College Democrats | University of Wisconsin - Madison

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Search and Screen for a new Chancellor of UW-Madison
You care about this university, you want to see it heading in the right direction for the future, and you believe that the next chancellor will play a significant role in securing the quality of education here at UW for future generations. Consider applying for the Search-and-Screen committee and helping select Wiley's replacement.

From the ASM Shared Governance blog:
ASM will select two students to serve on the Search and Screen Committee
to select the new Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
ASM (Associated Students of Madison) is the official student government
of UW-Madison. The Search and Screen will be a significant time
commitment beginning at the very start of the Spring semester. It will
conclude when the new Chancellor is selected.

If you are interested in applying, prepare a one page, maximum, essay
that addresses (a) why you feel you would be a good representative of
students on the committee and (b) what qualities or attributes you think
are essential for the new Chancellor to have. Also make sure to include
your phone number, year in school, and program.

Send the essay as an attachment to an email to Jeff Wright
(jawright2@wisc.edu) and Travis Weller (asmsharedgov@gmail.com). You may
also attach a one page, maximum, resume (optional).

The deadline to apply is noon, Friday, Jan. 18. Late applications will
not be considered.

From the applications, the ASM Chair and the Chair of ASM Shared
Governance will select a small number of people to interview. The
interview will take place between 5pm and 6pm, Tuesday, Jan. 22,
Memorial Union TITU. The interview will occur in front of the entire
Shared Governance Committee. This is the only time that interviews will
be held. If you are selected for an interview but cannot make the
interview time, your application essay will be read aloud to the Shared
Governance Committee. The Shared Governance Committee will then vote to
select the two student representatives.

The first meeting of the Chancellor Search and Screen will be Friday,
Jan. 25 from 2pm to 4pm. If you cannot make that meeting, you are
strongly discouraged from applying. Please indicate in your essay
whether you are able to attend this first meeting.

If you have any questions, email Travis Weller.

Thanks!

Travis Weller
Shared Governance Appointment Coordinator
Associated Students of Madison

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posted by Suchita Shah at 3:15 PM 1 comments Post to DemWire

Friday, January 04, 2008

Governor Dreyfus dies
The Wisconsin State Journal paints former Governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus - a Republican who passed away on Wednesday - as "a maverick." Indeed, if asked to align with today's Republican crowd of Mike Huebsch, John Gard, Steve Nass, Mark Gundrum, Tommy Thompson and Mark Green, Dreyfus really does break the mold.

A couple achievements stand out in Dreyfus's story:

He signed our country's first gay-rights law. "The law banned discrimination against gays and lesbians for jobs and housing as well as in bars and restaurants," saying 'there are some questions the government has no business asking.'

Can you imagine if Mike Huckabee were the Governor of Wisconsin at that time? Instead of preserving LGBT rights in a precursor to ENDA, he would be labeling gays and lesbians as "public health risks." And if only Mark Gundrum had spoken to Dreyfus about what the role of government is on this issue...

He advocated for the creation of the UW System. "Dreyfus was chancellor at UW-Stevens Point [during the time when it doubled in size]... He also served on the UW Board of Regents..." "Dreyfus was also an early advocate of the merger of two state university systems into what is now the University of Wisconsin System."

What?? Fighting for the great state University of Wisconsin? Really? Republicans did that back then? Oh, I guess I've been too accustomed to the likes of Huebsch and Nass.

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posted by Suchita Shah at 4:12 PM 2 comments Post to DemWire

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Another fantastic donation from the Morgridge family
On Madison.com: funding the Wisconsin Covenant (Governor Doyle's brainchild that guarantees funding for higher education to 8th graders that sign and fulfill a pledge to maintain a B average, take a college preparatory courseload, and stay out of trouble).

The largest gift to low-income students in Wisconsin history will provide $175 million for grants to graduates of public schools to attend the state 's public colleges and universities and will boost the state 's Wisconsin Covenant program, officials revealed Monday night.

