of racial disparities in sentencing in the in/out decision,” said Pamela Oliver, an emerita sociology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Oliver said disparities in sentencing usually show up with a judge’s ruling on whether to lock someone up — which she called the “in/out decision” — not in the length of the sentence. She said that was the finding of the 2007 Wisconsin Sentencing Commission report, which was removed from the state website several years ago.
State approves over $12 million in UW-Madison maintenance, repairs
Included is $12.2 million in minor facilities renewal projects at UW-Madison. The university plans to replace outdated fire alarm and smoke detection systems and steam distribution pits, according to the Board of Regents’ capital planning and budget committee meeting materials.
UW-Madison claims nearly $31 billion in annual economic impact to Wisconsin
UW-Madison and its affiliated entities are an economic engine contributing $30.8 billion a year to the Wisconsin economy, according to a new report commissioned by the university and funded by UW Foundation.
Gov. Tony Evers appoints Democratic donor to UW Board of Regents
Evers’ office announced Monday he has appointed John W. Miller to the UW Board of Regents, an 18-member board that passes policies and rules for the University of Wisconsin System campuses.
Paul Jadin: UW, broadband, inclusion are key to Madison region’s success
First, education is king. Don’t ever allow UW-Madison to be anything but a premier, world-class institution. State and private dollars invested now will be leveraged considerably by virtue of the fact that most of the federal investment will go to expanded research at universities such as UW.
10 years later, workers still seek a seat at the table despite lack of collective bargaining
After years of wage freezes, a union representing 225 UW System trade employees negotiated a 1.81% raise for this year, which ended up being less than the 2% raise their non-union colleagues received … “There’s been a range of responses to Act 10,” David Nack, a professor in the UW-Madison Department of Labor Education said. “Workers often want to or need to find a way to effectively represent their interests with their employer. Act 10 doesn’t change any of that.”
‘Financial disaster’: UW System campuses show $317.7 million in lost revenue, added expenses from COVID-19 in 2020
New figures show the University of Wisconsin System saw $317.7 million in lost revenue and additional expenses between March and December as universities continue to weather the widespread budgetary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Facing ‘financial disaster’ from COVID-19, UW System pushes for borrowing ability
COVID-19 has caused the “biggest financial disaster” the university has ever seen, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said. Through federal stimulus money, furloughs, pay cuts for leadership, travel restrictions and targeted budget cuts to different units, Blank said she’s optimistic the financial gap can be resolved over the next two years. But she also renewed her case for giving the university borrowing authority.
UW nursing, pharmacy students join effort to bring vaccines to rural areas
Over 200 University of Wisconsin nursing and pharmacy students have volunteered to help administer COVID-19 vaccines at statewide mobile clinics in local high-need areas.
They don’t get credit, but a California nonprofit’s threat forced Wisconsin jury instructions to become public
Quoted: “For over six decades, the UW Law School has been privileged to publish and provide a home for the Wisconsin Jury Instructions. This has been a labor of love, grounded in our deep commitment to the Wisconsin Idea,” wrote UW Law School Dean Dan Tokaji.
“We are delighted that the jury instructions will be digitized and made free to the public from this point forward, thanks to the diligent efforts of the state courts and many people working with them.”
Proposal to create statue at state Capitol building honoring Vel Phillips moves forward
To have a statue of the late civil rights legend and political trailblazer Vel Phillips, Wisconsin’s first Black secretary of state, outside of the state Capitol building in downtown Madison would mean so much to so many people, including State Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) who would see it every day at her work.
‘It’s a Very Tough Job’: In Rural Wisconsin, a Struggle to Save Family Farms and a Way of Life
Quoted: Melissa Kono is an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who works in community development and is raising a family on a farm. “Work-life balance,” she said, is not a farming staple.
Tommy Thompson: Lawmakers said UW tuition increase would not have GOP support
In a panel discussion Monday evening, UW System Interim President Tommy Thompson said he didn’t pursue a plan to lift the ongoing freeze on in-state undergraduate tuition because Republican legislative leaders told him it could jeopardize the system’s budget request.
Thompson: Lawmakers Warned Against Tuition Increases In UW Budget
University of Wisconsin System Interim President Tommy Thompson says Republican leaders in the state Legislature warned him not to include any tuition increases in his first budget request or it wouldn’t “go anywhere.”
Republicans propose making vaccine available to everyone by mid-March, bar prioritizing prisoners
Quoted: Committee co-chairman Dr. Jonathan Temte of the University of Wisconsin-Madison agreed.
“Our recommendation should be based on the scientific evidence, the ethical pinnings, and the feasibility,” Temte said. “And on all three accounts, one would say, absolutely. If we are saying we’re going to punish these people yet again — because they are being punished for their crimes at this point in time — this constitutes kind of a double punishment and treating them very, very differently and I’m very uncomfortable with that.”
Democratic Control Of US Senate Will Mean Changes For Wisconsin Senators
Quoted: Barry Burden, professor of political science at University of Wisconsin-Madison, said Johnson’s strong allegiance to President Donald Trump, as well as his position within the Senate majority and chairmanship of a powerful committee, positioned him squarely in the national spotlight.
“That combination has been really effective for him for the last several years and has given him a national platform,” Burden said. “And now he’s essentially losing all of that.”
