Chancellor hosts ‘productive’ meeting with legislators on flexibility

The Wisconsin Idea Partnership was at the top of the agenda Monday when UW-Green Bay hosted a breakfast meeting with Green Bay-area legislators. A total of nine state senators and representatives attended the gathering, as did several of the University’s community advocates.

Chancellor Tom Harden and legislative liaison Dan Spielmann described the meeting as productive, with good dialog on the need for more administrative flexibility for all UW System institutions. Spielmann said the conversation was relatively general — it’s still too early to project an outcome, given the larger uncertainty in Madison over the budget and how the proposals related to state higher education will proceed — but he did say the legislators seemed to appreciate that some of the proposed flexibilities would carry significant benefits for schools such as UW-Green Bay.

Monday’s meeting follows a vote last week by the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce in support of the Wisconsin Idea Partnership, and a previous endorsement by the University’s Council of Trustees.