UW-Madison students and faculty gathered at the Kohl Center Thursday with the Wisconsin Alumni Association to officially welcome Chancellor Biddy Martin to the university.
In her keynote address, Martin identified tuition costs, faculty salaries and diversity issues as specific concerns.
According to Martin, costs are becoming a problem for universities across the nation.
We can try to keep the rates of increase as low as possible, and I'm sure we will, but it's unrealistic to think that tuition will stay the same or go down,"" she said.
Martin said she wants UW-Madison to consider other Big Ten schools' tuitions to stay competitive.
""Tuition at UW-Madison is at the bottom of our peer group,"" she said. ""Tuition support is the sticker price of an education ... It's fair to say that every single student at this university, whether paying full tuition or getting aid, is being subsidized.""
She emphasized the importance of need-based scholarships, adding students should pay for their education based on financial status.
""Those who can afford to pay tuition, those who can afford to pay more, should pay more. Those who can afford to pay less should pay less. Those who can afford to pay nothing should not pay anything,"" Martin said.
Martin said the salaries of the faculty come second to recognizing members for their value in educating students.
""Our goal is not to offer the biggest or largest salaries in the country, even if we could. Our goal is only to reach the median of our peer group and to reach it by awarding merit and performance,"" she said.
A large portion of Martin's speech addressed the future of the diversity campaign after Plan 2008.
""We should focus our resources on the [programs that work] and create new ones where old ones have failed,"" she said.
After taking over for former Chancellor John Wiley Sept. 1, Martin has provided some students and faculty with new excitement for the future of the university.
""I hope that she can continue on with the fine example that Wiley did as well as [David] Ward,"" said James Hess, director of the Monona Terrace Convention Center. ""I'm very confident and hopeful that she can carry on that tradition.""
Jill Watson, an external relations director for UW Foundation, said she is optimistic about the upcoming years she will share with the new chancellor.
""We certainly have great hopes for the chancellor '¦ to bring campus together, to advance research [and] celebrate diversity.
