Wisconsin: What legislators would have heard about UW if they had listened
Excellent editorial; more at the link.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/what-legislators-would-have-heard-about-uw-if-they-had-listened-b99527441z1-310182231.html
If the legislators had held public hearings, they would have learned that the flagship of the UW System, UW-Madison, is the most cost-effective public university in the United States, attracting more research money, at lower faculty salaries, than any other university. They would have learned that individual professors at UW-Madison are paid more than $30,000 less than the University of Michigan, while Wisconsin's university attracts almost as much outside research money as the University of Michigan, over $1.2 billion annually.
If the legislators had held public hearings they would have heard from senior faculty members who would have described their hiring many years earlier by senior, nationally regarded scholars who insisted on only hiring the best. They would have explained that they came to UW-Madison because of the excellence of our university and that they have worked to maintain that excellence. They would have described how the historically strong leadership at the university and from the state Capitol has made it possible for them to do their jobs, knowing they were protected and supported. They would have described how the famous Sifting and Winnowing statement, on the front of Bascom Hall for more than 100 years, has a special meaning to them. It represents a century-old commitment to academic freedom.
If the legislators had held public hearings, the faculty would have explained that they have not complained about their salaries, even though they are lower than their colleagues around the country and the increases in those salaries have been few and meager in recent years. They could have explained that their salaries for full professors are 13th in the Big Ten, above only the University of Nebraska, but that the quality of their university is equal to any of the 14 universities in the Big Ten.
If the legislators had held public hearings, the faculty could have explained how UW-Madison and its sister universities have weathered budget cuts of three quarters of a billion dollars over the last 12 years. While those cuts caused serious problems, they did not strike at the core values of Wisconsin universities.
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