The donation from John Morgridge, former chairman of Cisco Systems, and his wife, Tashia, a retired elementary special education teacher, will give about 2,000 grants of $1,000 to $5,000 for the 2008-09 school year, and more than 3,000 grants annually after that.

Eligibility likely will be concentrated among students whose families earn less than about $50,000 a year, according to UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley, who called the Morgridges ' gift "positively magnificent. "

"My reaction was, This is going to be a wonderful Christmas, '

" Gov. Jim Doyle said of his feelings when John Morgridge notified him of the donation last week.

The grants, which do not need to be repaid, will be awarded through the UW System and the Wisconsin Technical College System. Students will be eligible to receive aid for up to 10 semesters.

"Wisconsin 's public high schools do an outstanding job of preparing students for higher education. We are committed to helping ensure that higher education is accessible and affordable, " Tashia Morgridge said in a news release announcing the endowment.

The Morgridges, who long have donated to educational causes, are establishing the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars with the $175 million contribution. The gift will create a permanent endowment to provide grants to low-income, recent graduates of public schools.

...

More than 17,000 Wisconsin students signed up before the program 's first deadline in September. In November, the Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corp. donated $40 million to help the program.

Even with the Morgridges ' gift, Doyle and others said it 'll remain essential for the state to remain focused on increasing the resources for low-income students. The covenant program has a goal of generating $200 million through private fundraising. The state has increased financial aid by $40 million over a two-year period.

...

Doyle, Wiley and Chancellor David Wilson, who oversees the 13 freshman and sophomore UW Colleges and UW Extension, said they know of no other state that has received such a large gift to benefit low-income students.

Wilson said when he learned of it Monday night, he "literally jumped on top of a table " because it opens doors to thousands of students whose families have doubted their ability to afford college. He urged every one of those students, including young working adults considering a return to school, to call a college and find out what 's possible.

...

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posted by Suchita Shah at 1:14 AM 0 comments Post to DemWire

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Governor Doyle signs AB 280 at the UW Welcome Center
The past: you get sick, you have to drop below full-time student status to take care of yourself, you lose health insurance.

NOW: you get sick, you have to drop below full-time status, you get to keep your health insurance.

Governor Doyle signed AB 280 into law this morning in front of an audience of students from the UW System, legislators (Sen. Roessler and Rep. Nygren), and administrators.

Susan Crowley, interim Director of UHS here at UW-Madison had some introductory remarks about the importance of healthcare access especially to students. She was followed by Governor Doyle, who, in addition to explaining the background and necessity of the bill, announced that he had received a call yesterday from US Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt with news that BadgerCarePLUS has been approved (!).

The dean at UW-Marinette spoke about the inspiration for this bill in Wisconsin, a Marinette student. She also made sure to point out that United Council (the coalition of college student governments across the state) had a role in making this legislation happen.

I closed out the speakers list and offered a student perspective on the new law from my standpoint as a full-time student and a member of the Health Care Advisory Committee here.

Overall, the event was nice but it could have been better. The publicity was almost zero, especially in recruiting students to attend. The students who did come were almost all United Council folks (Cedric Lawson, Nicole Juan, etc.), Visitor and Information Programs guides who were working at the Welcome Center (Matt Dulak, Hilary Minor), and Ashok Kumar (who accosted the Governor as he was shaking hands... something about median family income of UW students vs. second-lowest tuition in the BigTen). As the Governor used about 12 pens to sign the bill (one for each part of the date and each letter in his name), all of us standing behind him got a pen and two were sent to the Marinette student and his family.

The press avail afterwards unfortunately took the spotlight away from AB 280 and the BadgerCarePLUS announcement...and shifted it to the Packers and NFL network. Both the new law protecting student insurance and the BadgerCare guarantee are important advances for healthcare in Wisconsin. It's a bummer that the Packers comments will steal the show on news networks tonight.

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posted by Suchita Shah at 11:40 AM 9 comments Post to DemWire

Friday, October 26, 2007

Gov Doyle signs the budget
After a long wait, Wisconsin finally has a budget! Governor Jim Doyle signed it this morning in a packed Main Lounge of the UW-Madison Memorial Union. Many UW-Madison College Democrats and college students from across the state were present and standing behind the Governor, in addition to legislators, firefighters, police officers, union members, etc.

