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STATEMENT FROM UW OSHKOSH CHANCELLOR ANDREW J. LEAVITT, May 29, 2015:

The Legislative Joint Finance Committee (JFC) voted on revisions to the Governor’s proposed 2015-17 State Budget. I am pleased to report the motion reduced the $300 million budget reduction by $50 million, bringing the UW System reduction to $250 million over the next biennium.

Our local Representative Schraa, who helped author the motion, and Representative Hintz worked with members of the JFC on behalf of UW System and specifically UW Oshkosh, to provide relief from the Governor’s proposed $300 million reduction and we owe them our gratitude.

I am well aware that this is still a large reduction to our budget and will present real challenges for our campus. I am proud to say that we have worked together over the past several month and we have a plan. We remain committed to our strategy to manage this reduction. Strategic planning has commenced with an eye for what a more efficient UW Oshkosh will look like. The long-term goal is for UW Oshkosh to manage the reduced budget through a phased-in workforce reduction of 70-80 positions over three years through retirement and attrition. We will also be leveraging budget reserves to allow more time to plan for these budget reductions.

The JFC motion also contained many other provisions and changes that we will analyze and report out on over the next week. Included in those changes are modifications to shared governance and tenure. UW Oshkosh has a longstanding commitment to shared governance and I appreciate the JFC keeping it in state statute. We do need to thoroughly study the changes proposed in their motion before we can understand the potential impact on our campus. We also believe in the critical role tenure plays in an academic environment and I am pleased that our Board of Regents intends to act immediately to incorporate it into Board policy while continuing their work with the UW System tenure task force.

Thank you for your continued strength as we work together through these challenging times. Keep the dialogue open as we move forward and watch for more updates.

Thank you,

Chancellor Leavitt