Jay O. Rothman, president of the University of Wisconsin System, speaks during the UW Board of Regents meeting hosted at Union South at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on Feb. 9, 2023. (Photo by Althea Dotzour / UW–Madison)

Federal funding cuts and national culture war politics cast a long shadow over a state legislative committee hearing Thursday as Wisconsin’s higher education leaders asked lawmakers for additional investments in the next state budget — warning that disinvestment by the state could damage  public universities’, private nonprofit schools’ and technical colleges’ ability to serve students and the state. 

Lawmakers working on the 2025-27 state budget are gathering feedback from agency heads and members of the public just as higher education institutions across the country are facing an onslaught of threats from the Trump administration. 

As Republican lawmakers on the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee grilled Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman and other higher education leaders on their budget goals, they appeared skeptical about providing additional funding. They pointed to current levels of spending and diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which state Republicans have demanded be cut from the UW. Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, expressed concerns about federal cuts to research and recent targeting of international students whose visas have been revoked. 

Rothman defends $855 million budget request

Rothman asked lawmakers whether the state is going to let its public universities “atrophy.” If not, he said,  new investments need to be made. The UW system has requested an additional $855 million, with the support of  Gov. Tony Evers, in the upcoming budget. 

The money  would be used to keep college affordable and accessible for Wisconsinites,  invest in retaining talented staff and support innovation, Rothman said. He told lawmakers the money would help UW maintain its two-year campuses and avoid raising tuition.

“We are at a state that without additional support from the state, student successes that we are seeing across our universities are at risk,” Rothman said. He noted that the state’s investment in the system has not kept up with inflation, and the money would put Wisconsin at the median nationwide. This would be up from Wisconsin’s current position of 43rd out of 50 when it comes to state investment in public universities.

This is not the first time Rothman has testified to lawmakers about the system’s request, having addressed lawmakers on the Joint Finance Committee, which is in charge of writing the budget on April 1.

Committee Chair Rep. Dave Murphy (R-Greenville) asked Rothman where he thought the money would come from.

“That is a challenge for the Legislature… This is an investment in the future of the state. We are returning $23 for every dollar that is invested in the Universities of Wisconsin,” Rothman said, citing a number that comes from a 2018 study.

Murphy told Rothman that he was “leery” of that number.

“If we’re increasing the money to the university by $855 million, are you telling me that I can expect $20 billion?” Murphy asked.

Rothman pointed out that lawmakers and their constituents have benefited from the existence of UW schools.

“At this table, you represent districts that have 9,000 students currently in school at the Universities of Wisconsin… More than half of you have attended one of our universities and hopefully you have benefitted from that,” Rothman said.

Murphy attended UW-Fox Valley from 1972 to 1974, according to his legislative biography. The school was merged with UW-Fond du Lac and UW-Oshkosh in 2018, and is now known as UW Oshkosh-Fox Cities. That campus is set to close in June.

Trump administration threats hanging over college campuses across the nation were central to the discussion over whether lawmakers should provide universities additional state funding.

Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) brought up diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at UW institutions. An audit released last week found campuses haven’t been tracking their spending on these efforts. The audit was part of Republican lawmakers’ ongoing targeting of DEI, and comes as the Trump administration has also ramped up efforts to try to eliminate diversity programs in education. 

Republican lawmakers used staff pay and capital projects funding during the last legislative cycle as a negotiating tool with the UW system to get concessions on DEI efforts, including a reduction in positions focused on DEI. 

“We’re trying to see more of an effort to see in money savings, and I know there’s been reductions in positions, but there’s also been requests to add more,” Nedweski said. “We had a deal on DEI. Would you say that the UW system kept up their end of the deal?”

“Yes,” Rothman said.

“I wouldn’t say that’s what the audit says,” Nedweski said. 

Rothman responded that the UW has gone above and beyond the terms of  the deal, having reduced staffing by 43 positions even though the agreed upon deadline won’t arrive until December 2026. 

“We were on our way when the [Legislative Audit Bureau] did its field work in May of 2024,” Rothman said. “Since that time, we have made significant progress, and we are in compliance with the agreement as it relates to the positions. We’ve exceeded what we said we were going to do.” 

Nedweski said she was concerned about being able to measure the outcomes of the investments in DEI programs. 

“We now have a pattern within the UW system and our other state agencies where taxpayers are making investments in things like employees teleworking without knowing if there’s productivity. We’ve heard repeatedly from the UW system that we don’t really know their actual impact,” Nedweski said. 

Rothman noted that nearly 36,000 students graduate with degrees from Universities of Wisconsin schools each year. 

“I think that is an extraordinary [return-on-investment] for our state,” Rothman said. 

Murphy asked Rothman about a letter from the Trump administration sent to over 60 schools, including UW-Madison, warning that they could face consequences if they don’t address “antisemitism” on campus. UW-Madison is one of many schools where students joined encampment protests against the war in Gaza last spring. The Trump administration has said the university didn’t properly protect Jewish students.

“How do we control this antisemitism problem on our campuses?” Murphy asked. 

Before Rothman answered the question, Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) interjected, asking what the topic had to do with the budget. 

Murphy shot back that, as chair of the committee, he could ask what he wanted. 

“If you think this isn’t a budgetary issue, I think you should talk to Columbia University and see what they would say about that,” Murphy said. Columbia became a target of the Trump administration after large student protests there and has had over $400 million in federal funding, mostly for medical and other scientific research, terminated, despite agreeing to police student protesters and place the department of Middle East, South Asian and African Studies under scrutiny.