I was there. My good fortune had me standing in the front row, next to UW System President Kevin Reilly, Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, and quite near Senator Judy Robson.

My favorite line from the entire morning: as Mr. Reilly prepared to introduce the Governor, he said that he would use the same introduction that the Speaker of the House uses to introduce the President. Except in this case, he "would actually mean it."

I don't really have that much to say about this budget except.... it exists. Keep an eye on the papers and news stations tonight and tomorrow for more and also some visuals. Apparently I was on CNN, standing right behind the Governor as he signed the budget.

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posted by Suchita Shah at 6:33 PM 1 comments Post to DemWire

Friday, September 28, 2007

Running with scissors, Part 2
I've already discussed Rep. Nass's hatred of Bucky and all things UW, but today's cover story of the Isthmus was another wakeup call. And a kick in the Buckyballs.

(sidenote: to those who aren't chemistry nerds like me, a Buckyball is an allotrope of the C-60 molecule, named after Buckminster Fuller)

If you haven't seen the article in print, definitely check it out. There is a great illustration of how the funding of the UW over time has shifted more and more to rest on the backs of students and less on the actual state budget. Since when did we stop being a public university?

Update: I've added the picture, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to use it...


As the Badger Herald reported yesterday, if the Assembly aka Rep. Nass's version of the budget passes, one can surmise that, frankly, the UW is screwed.
- The College of Letters & Sciences will have to cut over 2,230 sections because nearly half of the TA's could not be paid
- The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the College of Engineering, the School of Education, the School of Business, and the School of Human Ecology will also have to cut courses, even as early as next semester
- The entire Pharmacology and Toxicology major will be eliminated. Yup - gone.
- Personnel and service cuts in UHS, Office of the Dean of Students, and DoIT
- Huge cuts to UWPD. Forget about campus safety...
- etc. etc. etc.

The Isthmus article profiles Nass and how his hatred of UW started and what his budget is cutting:
- The entire UW School for Workers, which educates union activists
- The Havens Center, which studies social change, and which also happened to sponsor a talk by controversial lecturer Kevin Barrett
- All state funding for the UW Law School. He says we have too many lawyers in WI, and that's the reason we have so many problems.
- The Wisconsin GI bill that pays the tuition of state veterans. Whatever happened to Support the Troops?
- Almost the entire state spending budget of Wisconsin Public Radio and Public Television

The Wisconsin Alumni Association in response started a Save Bucky campaign of letter-writing. Students, this is your school. Talk to your Representatives. Call them. E-mail them. March up there and shake some sense into them. Do something!

Is anyone else scared? What the hell is happening to my university?

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posted by Suchita Shah at 6:20 PM 1 comments Post to DemWire

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Back to School -- but only for those who can afford it
Today's print issue of the Daily Cardinal (welcome back, students!) and the online version has a lead story about how the lack of college financial aid is preventing some students from going to school.

There are a total of 3,800 students in the state whose families make less than $27,000 a year and are waiting to know if they will be awarded a need-based Wisconsin Higher Education Grant by the Higher Educational Aids Board, whose total pool of grant money is dependent on the state’s budget.
This year, the board effectively awarded 22,400 UW System student grants, but then froze distribution over the summer because the state budget has yet to be passed by the state Legislature.
The abrupt halt is “really a function of the way the state budget was put together by the state Legislature,” Giroux said.
With different versions of the state budget in existence—one that may increase financial aid with tuition and one that may decrease financial aid compared to last semester, HEAB does not know if enough funding will be available under the finalized budget.
As a result, the board imposed a waiting list—a list that includes some of the state’s lowest-income students.
“A student has to be pretty needy to get a WHEG,” said Susan Fischer, director of student financial services at UW-Madison.


