She hasn't even been confirmed for the position yet, but the next possible Chancellor at the UW-Madison is already attracting controversy.
State Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) is raising concerns about Biddy Martin's support for bringing domestic partner benefits to UW faculty and staff. Grothman says it's disappointing that so soon after the voters of Wisconsin rejected same-sex marriage in a Constitutional amendment, the new leader of the Madison campus would take such a divisive issue to the taxpayer.
Martin, currently provost at Cornell University, will become the first openly-gay chancellor for the Madison campus. She has expressed her support for trying to bring the benefits to the UW in order to help keep quality staff members from leaving for other universities that make them available.
Grothman also criticizes Martin's interest in increasing faculty salaries. He says university leaders shouldn't be talking about pay hikes during these difficult economic times.