Rothman said the UW system is navigating First Amendment issues and being inclusive, but that the UW has done a lot of work to ensure that all students, including Jewish students, those with conservative beliefs, veterans, those who are disabled, “feel they are part of the campus community.”

Democrats on the committee expressed concerns about federal cuts to research funding, potential threats to Pell Grants and student loans and the targeting of international students. 

Emerson asked about the impact of federal cuts to research. The Trump administration has been targeting funding for higher education institutions across the country, including cutting over $12 million in research funding to UW-Madison. The flagship campus has laid off six employees so far.

Rothman said he is deeply concerned about the federal cuts. UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee are both tier one research institutions and the federal government invests about $1 billion annually in UW schools for research, Rothman said. 

“It’s not like we can start five years from now, six years from now… These research engines were built over generations,” Rothman said. “If they are not maintained, that’s gone.” 

Rothman said the impact would be felt in sectors across the state including as research would be lost and researchers even in the private sector could be affected as many are educated at public universities. 

Rothman said that philanthropic support would be incapable of filling the gap that would be left from federal funding cuts.

Nedweski said she thought there is skepticism among taxpayers about the federal funding of research. She asked whether the UW system is expecting Wisconsin taxpayers to pick up the cost. 

“I don’t think that the state could afford to pick up what could be lost,” Rothman said. “I think what’s going to happen if that occurs is that research capacity is going to decline, research infrastructure is going to decline and that will be our new reality going forward.” 

Emerson also asked Rothman whether the Trump administration’s move to cancel foreign students’ visas is having a “chilling effect” on prospective international students. Dozens of UW students and alumni, including 26 at UW-Madison, have had their visas cancelled by the Trump administration in recent weeks as a part of an unprecedented nationwide move by the federal government targeting international students. 

“Do we have fewer applications from international students for next school year?… Are there international students who are thinking of finishing their bachelor’s or higher education back home?” Emerson asked.

Rothman said that it was too early to know as most applications have already been submitted. He said that about 10,000 international students attend UW schools.

“We may have a number of international students who might be accepted into our universities that will not come because of this. We know there is anxiety among our international students just generally, for reasons that are understandable,” Rothman said, adding that the university is seeking to support students, but is  not providing legal representation to them.

Private, nonprofit schools and tech colleges on budget requests

Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities President Eric Fulcomer told lawmakers the top priority for private nonprofit colleges and universities is doubling the funding for the Wisconsin Grant (WG-PNP) Program, which provides assistance to undergraduate, Wisconsin residents enrolled in a degree or certificate program at non-profit, independent colleges or universities based in Wisconsin, from $57 million to $114 million.

Fulcomer’s organization represents 22 private nonprofit colleges and universities in Wisconsin, including Marquette University, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Beloit College and St. Norbert College. It also includes Northland College, which was founded in 1892, but announced in February the school will be closing after this year’s graduation due to financial hardships.

There has been no additional investment in the grant program in the last two state budgets. Private, nonprofit schools don’t receive state funding to sustain their operations, but many students rely on the funding to be able to attend the schools. 

Among its neighboring states, Wisconsin ranks last when it comes to the amount of need-based grants awarded to students attending private nonprofit schools. The investment would not bring Wisconsin to the top, but would bring it to the middle among states in the Midwest. Currently, Wisconsin can give a maximum amount of $4,400.

The schools’ request is more than the governor’s budget request; Evers  proposed a 20% increase.

“I would prefer a larger increase,” Fulcomer said. “20% would be welcomed but it’s not enough to move the needle.”

If there is no increase in the budget, Fulcomer said the award will need to be reduced to $3,850, bringing Wisconsin even further below its peers.

Nedweski asked if he had suggestions for where the money for the budget request could come from. The state has a $4 billion budget surplus, which Evers wants to pull from to fund many priorities in his budget.

Fulcomer noted that about a quarter of all bachelor’s degrees and a third of all master’s degrees come from Wisconsin’s private, nonprofit schools and that students are providing millions in revenue to the state via taxes. 

“It’s a good investment, but I’m not in a position to tell you where you might find those dollars,” Fulcomer said.

“We are not operating with a lot of extra money in the next biennium. If you get more, it has to come out of somebody else’s bucket,” Nedweski said.

Rep. Rob Kreibich (R-New Richmond) commented that he thinks lawmakers “should reward success” and he admires the retention and placement rates for the private schools. 

Emerson asked about what would happen if the Pell Grants were reduced or eliminated — a question that comes as the federal grants face a shortfall and as there is also uncertainty surrounding the future of student loans. 

“Potentially we’d be looking at a 27% cut to enrollment,” Fulcomer said. “Cutting the Pell Grant or eliminating the Pell Grant would be devastating for our sector.”

Wisconsin Technical College System President Layla Merrifield asked for  about $60 million from the state, including $45 million that would go toward general aid for its 16 colleges. The technical college system’s budget for 2024-25 totaled about $1.3 billion with $592.9 million coming from state aid. 

“There’s almost no better investment that you could make in Wisconsin’s economy, in its workforce and its people than the technical college system,” Merrifield said. “Our outcomes are well documented. We are transparent with our data, both our failings and our successes.”

Murphy thanked Merrifield for her approach to the budget. 

It is “a little bit what we were looking for from the UW today…,” Murphy said. “They want $855 million, but it’s taken nine months, and we still don’t have very much detail around what they expect to do with that money.”

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