Conversations
Q&A with Regent President Jay L. Smith

Jay L. Smith's hallmark is successful leadership. At Fordem Company, a snack-food packaging business where he began his career, Smith shifted the company's product line and merged it with Europe's largest manufacturer of sterilizable packaging. He then served as president and chief executive officer of the newly created DRG Medical Packaging, Inc., from 1982-89. From 1989-1992 he was president and CEO of DRG Ltd. in Bristol, England. He is currently president and CEO of JLS Investment Group, which he founded in 1992.

A Middleton resident and UW-Madison graduate, Smith was named to the UW System Board of Regents in 1995. Elected regent president in 2000, Smith helped steer through the Legislature the last two university budgets, which have been among the most positive for the UW System in several years. He is also one of the creators of Plan 2008, the UW System's 10-year plan to increase diversity on every campus.

Wisconsin Ideas recently caught up with Smith to discuss the UW System's 30th Anniversary, the state budget and the future of the university.

WI: As president of the Board of Regents, what would you like to communicate to faculty and staff about the UW System's 30th Anniversary?

JS: I would like to thank them for their commitment to the university and for the contributions they make each and every day. I would hope they would share in a sense of pride in the accomplishments of the University of Wisconsin System - and its 15 institutions - over the past 30 years.

We have built a remarkable system of higher education - one of the most respected in the nation. And it is not just about programs, departments, buildings and libraries - it's about people. Our faculty and staff have made this the great university it is today.

I would also like them to know how highly they are thought of. The university is probably the most respected public institution in Wisconsin. Over the past few years, we've conducted a number of state polls and they always show that the public strongly supports our campuses and UW-Extension and recognizes the important work they do.

WI: How do you think Wisconsin and its citizens have benefited from the merger of the two state public university systems?

JS: I think the university system has realized the goals set out for the merger. We have saved the state a lot of money over the years by avoiding duplication of academic programs and by being very efficient in the way we administer the UW. In fact, we are the most efficient system in the nation. We spend the fewest dollars relative to our total budget on administration.

State citizens also have benefited enormously from the fine research that is conducted on our campuses. In Madison, for example, there has been a boom in biotechnology businesses over the past several decades. That wouldn't have happened without the research going on at UW-Madison, and the stem cell research is only the latest example. UW-Milwaukee, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stevens Point and others are having a similar impact on their communities.

But the biggest benefit is the number and quality of the people we have educated. Since merger, we have graduated about 400,000 students, most of whom now work in Wisconsin. They include teachers, nurses, legislators, lawyers, business owners, veterinarians, mayors, architects - even university professors. And there are thousands and thousands more who got some part of their education from the university, whether it through UW-Extension, the UW Colleges or on one of our campuses. This represents a huge impact in a state of five million people.

WI: Can you say a word about the Regent priorities for the year ahead?

JS: The Regents came together in July and agreed to focus on three areas: one, continuing our commitment to Wisconsin's economic development; two, defining the elements of a quality UW education to insure that we are providing that to our students and, in the process, to also take a critical look at our own role as a board and the System as a whole; and three, to look at the UW's total resource base - recognizing that we are getting a declining share of state support - and examine all possible ways to enhance it.

These are issues that will take a lot of our time this academic year, and we will be seeking input from our faculty and staff. This past year, we established a program in which each of our Regents adopts two campuses. This gives us a way to become more knowledgeable about the remarkable work going on around the system and to be in closer touch with faculty, staff and students, so look for us on your campuses this fall.

WI: Looking ahead, what are some of the challenges you see for the university?

JS: Two major issues are maintaining the excellence of our campuses and the UW System as a whole, and maintaining access for our students in what promises to be a very tight fiscal environment for the state. With support from the governor and legislators, we were treated relatively well in this past budget process, but we know that the state is suffering from general economic downturn. That is why the work we're doing to help stimulate the state's economy is so important. We must help position the state for tomorrow's economy.

We want to help grow personal incomes in the state, which are below the national average, but we also need to provide our students with the job opportunities they are seeking when they graduate from our campuses.

There are other challenges as well - staying abreast of technology and developing our capability in the online learning arena; retaining and recruiting faculty and staff in the face of an expected wave of retirements; keeping the outstanding leadership we have in our president and chancellors; keeping our commitment to the tradition of the Wisconsin Idea; keeping our academic programs current and nimble in the face of accelerating changes in the workforce; and bringing more federal dollars to the UW System and to Wisconsin.

Those are just some of the challenges, but I remain very optimistic because of the caliber of leadership in our system and on our campuses, and because our track record suggests that the University of Wisconsin will grow even better and stronger in the years ahead.