“The Wisconsin Policy Research Institute’s (WPRI) report on the UW System, released today, contains a lot of information upon which it bases its views about what is required to maximize the UW’s impact for the state and its citizens.
“While one can take issue with aspects of the report, the timing of the report is fortuitous. At the July Board of Regents Meeting and Retreat, the Board and leaders will continue their consideration of key strategic planning issues and a strategic planning process to build upon the System’s Charting a New Course report and the Growth Agenda which followed.
“We continually work at maximizing our impact on the state’s prospects for a brighter future. The WPRI report points to many of our challenges, many of which we have attempted to communicate and address with our state’s leadership. Those include the importance of the UW System to the state; declining state support driving higher tuition; and lack of administrative flexibility. We will continue to do so.
“The WPRI report also correctly points out that the UW System is quite successful. Indeed, it is. The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems ranked the UW System among the five most productive state systems, relative to financial resources, in the country. In late May, the governor of New York named a panel to improve universities in his state, and, in announcing the panel, said his goal was to put New York’s public universities on a par with other states, naming Wisconsin explicitly.
“Maintaining our level of high quality and productivity is the overarching goal of our Board of Regents, and our campus leaders, and doing so will require our continued diligence working with our state’s leaders.”