Forum examines declines in public funding for universities

National experts on public funding for higher education will discuss the impact of state fiscal challenges on universities and the drive to maintain quality on Tuesday, April 19 on campus.

The forum will be held at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St., from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The program, sponsored by the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education, is free and open to the public.

Arturo Perez, senior fiscal policy analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures, and Donald Finley, president of the Virginia Business Higher Education Council, will be joined by UW System President Kevin Reilly to discuss the topic.

Perez will present a paper describing the impact of state budget problems on higher education from a national perspective. His talk will also focus on the specific situations of states such as Wisconsin and Virginia.

Finley will share his experiences in building a bipartisan legislative and business coalition in Virginia and discuss how that experience might be applied in Wisconsin in a talk titled “Recovering Revenue: The Campaign for Higher Education in Virginia.”

Reilly will add his thoughts about the current state of public support for higher education in Wisconsin.

For more information about the event, contact Thayer Reed, (608) 265-6342 or treed@education.wisc.edu.