by Tony Palmeri
March 20, 2001
On March 7, 2001 I was part of a UW Oshkosh delegation that attended the first ever "UW Day" in Madison. Advertised as "a celebration of our state's outstanding public universities and colleges," the event actually represented the UW System's formal entry into the world of biennial budget lobbying as it is typically practiced at the capital by corporate, labor, and other interests. So as not to offend the public or legislators by using tax dollars to fund a lasagna lunch, materials to assist in the schmoozing process, and an evening buffet (which I did not have the opportunity to stay around for), the System received "major funding" from: M & I Bank, J.P. Cullen & Sons, Firstar Bank, J.H. Findorff & Son, the Evjue Foundation, and the Kikkoman Foods Foundation.
Normally, faculty like me (i.e. "gadflies" suspicious of the takeover of academia by corporate America) would never get invited to events like UW Day. However, since I am President of the UW Oshkosh Faculty Senate, I enjoy the "perk" of getting partial access to the highest levels of the System--at least until my term ends this summer. So, I decided to put my perk to work and take the trip to Monona Terrace. To get myself in the proper mood, on the ride down I put the late Frank Zappa's "We're Only In It For The Money" in the cassette player. That record was Frank's 1968 spoof of the Beatle's "Sargent Pepper" album in which he has a tune called "Absolutely Free" wherein a singer mimicing the hippie-esque pomposity of the times exhorts his listeners to "escape from the weight of your corporate logo."
I don't know if UW Board of Regents President Jay Smith and UW System President Katherine Lyall--the two actual organizers of UW Day--are Frank Zappa fans, but in some ways The Day was itself a "spoof" of special interest lobbying. For one thing, the whole idea that the UW System is some kind of "special interest" is itself a bit repulsive; that a public institution would have to go through the same schmoozing hoops as for-profit corporations or even unions sounds almost too absurd to be believable. More important, it's never been crystal clear on whose behalf the Board of Regents and/or Dr. Lyall are lobbying. UW Students? Faculty? Taxpayers? Employers? When WEAC (the Wisconsin Education Association Council) goes to Madison to lobby, no one is confused about the fact that they are lobbying on behalf of K-12 teachers. When Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce lobbies, clearly the effort is for big and small business owners. When the Tavern League twists off the lobbying cap, we know that it's largely for their mostly bar-owner membership. And so on.
But again, for whom are Jay Smith and Katherine Lyall lobbying? I believe the answer was given at last year's "Economic Summit" held in Milwaukee and featuring a chorus of business, government, and academics urging Wisconsin to become a key player in the "New" or "Next" Economy. In the Post-Summit Report released by Smith and Lyall, we learn that Wisconsin must do what is necessary to be a national leader in Biotechnology and "penetrating the Internet world." We learn that there is "broad agreement" on things like "boosting computer science, biotechnology, information technology and other graduates" and "creating a more welcoming business climate through attention to tax and regulatory issues." All of this is argued as being in the spirit of the "Wisconsin Idea," though one wonders if bringing Silicon Valley values to Wisconsin is exactly what old Fightin' Bob LaFollette had in mind when he helped frame the concept. Oh, the Summit was "sponsored" by Alliant Energy, Johnson Wax, Madison Gas & Electric, Wisconsin Energy Corporation, Wisonsin Public Service Corporation, and Xcel Energy.
In short, the UW System administration is, for better or worse, lobbying mostly on behalf of business interests as formulated by the owners and executives of Wisconsin's largest industries. The wisest among those owners and executives realize that a well-educated work force is today the key to the long-term economic health of any business.
I have no problem with the UW System lobbying on behalf of business interests; my problem is that the System leaders do not appear to appreciate fully that when "business interests" are defined by workers and consumers as opposed to owners and executives, an entirely different set of educational priorities are put forward. The 16-member Economic Summit Executive Committee included but one representative of labor (state ALF-CIO President David Newby) on its roster, while the 39-member Steering Committee had only one bona-fide LaFollette progressive in its ranks (that would be Joel Rogers--founder of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy and UW Madison Professor of Economics and Sociology). Rogers' Sustaining Wisconsin web site contains what I believe are a series of suggestions for Wisconsin's future that are much more in line with the LaFollette ideal than what we are currently hearing from Jay Smith and his peers on the Board of Regents, the UW System Administration, and the legislature.
