Gov. Tony Evers signed Wisconsin’s 2025-27 bipartisan state budget into law Thursday morning, securing a $256 million increase to the University of Wisconsin System budget after months of negotiations with Republican lawmakers. It’s a far cry from the $856 million the system requested, but a welcome alternative to the $87 million cut Republican legislators floated just two weeks ago. Here’s what that money will mean for the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Alongside $27 million annually to “attract faculty in high-demand fields of study,” more than $160 million has been approved for “critical” renovations to Science Hall, which will “restore the building’s historic character while improving accessibility, addressing deferred maintenance issues and adding an atrium.”
UW-Madison will receive $10 million to renovate and add to Dejope Residence Hall and almost $19 million to renovate Rheta’s Market in Chadbourne Residence Hall. However, no funding was approved for the construction of a new residence hall on campus, set to meet the growing number of new students UW-Madison admits each year.
In a statement Tuesday, UW-Madison called a new residence hall “much-needed,” and said they were “disappointed” to not receive bonding approval, especially since it would have been funded “entirely with university resources.”
In the past few years, UW-Madison has struggled to house its students. The campus only has space for 8,800 students, with UW-Madison’s ever-growing freshman classes straining capacity. Trying to find housing after freshman year has been described by students as a “Hunger Games” scenario, and for those who wish to return to university housing after their first year, there are only about 1,000 spots available for the 2,000-2,400 students who want them.
In late 2024, the Wisconsin State Journal reported that a lobbyist group for Madison-based landlords pushed the UW Board of Regents to stall construction of a new residence hall until further research on its necessity could be completed. This request was ultimately not heeded and the Regents approved the building plan.
UW-Madison also received $287 million less than they had requested to demolish the Mosse Humanities building. The university requested $292 million to relocate academic programs within the School of Letters & Sciences and demolish the 56 year old building, but was awarded only $5 million.
In their Tuesday statement, the university suggested the $5 million would be put towards relocation of the departments that remain in Mosse, rather than demolition costs.
Construction has already begun on Irving & Dorothy Levy Hall — the new home of the College of Letters & Science — which is expected to open in 2026.
The budget deal also includes a 3% pay raise for all state employees in 2025 and 2% in 2026, including at UW-Madison.
While the budget deal came as a relief to UW-Madison amid threats of state funding cuts, further federal cuts still loom. Just last week, an email was sent to all faculty and staff informing them of 5-7% cuts to all departments effective July 1, when the 2026 fiscal year begins.
The UW System’s original request of $856 million would have halted further campus closures across the state, according to UW System President Jay Rothman. The Board of Regents are set to meet on July 10 and are expected to discuss potential campus closures and tuition increases.
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.
