University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced Friday that a tuition waiver plan is in the works for Wisconsin residents of federally recognized Native American tribes.
Mnookin announced the potential program during a sculpture dedication ceremony to professor emeritus and Ho-Chunk Nation member Truman Lowe outside Van Hise Hall on the UW-Madison campus.
Mnookin told The Daily Cardinal following the event that Wisconsin residents who are also members of federally recognized tribes will be eligible, and the program will be additional to other existing aid programs.
“We will not be spending state dollars [on the program],” Mnookin said. “We are in the consultation phase with both the UW System and with the tribes.”
“The tribe's perspective on how to make sure this is successful and making sure we’re working with the UW System are both pretty important,” Mnookin added.
Mnookin said there was not much she could share about the program at this time because the project is still in development. Still, Mnookin was optimistic about the timeline of the program.
“From my perspective, as soon as everyone’s on board, we’ll be ready to go,” Mnookin said. “I’m excited about this possibility, and I want to make sure we’ve had the chance to consider and work with everyone’s input to make the program strong and successful. I hope it won’t be too long.”
Ian Wilder is a senior staff writer and current men’s hockey beat reporter for The Daily Cardinal. He’s a former state politics and features reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @IanWWilder.
