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Marketing and University Communication UW-Green Bay, CL 815 2420 Nicolet Drive Green Bay, WI 54311-7001 (920) 465-2626 E-mail: hildebrs@uwgb.edu Last update: 10/1/07 |
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In
the News Archive - Year:
June 16, 2003 Higher education serves everyone Guest column By Bruce Shepard and K. Reilly
We are close collaborators in pursuing this mission: You find no lines
separating UW-Green Bay and UW-Extension colleagues working together to
serve Northeast Wisconsin.
We also share — with our state leaders — a very tight budget,
and the state is now in the final stages of making very difficult decisions
about where to invest limited financial resources.
In his budget, Gov. Doyle proposed a $250 million cut with an offset
of $150 million in tuition increases. These are reductions of unprecedented
magnitude.
We are grateful that, in approving the governor's budget, the 16-member
Joint Committee on Finance did not pursue an alternative that would have
allocated a disproportionate share of the $250-million cut to UW research,
public service and community outreach programs. These are vital to all
Wisconsin residents, including people right here in Brown, Door, Oconto,
Marinette and Shawano counties.
This decision reflects real leadership, the capacity to look beyond
formal classroom teaching and consider the positive economic and social
impacts associated with the university's research, public service, degree
completion, outreach education and extension programs. These activities,
delivered locally through a partnership between UW-Extension and UW-Green
Bay, provide taxpayers with a tangible return on their investment in higher
education.
When working adults need to further their education to qualify for better
jobs, UW campuses offer courses, certificate programs and flexible degree
programs that translate lifelong learning into higher wages, improved
job security and career mobility.
As Wisconsin farmers try to remain profitable in an increasingly competitive
agricultural marketplace, they deserve access to the latest research and
the best experts who can help sustain the state's economic backbone. Likewise,
manufacturers and other business owners rely on the university as a pipeline
of new technology and bright ideas that can power the state's economic
expansion.
We have an outstanding example at UW-Green Bay: Faculty members from
Extension, Outreach, Arts and Sciences, and Business have come together
with private-sector partners to build a business leadership institute
specifically tailored to regional needs.
As cities and towns across the state strive to manage growth, preserve
natural resources and address the emerging needs of a changing population,
local Cooperative Extension agents and Continuing Education Extension
units use their expertise and university connections to address the educational
needs of families, youth and entire communities. Campuses such as UW-Green
Bay and the UW Colleges provide education and research that emphasizes
sustainable development and career growth.
We believe that the UW System is a great university, in large part because
of its longstanding commitment to community engagement and extension education.
We are, after all, home of the "Wisconsin Idea," a philosophy that the
boundaries of the university are the boundaries of the state.
By rejecting an alternative that would have damaged the Wisconsin Idea,
legislators are supporting university work that is resulting in important
benefits for everyone in this region and all citizens across the state.
When the Joint Finance Committee sends the budget to the Assembly and
Senate, we hope the Legislature will follow the committee's lead and not
reduce our ability to stimulate Wisconsin's economy and build stronger
communities.
Bruce Shepard is chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Green
Bay. Kevin P. Reilly is chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
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