Here's something that the Center on Wisconsin Strategy is most recently up to--I'm not sure it represents the kind of volunteer work the Summit leaders would advocate for law students:
"Through our Green Budget Project, about 15 volunteer law students eager to learn a bit about legislative research and the budget process have helped COWS pry into the 1,800 page budget bill. Many of the students were surprised to learn how much "policy" is contained in the budget that has little to do with the raising and spending of public funds. While no one uncovered anything as shocking as the Ashley Furniture wetlands exemption buried deep in the last budget, almost everyone involved uncovered something of relevance to environmental and natural resource issues among the sections assigned to them. Find out more at www.cows.org."
But I digress. Seen through my Zappa-inspired lenses, UW Day was lots of fun. When I arrived at the Monona Terrace registration area, the first person I happened to run into was none other than Winnebago County Board Chair Joseph Maehl. He gave me a ten-minute lecture on why Charlene Lowe must beat Jane Van De Hey in the April Winnebago County Executive race. The way Joe has it figured out, if voters in Oshkosh turn out in the same percentage as voters in Neenah and Menasha, then Lowe wins in a landslide. Oh--Maehl was at UW Day as an advocate for the UW College in Menasha. UW Menasha Dean Jim Perry was there, but I could not get him to take a position in the Lowe/Van De Hey race.
At the lasagna luncheon, a UW Parkside professor did an oral interpretation of an old Bob LaFollette speech. I wondered how many people in the audience of close to a thousand realized that the real Fightin' Bob would probably tell us off for being a bunch of schmoozing wimps more concerned with currying favor with a governor who has not even been elected to the office than in standing for justice--but I learned long ago that such wonderments only depress me so I quickly got back into enjoying the lasagna.
Jay Smith and Katherine Lyall told us that good old Governor McCallum did the best that he could with the state budget--Smith came very close to apologizing for the System's orginal budget request. So much for the Fightin' Bob spirit.
By far the most interesting part of the day occurred in the public hearing held by the Senate Committee on Universities, Housing, and Government Operations. This is a new Committee created by new Senator Mark Meyer (D-LaCrosse), probably the most vocal and articulate defender of higher education in Wisconsin. Neenah Senator Mike Ellis entertained everyone in attendance with his wit and sharp questioning of all who chose to speak. When Craig Culver, founder of the restaurant chain, told the Senators that they should support adult education initiatives in the budget, Ellis was able to get him to admit that such budget items are undermined by the competing desire of businessmen just like Culver to get their taxes cut.
A young African-American woman from UW Madison, Jennifer Epps, told the Senators that the hostility toward minorities at Madison is so great that "every day I think of dropping out of school." Epps is an honors student. Ellis told her not to quit because she is a "trailblazer." Epps said "if you don't want me or others to quit, then you should fund the diversity initiatives in the budget." None of the Senators would commit to the funding.
I was not able to stay for the evening celebration of the campuses, nor for Governor McCallum's speech.
As I drove home, I put my Zappa tape back in for a second play and reflected on what I had just experienced. It occurred to me that the UW System belongs to the citizens of Wisconsin. If they have no problem with their education system being nothing more than the vocational training ground for Wisconsin's wealthiest interests, so be it. That's what we will become. But I would urge everyone reading this to consider a counter view, one best put forward by Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Ryan way back in 1873 as he addressed the Law School Class:
"There is looming up a new and dark power. The enterprises of the country are aggregating vast corporate combinations of unexampled capital, boldy marching, not for economical conquests only, but for political power. For the first time really in our politics, money is taking the field as an organized power. It is unscrupulous, arrogant, and overbearing. The question will arise in your day . . . which shall rule - wealth or people; which shall lead - money or intellect; who shall fill public stations - educated and patriotic free people, or the feudal serfs of corporate capital."