Spotlight on UW budget
Gov. Tommy Thompson’s 1999-2001 biennial budget recommendations include a plan to boost UW–Madison funding over four years through a public-private funding effort.
|
See also: Other budget recommendations for UW |
|
Details Detailed information on the state budget plan, including links to Gov. Tommy Thompson’s budget address and the Budget in Brief document are available through the state relations Web site. For more information on state-related issues, contact Charles Hoslet, special assistant to the chancellor for state relations, 263-5510, or e-mail: hoslet@mail.bascom.wisc.edu |
The two-year budget earmarks $11 million in the first year and $8 million in the second that will:
- Make salaries for faculty and academic staff more competitive.
- Increase support for biological life sciences initiatives.
- Hire 17 additional faculty as the first part of the state’s share of the sesquicentennial cluster hires program.
- Step up preventive maintenance, reconditioning and energy conservation on campus.
“Obviously, the governor recognizes the benefits of a strong UW- Madison, and we are thrilled that he has incorporated this critical measure into his budget plan,” says Charles Hoslet, special assistant to the chancellor for state relations. “This public-private partnership will help ensure that the university keeps the status it has enjoyed for decades.”
 Gov. Tommy Thompson |
John Torphy, vice chancellor for administration, says the tuition-financed share of the UW–Madison measures will mean an $80 increase in UW–Madison resident undergraduate student tuition, but he expects the hike will be offset by a proposed 6 percent boost in financial aid.
The public-private funding proposal by Chancellor David Ward, known as the Madison Initiative, seeks to add state support for the UW- Madison budget over four years and match it with income raised from a private endowment supported by donors, alumni and others.
The governor’s budget plan also includes money for libraries, advising and information technology that would benefit UW–Madison. Introduced last week, the budget plan now goes to the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, which will review the recommendations and begin taking action on them in May.
“We are looking forward to working hand-in-hand with the Legislature to support and sustain the governor’s proposal,” Torphy says.