THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 WWW.BADGERHERALD.COM
VOLUME XLIII, ISSUE 1
SUMMER 2011 MAILHOME ISSUE
PERMIT NO. 01526
Sweat, Swedes and straw hats: Herald Arts’ summer music ventures page B10
NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID MADISON, WI
ARTS |CONCERT FEATURE
Regents approve System-wide tuition hike After Wis. budget reduction, UW students’ bills will be 5.5 percent higher in coming year Adelaide Blanchard News Editor The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved a 5.5 percent tuition increase for four-year campuses and lifted a tuition freeze for two-year campuses for the first time in five years during its July meeting.
The increase means instate students at the UW will see an additional $659 added to their tuition bill, bringing the grand total up to $8,592 for the 2011-12 academic year, according to a statement from the UW System. The third of four $250 increases from the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates was also added to the tuition rate for the 2011-12 academic
year. The system-wide increase came after the Wisconsin biennium budget for 2011-13 called for the UW System to take cuts totaling $250 million over the next two years. “[UW System officials] certainly weren’t going to try to cover it all through tuition increases,” UW System spokesperson David Giroux said. For the first time in five years, the tuition
freeze on two-year campuses was lifted and will add 5.5 percent onto those students’ tuition bills as well, adding approximately $235, according to a statement from the UW System. Tuition was originally capped years ago because some two-year programs offered at the campuses were comparatively overpriced to other technical colleges outside the System, Giroux said.
The tuition increase will generate $37.5 million for the System for this year, which is approximately one-third of the $125 million cut the system received from the state budget for this year alone, Giroux said. Next year the UW System will have to make up another $125 million cut as well. As for other spending cuts in the System, Giroux said each individual
department in each college on each campus will have to consider smaller ways to tighten their belts. “[The UW System needs] to cut back here, there and everywhere in small ways that eventually add up to the savings we need to achieve. The question is, will you as a student
TUITION, page A2
Actual Dems stay on top in primaries
JUST A REGULAR NIGHT
Primary elections show loyal party candidates in lead despite opposition’s attempts to throw results George LeVines State Editor
Zhoa LimThe Badger Herald
Crowds gather to watch an impressive fireworks display at Warner Park during Madison’s 2011 Rhythm and Booms celebration.
In what marked the first of the summer ’s four rounds of recall elections, six Democratic Senate candidates won their primary recall elections against Republicans posing as contenders. After controversy erupted surrounding Gov. Scott Walker ’s budget repair bill to end collective bargaining for state employees, enough signatures were gathered to trigger recall elections for senators in nine districts, three of them currently led by Democrats and six led
by Republicans. Republicans made a strategic maneuver to delay the elections by planting candidates running as Democrats in the primaries, causing the general election to be moved back a month to Aug. 9. “This is just one more piece in a highly unusual political season,” University of Wisconsin political science professor Barry Burden said. “I don’t remember a case where fake candidates were run before.” Although Burden
ELECTIONS, page A2
New UW leadership to face unique challenges as Martin moves on Former chancellor will take position again while officials look for permanent candidate Selby Rodriguez Campus Editor After Chancellor Biddy Martin stepped down during an uncertain time for the University of Wisconsin, former Chancellor David Ward will take the reigns of the system’s flagship campus July 18 while officials search for a permanent leader. Ward, who served as chancellor from 1993-2000, accepted the position
Martin’s time at UW cultivated equal parts criticism, support; influence on campus remains Katherine Krueger Deputy News Editor While members of the campus community remain divided on whether ex-Chancellor Biddy Martin’s resignation marks the end of an era or an inevitable action after a polarizing battle, Martin’s influence will remain even after her departure. After her June 14 announcement that she would be departing the campus to assume the presidency of Amherst College, the former chancellor confirmed the appointment of several leadership roles at the University of Wisconsin and made a tuition proposal to the Board of Regents. Although Martin’s critics have charged that the proposal — which holds students from families with an income of less than $80,000 exempt from the tuition increase — preempts a decision that should be made by her permanent successor,
shortly after Martin’s June 14 announcement that she had taken a new role leading Amherst College. Having spent the majority of his professional career at UW, Ward is approaching his new position with excitement despite the challenges inherent in serving during a time of transition. During an interview with The Badger Herald, Ward said he recognizes Martin’s skill at maintaining a strong relationship with students and that he believes priority must be given to good lines of
communication. Ward was particularly attuned to the nervousness an abrupt administration change may cause for students and emphasized that within nine to 12 months there will be a permanent chancellor. “Transitions are always difficult,” Ward said. “They tend to cause anxiety, and my role will be to reduce that. It’s more a reassurance that there will be continuity.” Holding down an interim position relies on cautiousness regarding long term decisions, Ward said. He added he plans to
Martin maintained the plan follows up on her earlier financial aid initiatives. In a recent interview with The Badger Herald, Martin said her plan to use money from the 5.5 percent increase in tuition for need-based financial follows up on the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates and is “completely consistent with [her] priorities.” She added the proposal mirrors an original provision in the New Badger Partnership. While Martin acknowledged the final decision would be made after her departure, she characterized the proposal as a “placeholder” to avoid tabling the issue until after students have already enrolled in September. “In the past, neither the System nor the Regents have necessarily supported using the tuition increase to hold harmless,” Martin said. The outgoing chancellor also recently confirmed the hiring of Francois Ortalo-Magne as the new dean of the business school, along with
Margaret Raymond as law school dean. Although some have questioned the timing of these appointments as the chancellor begins the transition to Amherst, Martin maintains the appointments are the conclusion of a shared governance search and screen process spanning months. Having experienced a time of transition during her tenure as provost at Cornell University, she said the schools required strong leadership as the university enters an interim period. “Waiting a year while we had strong candidates seemed to be a mistake,” she said. Much of Martin’s final year as chancellor was marked by her statewide campaign for greater operating autonomy for the Madison campus, known as the New Badger Partnership, which evolved into a plan to break UW from the System, as outlined in Gov. Scott Walker ’s original state budget.
BIDDY, page A4
continue many of Martin’s initiatives already in progress. Ward said he agrees with the outgoing chancellor’s notion of a relationship with the state that recognizes the university’s value and gives it more room for its affairs. He added he perceives the New Badger Partnership as an amplification of past chancellors’ proposals and he aims to look forward instead of focusing on the proposal which ignited opposition from around the state.
“The New Badger Partnership simply didn’t have the legs necessary to get it through [the] Legislature, so my instinct there is to build on those principles of flexibility and figure out how to get those in other ways,” Ward said. With cuts at approximately $94 million in the 2011-2013 Wisconsin biennium budget, Ward, who served on the American Council of Education, said a national trend is arising in which increased tuition acts as a substitute for declining state support. Under these
circumstances, Ward said he believes an agreement needs to be discussed in regard to what an appropriate state and student investment in education is and that a partnership between parents and the state is necessary. UW Provost Paul DeLuca said he looks forward to working closely with the new chancellor. “I have always been impressed by Chancellor Ward’s skill set,” DeLuca said. “He understands the
WARD, page A4
Zhoa Lim The Badger Herald
During her farewell celebration earlier this month, Chancellor Biddy Martin enjoys a group hug from Bucky Badger. Martin will be leaving UW to take a leadership position at a liberal arts college in Massachusetts.
© 2011 BADGER HERALD