While his role as chair of the Committee on Colleges and Universities will end in January, state Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, plans to continue to be active in education policymaking.
Nass, who is an outspoken critic of the UW System, has served as chair of the committee since 2006, but after Democrats gained the majority in the Assembly last week, Nass will lose his influential position to an Assembly Democrat.
According to Nass spokesperson Mike Mikalsen, Wisconsin's budget shortfall will be the first item on the committee's agenda, and Nasas wants to cut spending by decreasing the number of UW campuses in the state.
Our problem is we operate too many campuses and that has become a huge drain on the system,"" Mikalsen said.
He said closing some of the smaller campuses would save building costs, and increasing the enrollment at larger campuses would make room for more students.
According to Mikalsen, Nass is hopeful Assembly Democrats will be open to this idea.
UW System spokesperson David Giroux said he never heard of the plan Mikalsen mentioned, but added all UW campuses are already at peak enrollment and it would be difficult to increase capacity at any particular campus.
""It's a very interesting idea, and if folks are convinced that would be a good way to serve the state's educational needs then let's look at it, but it's certainly not anything we've discussed previously,"" Giroux said.
Giroux said higher education is not a partisan issue and he will focus on improving communication with the Capitol, including listening to criticism regarding what needs to improve.
State Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, who is also on the Committee on Colleges and Universities, said he believes Democratic leadership in the committee will improve relations between the university and the Legislature, adding Nass ""was not a supporter of the university.""
According to Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Democratic control of the Legislature may fix ""strained"" relations with the university.
""I think there's an opening here for some improved relations, but it remains to be seen whether or not that's going to happen,"" he said.
