Report From Conservative Think Tank Calls For Changes At UW 4-Year Campuses

WPRI Paper Recommends Reviewing Tenure, Increasing UW Involvement In Economic Development

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Cofrin Library (CC-BY)

A report from a right-leaning think tank on the University of Wisconsin System’s four-year campuses calls for local flexibility in setting tuition, changes to the shared governance system and a review of tenure.

Some of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute report‘s recommendations are similar to those approved recently by Republicans on the Legislature’s budget committee.

“The time is right because of the fiscal budget pressures,” said the paper’s author, retired UW-Stout Chancellor Chuck Sorensen. “Every state in the country is talking about changes in higher education right now, and some states are changing.”

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According to report, the UW System should be more in involved in the state’s economic development. The report also concludes that chancellors must given latitude to function more like CEOs and less like provosts.

It recommends creating a local board of directors for each campus. That board would be appointed by the regents, governor and local leaders.

UW System spokesperson Alex Hummel said they would continue to analyze the report and work with chancellors to find efficiencies within the UW System.