So basically what we have here is the Assembly version of the budget (read: the Republican version of the State budget) cutting financial aid (or as the College Democrats of America say, raid student aid) for those who most need it. Education is not a privilege - it is a right. For those who have already done the necessary work to be admitted to this great University, they should be guaranteed adequate funding to actually attend their classes.

I'm really excited that Governor Doyle and Lt. Gov. Lawton have made higher education a priority for the State. The Wisconsin Covenant, when funded, will cover the unmet cost of tuition for all students who have committed throughout high school to maintain their grades and stay out of trouble.

How do we as a State or even as citizens of a democracy live with ourselves when dedicated students who desire an education can't afford it because the legislators are stalling over petty politics? I ask you, Wisconsin State Legislature, to put aside politics for a few minutes and think about how many people are being affected adversely by the lack of funding for education, especially at the post-secondary level. The Wisconsin legislature in 1848 decreed, with its 4th act, that the State should have a great universty. Now if only students were able to afford it...

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posted by Suchita Shah at 10:46 PM 0 comments Post to DemWire

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

The UW budget is important, say some Republicans

The Wisconsin State Journal online published an editorial about how certain Assembly Republicans, including Sheryl Albers (R-Reedsburg) and Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center), disagree with Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch's (R-West Salem) proposed budget that guts the UW system. The complete article can be found here, but I've quoted some of it below.


"With the Assembly version of the budget this year, the campus will not be able to replace any of those vacant positions, creating an even bigger hole, " Albers wrote.

"It is of great concern to me that students at UW-Baraboo are being short changed, " Albers continued.

State budget negotiators should at least cover the "cost to continue " for UW-Baraboo, Albers said. "Cost to continue " is budget jargon that means providing enough new money for existing programs and services to keep pace with rising costs, such as utility bills and health expenses.

Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, similarly wrote to state budget negotiators in recent weeks. Schultz expressed concern that the Assembly version of the budget would harm UW-Platteville, which he called "a major economic force and employer in my district. "

....

The strong statements from Albers and Schultz show that the battle over UW System funding in the state budget is not a partisan one. Lawmakers from both major political parties understand that higher education in Wisconsin has suffered from flat state funding for years.

It 's now time for UW System -- which touches every part of the state, not just Madison -- to get a reasonable increase. Skimping on higher education is the wrong approach for Wisconsin to succeed in the global economy.

Wisconsin needs more college graduates to attract more high-paying jobs. Those jobs are key to keeping Wisconsin 's economy going for the good of all citizens.

I could add some commentary to the article, but really what else is needed? Basically even members of his own party are telling Rep. Huebsch (and his cronies like Rep. Nass who hate UW) to wake up and stop being stubborn on such an important issue like education.

I'm a very lucky person in that, as I am from Holmen, Wisconsin, Mike Huebsch is my glorious State Representative. I wrote to him, as a concerned constituent, about UW funding. This is what I received in response:

Dear Suchita,

Thank you for contacting my office regarding higher education in the State budget. The state of the University of Wisconsin System and its affordability is a key priority, and I appreciate your comments.

Assembly Republicans support the educational mission of the UW System but also realizes the advantageous effects of a high-paid, wasteful administration and the rising cost of college tuition. We have sought to prioritize the needs of students and Wisconsin families.

The Assembly Republican Majority Budget increases overall GPR for UW System by $62.3 million, a 3.03% increase over the base from the last biennium’s budget, and provides $25.8 million for UW Growth Initiatives. It also cuts bloated UW system administration, creates a 4-year, 4% tuition cap for students, and eliminates Tuition Remission for Illegal Aliens and Application Fee Increases.

Thank you, again, for your comments. Please feel free to contact me if I can ever be of any further assistance.

Sincerely,

Rep. Mike Huebsch

I find it oddly funny how he thinks that those numbers are an improvement or are somehow better for the University instead of actually fully funding it. It kind of makes me want to march up there and just shake him to wake him up.

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posted by Suchita Shah at 4:16 PM 0 comments Post to DemWire

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The views and opinions expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the UW-Madison College Democrats. They are the views of their authors. Postings by individual board members to not necessarily represent a consensus opinion of the board or organization.