Wisconsin residents 65 and older could be in next phase of COVID-19 vaccinations
Quoted: But fellow co-chairman Dr. Jonathan Temte, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said politics shouldn’t play a role in public health decision-making.
“It is our purview to make whatever we think is the best recommendation,” he said. “I don’t think it’s ethically acceptable to say we’re going to do congregate living but exclude the incarcerated, because by definition, that’s congregate living.”
College openings led to increase in community cases, research says
At the University of Wisconsin at Madison, a spokesperson noted that COVID-19 cases rose in every county in the state following Sept. 1, when students came to campus. “As cases of COVID-19 continue at high levels across Wisconsin, UW-Madison remains committed to doing its part to keep transmission low,” the spokesperson said via email. “Despite a rise in cases early in the fall semester — caught and contained quickly thanks to robust testing and rapid efforts to isolate positive students and quarantine those at risk of exposure — campus experienced a low level of cases after the third week of September.” The university also provided 20,000 free tests to the general public.
About 86,000 vaccinated against COVID-19 in Wisconsin, state says
The committee, which meets again Friday, also discussed whether to add faculty and instructors at universities and technical colleges to the group including K-12 teachers and staff.
2020 Staff Picks: Judge Nia Trammell makes history, brings a unique perspective to Dane County Circuit Court
Noted: Trammell was born in southern Nigeria but considers herself a Madisonian after living the majority of her life here, she said. She grew up in the Northport Apartments on Madison’s north side before moving to the south side. She graduated from West High School and got her undergraduate and law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She said growing up as a Black child in Wisconsin she never visualized or envisioned herself as a judge. She is the first lawyer in her family and the first judge.
He’s served 30 years of a life sentence for killing a man at age 16. Prosecutors say he deserves to get out of prison now.
Noted: Torsrud could be the first of dozens of inmates serving life who might get out sooner. The Public Interest Justice Initiative, a joint project between Chisholm’s office and the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, was launched in 2019 after the Remington Center at the University of Wisconsin Law School found that more than half the 128 inmates serving life sentences for juvenile offenses were from Milwaukee County.
Wisconsin is making progress to help more inmates get college educations — which can ‘completely redefine a life’
Michael Backman was 16 years old when he went to prison.
At the time, he could barely read or write, barely understand all the legalese floating around him as he dealt with the repercussions of the day in September 1991 when he drunkenly burglarized a home and killed a man.
Statue of Vel Phillips, Wisconsin’s first Black female Secretary of State, could be placed on Capitol grounds as soon as summer 2021
A statue of the first Black woman to become secretary of state in Wisconsin could go up in front of the state Capitol building as early as next summer.
Audit: UW System paid out $68.5 million in student refunds
A new report shows the University of Wisconsin System paid out nearly $70 million in coronavirus-related refunds to students last year.
About 10,000 people have received COVID-19 vaccine in Wisconsin so far as influx of Moderna doses expected
Noted: Also Monday, Andrew Petersen, president of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the system is having conversations with the federal government about how it can help distribute the vaccine.
The success campuses have had in partnering with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide rapid-result testing to Wisconsinites was an example of how UW’s reach could help with the vaccination effort, he said.
Capital City Sunday: Nursing homes prepare for vaccinations, COVID-19 liability, and UW tuition freeze
Since 2013, tuition for in-state undergraduate students at UW campuses has been frozen.It’s helped protect students from the rising costs of college tuition, but a new report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum found this incentive for students is threatening the UW’s ability to be competitive against other universities. “The tuition freeze is a clear part of that, but you also see stagnant state funding, enrollment declines that are greater than other states nationally … all things that were adding up before COVID-19,” said Jason Stein, Research Director for the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
Ways to help rural Wisconsin outlined in new report
Specifically, the report calls for investing in county-based educators employed through UW-Madison’s Extension division. The task force recommended partnering with UW Extension to help every region of the state understand its assets and create an area-specific development strategy.
Wisconsin’s tuition freeze squeezes its campuses tighter than other states have, report says
Few states controlled tuition at their public universities as tightly as Wisconsin has done in recent years and the handful that did offset the squeeze with some additional state money, according to a new report released Tuesday.
Report: Wisconsin’s public colleges are falling behind as state funds lag and enrollment drops
A new report on the financial health of Wisconsin’s state universities and technical colleges found lagging state investment, enrollment challenges and — for University of Wisconsin schools — an ongoing tuition freeze as some of several factors threatening their competitiveness.
UW Board of Regents approves raises for chancellors, asks legislators to pick up pay plan for faculty
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved 2% raises across the board for campus chancellors during a closed session Thursday afternoon.
UW System approves request for state-funded employee pay raises
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents unanimously voted Thursday to approve its 2021-2023 pay plan request, asking Governor Tony Evers to fully fund pay increases for System employees.
UW to request professional tuition increases, as System plans employee pay raises
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is requesting that the Board of Regents approve increased tuition plans for some graduate and professional programs, a process that has taken place every two years since December 2014.
UW System asks for 2% and 2.5% employee pay increases in each of next 2 years
University of Wisconsin System employees would receive 2% and 2.5% pay increases over the next two fiscal years under a plan officials released Monday, but the annual raises require legislative approval and COVID-19 complicates the state budget picture.