Responding to provisions in Wisconsin’s 2025-27 biennial budget, the Board of Regents for the Universities of Wisconsin today approved a plan for market-based compensation to attract faculty in high-demand fields of study.
As of May 1, 2025, there were 5,081 faculty members (assistant, associate, and full professors) across the UWs. Of those, 68% (or 3,470) were below their peer American Association of University Professors median salary.
To help address this need, the 2025-27 biennial budget – 2025 Wisconsin Act 15 – provides $27.0 million annually and creates an annual appropriation for UW compensation to attract and retain faculty in high-demand fields of study.
The plan approved by the Regents distributes funds to each university with the goal of focusing on market competitiveness of those faculty in high-demand fields of study. In addition to $2 million legislatively earmarked for UW-Madison, $25 million will be allocated to the 13 universities based on undergraduate student credit hours.
High-demand fields of study are identified based on data from the Department of Workforce Development.
The proposal now will be submitted to the Joint Committee on Employment Relations for review.
The Regents also approved the framework for the distribution of additional funding changes enacted in the state budget. These include:
- $11.25 million to be distributed based on undergraduate student credit hours, with no single university eligible to receive more than 25% of the total allocation, and
- $15.25 million to be distributed based on FTE student enrollment to the 11 universities with declining enrollment over the previous 10 years.
Allocations will be released to the UWs upon approval of the forthcoming instructional employee workload policy by the Board of Regents and the Joint Committee on Employment Relations.
In addition, an $8 million GPR reduction will be allocated based on each university’s share of the GPR/Tuition budget, and $3.5 million provided for tele-mental health services will be distributed to the non-Madison universities based on student head count.
Regent President’s Report
Regent President Amy Bogost reported that a Search and Screen Committee was recently appointed to help identify the next chancellor at UW-Stevens Point. Regent Jack Salzwedel will chair that committee, with Kristi Roth, a Professor in the School of Education, serving as vice chair.
Along with representatives from UW-Stevens Point and the local community, other members of the board on the committee will include Regents Noah Fritz, Haben Goitom, Linda Terwilliger, and Jill Underly.
“Choosing who will lead our universities is one of our most significant responsibilities as Regents, and I thank you in advance for your willingness to serve in this role,” Bogost said.
She added that a search will soon be launched for the next permanent chancellor at UW-Eau Claire.
Bogost also offered congratulations to atmospheric scientist Ángel F. Adames Corraliza and nuclear security specialist Sébastien Philippe, professors at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who were recently awarded 2025 MacArthur Fellowships.
“These grants are extremely competitive, and it’s really impressive that UW-Madison has two,” Bogost said.
Often referred to as “genius grants,” the fellowships are presented by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to individuals based on their exceptional creativity, dedication to their pursuits, and the potential for their work to benefit society — especially with additional support. Fellows receive $800,000 over five years.
UWs President’s Report
In his regular report to the Board, UWs President Jay Rothman provided Regents with an update on this year’s FAFSA submission season, which looks to be in significantly better shape than the last couple years which had experienced major difficulties.
“We know that financial assistance is critical to helping some students make that big decision to participate in higher education,” said Rothman, adding that he’d travelled to La Crosse, Eau Claire, Waunakee, and Green Bay in recent weeks to promote FAFSA completion.
“I was joined by our K-12 educational partners from those regions at all these visits – and I can share with you that their enthusiasm to help high school students find a pathway to success is inspiring,” he said. “And FAFSA completion is a great first step in helping unlock educational opportunities.”
Overall, about 109,000 students in the Universities of Wisconsin receive some form of financial aid, and about 74,000 receive federal aid. Nearly 32,000 low- and moderate-income students across Wisconsin receive Pell Grants.
Turning to the impact of the federal government shutdown, Rothman told Regents that together with the universities, the UWs had been preparing for this possibility for months.
“While the immediate impact to our operations is currently limited, the longer a shutdown lasts the more we may feel the effects,” Rothman said.
He added that the Department of Education indicated prior to the shutdown that there will be minimal disruptions to federal student aid in the near-term.
“The impact to the research operations at each of our universities, on the other hand, is more acute with stop work orders and the possibility of lengthy service interruptions,” said Rothman, adding that the UWs continue to work with each university, national associations, and the Wisconsin Congressional delegation.
In other business, the Regents:
- Approved the collective bargaining agreements negotiated by the UWs and by UW-Madison with the Building and Construction Trades Council (BTC) of South Central Wisconsin. In each agreement, the parties negotiated for a 2.95% increase effective for fiscal year 2026. These terms are consistent with the agreement between BTC and the Department of Administration. Both agreements will be submitted to the Joint Committee on Employment Relations for final approval;
- In the Business & Finance Committee, received the year-end Budget-to-Actuals Report, which reflects the status of the UW’s fiscal year 2025 budget by major area of activity in comparison to actual financial experience for that year. The report provides this information for each individual university, but in aggregate, revenues exceeded the budget by 2.5% (or $198 million) due largely to additional revenue received from gifts and nonfederal grants and contracts. Overall expenses were less than the budget by 0.05% (or $3.8 million). Total revenues exceeded total expenses by about $93 million (or 1.1%); and
- In the Business & Finance Committee, received a report on gifts, grants, and contracts awarded to the Universities of Wisconsin in fiscal year 2025. Total awards were approximately $2.5 billion, a 10.7% increase from the previous year. Non-federal awards at UW-Madison, driven largely by transfers from the foundation, accounted for most of the increase. Federal awards increased nearly $48 million overall (or 3.8%).
The next meeting of the Board of Regents for the Universities of Wisconsin will be December 4-5, 2025, at UW-Whitewater.