Budget Cuts to UW System

This week we will discuss the challenges facing our regional University of Wisconsin campuses. Guests will include Bernie Patterson, Chancellor of UW Stevens Point; Keith Montgomery, Dean of UW Marathon County; and Patricia Stuhr, Dean of UW Marshfield Wood County. The program will discuss the possible impact to local campuses of Governor Walker’s decision to cut $46.1 million dollars from the UW budget. UW System President Kevin Reilly called the cuts the largest in history, and predicted that universities would have fewer and larger classes; current students would need more time and larger loans to graduate; and future students would find it more difficult to get into UW System schools (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 23, 2011). The cuts were announced as part of the Governor’s effort to balance the state budget without tax increases.