Last Monday saw a long-due celebration for the authorized domestic-partner health insurance benefits at UW-Madison. After years of fierce debates, Gov. Jim Doyle signed the plan into law this summer. This is also seen as a solid move to support education and promote equity.
Since 2005, UW-Madison has been the only Big Ten school without these benefits. The University of Iowa, in comparison, started offering its faculty and staff the option in 1992. In 2002, the UW-Madison Faculty Senate called for health-care benefits for domestic partners, but the motion went unanswered. Early in 2007, Doyle came close to signing the benefits into law. Even the state Senate passed a budget including the benefits that June. But they were dropped in Doyle's later version of the budget bill. Since then discussions on the topic have stayed heated, yet the actual situation remains stagnant.
For many faculty members, years of waiting were harsh torture. Health-care support for domestic partners is not only about the financial benefits they deserve, but also tied up in the broader issue of equality. After a frustrating fight, some of the most brilliant individuals among them chose to leave. Karen Ryker was a star theater professor and distinguished teaching award winner. She resigned in 2001 after 10 years at UW-Madison because of ""a lack of domestic-partner benefits."" Enjoying civil union status and related benefits at the University of Connecticut, Ryker still thinks about returning to Wisconsin once domestic-partner benefits become recognized by law.
Robert Carpick, now an engineering professor at the University of Pennsylvania, left UW in 2006 for to the same reason. In a later interview, Carpick said, ""I found it's problematic to work in an environment where you are not treated equally."" Also gone with him was $3.4 million in research grants from the National Science Foundation and other organizations. It is a shame that we lost such distinguished faculty over domestic-partner benefits, but thankfully this exodus should come to an end.
The cost of domestic partner benefits is almost nothing compared with humongous projects like Union South, which guzzles over $140 million. According to Chancellor Biddy Martin, the estimated general purpose revenue cost of the plan is $550,000 for the UW system, and $112,000 for UW-Madison. Just by giving these benefits to our faculty, we could attract talent among both prospective students and faculty. As for current students, more of us would be able to enjoy more quality courses, something that takes the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates millions of dollars to do.
Even though the merits of this legislation are plain to see, controversy over domestic partners' rights overall is far from over. On Tuesday right after the celebration, supporters of partner benefits announced their intervention in a lawsuit that is challenging the domestic partner registry. Wisconsin Family Action, an opponent of same-sex marriages filed this lawsuit, declaring the registry unconstitutional. While the focus of each dispute varies, we choose to stand on the side of respect for education and equality.
