The feared effects of the proposed state budget drew nearly 500 students and community members to Union South Thursday, where UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank addressed financial concerns.
To curb rumors surrounding the possible $300 million cut to the UW System, Blank explained how the cuts will impact educational quality.
Currently UW-Madison is set to carry $57 million worth of cuts, however other factors could raise the number to $90 or $100 million. Blank said the cuts are too big for both the university and the state.
“It is way too soon for me to tell what we are going to do, what the implications are going to be for any one department or group of people,” Blank said. “But there will be budget cuts across the university.”
Blank’s plans to combat the cuts include increasing out-of-state tuition and then raising the percentage of out-of-state students from 27.5 percent to 30 percent.
While Blank said the tuition increases and other savings could account for the majority of the $57 million cut, the question of how to respond to the added budget cut of approximately $40 million still lingers.
“We are going to do what we can with lapses in positions, but I’m also going to be very blunt … There are almost surely going to be layoffs in many units across the university, I don’t know how we avoid that,” Blank said.
Members of the UW-Madison community asked questions to Blank in an open-forum style, bringing their specific concerns toward the administration.
A UW-Madison alumna questioned Blank if the budget cuts would effect or slow down the Diversity Framework, a campus-wide plan to better diversity on campus.
“I’m not going to say diversity programs will remain completely untouched, I don’t know that we can do that,” Blank said. “I do know how important diversity efforts are to this university, we just finished a major effort at creating a new diversity framework.”
Blank emphasized how the proposed state budget will not be passed until May or July, yet the administration will continue to inform the public through the new budget.wisc.edu website.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” Blank said. “And you can’t get too excited about anything that happens on any one day, because it’s a very long process.”
