University of Wisconsin-Madison schools and colleges will reduce their base budgets by 5%, and administrative units will reduce their budgets by 7% amid federal reductions and uncertainties about state funding, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced Monday.
“As we engage in those conversations, we will prioritize safeguarding the core elements of our teaching, research, and outreach missions, now and in the future,” Chancellor Mnookin wrote. “Our expectation is that many of the necessary reductions can be borne by trimming non-personnel expenses, leaving some vacancies unfilled, and, in some instances, moving existing expenses to alternative funding sources.”
These cuts come out of Fund 101, which represents UW-Madison’s “core state public funding,” according to the school’s Research Administration Dictionary, and is meant to be used to support teaching, research and outreach.
In the past 6 months, the university has already faced several federal funding cuts and uncertainties, including terminations or stop work orders of more than 90 research grants and potential changes to the federal reimbursement rate, which could lead to a loss of $65-$130 million.
In anticipation of these federal budget cuts and losses of state funding, all academic units had been instructed in March to create plans to reduce their budget by five to ten percent.
The University of Wisconsin system is currently negotiating their budget with the Republican-controlled state legislature, with GOP legislators floating an $80 million cut to the 2023-2025 UW-System budget. The system, meanwhile, is requesting an $856 million budget increase, a move that would raise the system from 44th in the nation in public higher education funding to the national median.
“Mission-centric” activities will be at the forefront of budget-saving measures, Mnookin added. As a result, UW-Madison, at the UW-System’s direction, will proceed with implementing Workday software to “standardize and streamline finance, human resources, and research administration processes.”
Mnookin also announced the creation of an ad hoc group that will include “perspectives from across campus.” The group is tasked with thinking strategically about staying true to the university’s core values in the face of financial uncertainties.
Deans and vice chancellors will soon begin to meet with campus administration to discuss proposed budget reductions.
“Higher education is in the midst of tremendous upheaval. Like our peers, we are not insulated from the impacts,” Mnookin wrote. “We believe that by implementing these reductions now, we will be significantly better positioned to navigate the challenges ahead together.”
Annika Bereny is the campus news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the special pages editor. As a staff writer, she's written in-depth on campus news specializing in protest policy, free speech and historical analysis. She has also written for state and city news. She is a History and Journalism major. Follow her on Twitter at @annikabereny.
