Biddy Martin explained her plans to split the Madison campus from the UW System to state lawmakers at the Capitol on Thursday. The UW Madison chancellor made the pitch for her Badger Partnership plan to members of the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee. “Let us adopt a model that allows us to thrive,” said Martin. “Let the other campuses have the flexibilities that are appropriate their their revenue mix, their administrative capacities, their specific missions, so they to can thrive.” Martin suggested amending Governor Scott Walker’s budget, which incorporates the Badger Partnership, so the other UW campuses “get what they need.”
And Martin said, if the Madison campus is spun off, they’ll be able to hold the line on tuition. “We can hold it down because we`d have ownership of our own revenue, the ability to use it wisely, a new personnel system that’s designed for a university,” she said. “The savings from those things would allow us to use revenues sources other than tuition, going forward. So our dependence on tuition can actually go down with this model, as opposed to going up.” The panel also heard from UW System President Kevin Reilly – who opposes Martin’s plan to separate the Madison campus from the rest of the system.
