Governor Says He’d Like To Finish College Degree

Gov. Scott Walker said on Wednesday that he’d like to finish his college degree, although he dodged a question about whether he thinks he would need it to run for president.

Walker left Marquette University in Milwaukee 34 credits short of a degree his senior year, a decision that he said he made because he was offered a job at the American Red Cross. Walker has said in the past that he thinks it’s a decision most people would make, but he now said he’s interested in earning his degree through the University of Wisconsin’s new “Flex Option” degree program for working adults.

“Right now, the Flex Option, as we currently have it, is really focused on the key industries — -engineering, some related to health care and others out there,” he said. “As it expands, I’d certainly be interested in doing it, as I said in the budget address, but right now, it doesn’t have the areas I’ve specifically studied in. So, as it broadens, we’d like to see it broaden not so much for me, but for others who are interested in the program, and if I can find the right course load, I’d do it.”

Walker said one of the appeals of the Flex Option is that people can take tests to earn credits rather than take classes.

“Some of those things may be things I’ve acquired over the years or can test into,” the governor said. “Other things may be things I have to take online or otherwise.”

Walker left college more than two decades ago. He’s openly contemplating a degree at a time when he’s traveling the country meeting with GOP donors, fueling speculation that he’s interested in running for president.

Walker was asked if he needs a college degree to run for president.

“I don’t think I’ve needed a college degree to be in the state Assembly, to be county executive, to be governor,” he said. “I don’t know about any other position.”

Walker’s opponent in the upcoming gubernatorial campaign, Democrat Mary Burke, has two college degrees, including an MBA from Harvard University.