Cross essay: Tools to build ‘UW System of the future’ are in budget

President Ray Cross weighs in today with a guest column in the state’s largest newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Looking beyond the immediate funding crunch, Cross says the UW System will have a brighter future if the autonomy proposal in Gov. Walker’s budget is approved. A guaranteed funding stream via the sales tax is crucial, he writes. Cross also cites his own “bold proposals, unveiled in November, that transform the way we do business, hold down the number of credits required to graduate, refine search and hiring practices and examine low-enrollment electives and courses” — all with an eye toward channeling savings into the classroom. Read column.