UpFront: Cross says Walker budget cut could ‘seriously damage’ UW

UW System President Ray Cross says Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed $300 million two-year cut in funding could “seriously damage” the state’s 26 campuses.

On “UpFront with Mike Gousha,” he also called the potential difficulties in attracting and retaining highly qualified faculty “very troubling,” referencing two competitive candidates’ recent withdrawal from consideration for positions at the UW-Madison.

Still, Cross said he’s optimistic advocates of the UW System will convince legislators to make the funding reduction more manageable through reasonable discussion. He expressed empathy for the pressure the lawmakers face in making difficult budgetary decisions.

“No one, I don’t care which party you are in, wants to hurt the university,” Cross said on the show, produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com. “With $100 million in cuts to the Department of Corrections, the challenge the Department of Transportation is facing, K-12 throughout the state and their needs; we are just one of the elements at that table seeking funding.”

Cross said the Board of Regents will further assess how the cuts could impact the system and how best to mitigate those effects at their upcoming March meeting.

See more from the show:
http://www.wisn.com/politics/upfront