This is the second of three of analyses by  Margo Anderson, Distinguished Professor of History & Urban Studies.  Anderson has been active in faculty governance at UWM since 1977.   She researches the history of official statistics, especially the United States census.

With friends like this….

Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank recently gave an interview to the Badger Herald on a wide variety of topics, and said some very good things. However, those of us on other campuses, particularly those of us at the second doctoral campus in the system, really do need to pay attention to what she’s saying and frankly correct the record so we all don’t go down the tubes.

Blank was asked: “Coming away from the Gov. Scott Walker’s $250 million cut and removal of tenure and shared governance from state statute, how would you describe how that relationship has changed and what is your take on the university’s role in the state?”

She started out with a fine answer:

“I think very few people, and this is not unique to Wisconsin at all, understand what the value to their state is of a big research university. And what research is, what that means as an enterprise and how that benefits the state is something that we really do need to talk a whole lot more about.”

Then she went off the rails: “We are the research one university in the state. Many states don’t even have a single really major, prominent research institution and this gives an advantage in all sorts of ways to the businesses in the state and the economic development in the state….”

Excuse me….Wisconsin has TWO official public research universities, known as the “doctoral cluster.”

***
The Core Mission of the Doctoral Cluster (Full caps added for emphasis).

AS INSTITUTIONS IN THE DOCTORAL CLUSTER, THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON AND THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE SHARE THE FOLLOWING CORE MISSION. Within the approved differentiation stated in their select missions, each university shall:

a. Offer degree programs at the baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral levels.
b. Offer programs leading to professional degrees at the baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate levels.
c. Conduct organized programs of research.
d. Promote the integration of the extension function, assist the University of Wisconsin-Extension in meeting its responsibility for statewide coordination, and encourage faculty and staff participation in outreach activity.
e. Encourage others in the University of Wisconsin System and in other state and national agencies to seek the benefit of the unique educational and research resources of the doctoral institutions.
f. Serve the needs of women, minority, disadvantaged, disabled and non-traditional students
and seek racial and ethnic diversification of the student body and the professional faculty
and staff.
g. Support activities designed to promote the economic development of the state

***

And here’s the link to the UWM Select Mission (from 1988!!)

Select Mission of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In addition to the system and core missions, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has the following select mission
(revised June 10, 1988).

Ya think we could get this straight folks….