TITLETOWN (NBC 26) — The University of Wisconsin college system ranks 43rd in the nation—now slipping to 44—when it comes to public funding for UW students.
However, educators, business leaders and lawmakers connected in Titletown to discuss how to change that trend.
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman shared his concerns and plans to get the UW system back on track.
"Compared to every other state, we are doing worse in public funding than we did last year, and last year was pretty bad as a practical matter," Rothman said.
Rothman joined other leaders Friday to share his optimism for turning things around.
Rothman defended Governor Tony Evers' proposed capital budget that called for more than $856 million to be invested in the UW system, as most of our mid-western neighboring states continue to outperform Wisconsin when it comes to funding.
Rothman says the Governor's budget proposal would put the UW college system on track to right in the middle, compared to the rest of the nation.
"We remain optimistic that we can make our case and that the legislature will fund us. As I've talked to legislators, I think they appreciate, they understand the importance, they are supportive of higher education in our state, because I think they understand the criticality," Rothman said.
Rothman says the good news is that nearly 800 state leaders are on board to invest in UW's college system, and he's hopeful that will also encourage graduate students to stay in Wisconsin after leaving school.
There are still six weeks to go until the budget deadline, so we should have a better understanding where funding stands by then.
Please stay with NBC26 on air and online as this story develops.
