UW-Madison is in danger of massive cuts and reductions if the state Assembly version of the budget is passed, according to a letter sent by Chancellor John Wiley to legislative leaders currently debating the stalled issue.
The cuts reflected in this version of the budget jeopardize our mission and threaten the quality of teaching, research and outreach Wisconsin citizens expect from their flagship university,"" Wiley stated in the letter.
The UW System requested $165 million for cost-to-continue items in the biennial budget, including things like increases in utility costs Wiley said. $70 million was to go towards UW-Madison cost-to-continue items, with $31 million for this fiscal year Wiley stated.
These are items that the university must fund in order to keep functioning at its current level according to Wiley.
The Assembly version of the budget gives the UW-System $62 million for the proposed items according to state Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, who released a letter to Republican legislators in response to Wiley's statement. Nass is Chair of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities.
Wiley said that the Assembly version of the budget would create real and lasting consequences for the entire university.
""No part of this campus would be immune to the effects of these damaging cuts,"" Wiley said.
Wiley attached a summary of some of the changes that would have to be made to the university if drastic cuts were made. The College of Letters and Sciences, the largest school on campus, would lose $7.9 million and not employ almost half of the teaching assistants next semester according to Wiley.
The most popular majors of English, political science, biology, history and psychology would have to create enrollment caps in CLS as well, Wiley said.
Nass stated in his letter that the UW-System acted irresponsibly by approving an operating budget of $180 million in August without the state budget being decided. This is amount proposed by Gov. Jim Doyle and the state Senate.
""System President Reilly and the Board of Regents opted against the prudent course and instead selected a direction of partisan confrontation,"" Nass said.
The operating budget for the UW-System being higher than the proposed Assembly budget is an attempt to exert political pressure on the Assembly according to Nass. It is an intentionally created crisis Nass said.
""The Chancellor fails to comprehend the most fundamental aspects of state government,"" Nass said.
UW-Madison Vice Chancellor Darrell Bazzell said administrators have been increasingly worried about the prospect of the budget not being finished soon or receiving significant cuts in the final version. Administrators wanted to make sure some contingency planning was in place and Wiley's letter reflects that, according to Bazzell.
""We were starting to get nervous,"" Bazzell said.
One of the next big ""milestones"" in terms of how UW-Madison deals with the ongoing budget process is assessing admissions for the next year, Bazzell said. If a decision is not reached on the budget within the next few weeks, fewer students may be admitted to UW-Madison next year than this year according to Bazzell.
""At some point we have to make sure that we have the resources to serve the students that we bring to this campus,"" Bazzell said.
