The University of Wisconsin-Madison and the 2007 — 2009 State Budget
The UW System budget will be considered by the Wisconsin State Assembly on Tuesday, July 10. In each step of the process, it is vital that alumni, parents, students and Wisconsin residents contact their legislator and urge strong support for the UW in the 2007-2009 state budget.
The budget, as passed by the State Senate, includes $225 million for the University of Wisconsin System and student financial aid and a $10 million faculty-retention fund, which will help UW-Madison keeping award-winning professors and researchers here in Wisconsin.
Additionally, the budget includes support for the remodeling and renovation of the Memorial Union and Union South and a provision to allow the UW System to offer domestic partner health care benefits to all employees.
This past year, more than 115 UW-Madison professors were offered positions at other universities around the country; the highest number the university has seen in over twenty years, and more than double the number from five years ago. UW-Madison is the only Big Ten University that does not offer domestic partner benefits to faculty and staff.
- Contact your state officials and ask them to make the university a priority as they create the 2007–2009 state budget.
- Visit the UW-Madison Office of State Relations for more budget details
Points of Pride
- UW-Madison's impact on the Wisconsin economy is $4.7 billion, more than 10 times the state's annual investment.
- The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has 30 state startup companies that grew from the work of UW-Madison faculty and staff.
- More than 138,000 UW-Madison alumni live in Wisconsin, paying taxes and contributing to their local economy.
- The work of nearly 100 Wisconsin companies is based on patents stemming from UW-Madison research.
Causes for Concern
- The amount of state support for UW-Madison's core mission is less today than it was in 1994. And that is in real dollars, not adjusted for income.
- The vast majority of gift support is earmarked by donors for specific projects and is unavailable for general use in alleviating costs. Only one-tenth of 1 percent of private giving is unrestricted.
- The state is facing difficult economic challenges. Wisconsin's per-capita income is $24,761, below the national average of $25,035 and about $2,500 less than Minnesota's. In 1969, Wisconsin and Minnesota were even.
- Currently, 25 percent of Wisconsin citizens hold a bachelor's degree; in Minnesota that figure is 30.7. The national average is 27.2.
1 Points of Pride, Causes for Concern. University of Wisconsin-Madison.