Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman earlier this week proposed a 2025-27 budget that would allow the state’s public universities to shed a ranking of 43 out of 50 states in public funding and reach the national median, according to information released on the Universities of Wisconsin System website.

The two-year request will be presented to the Board of Regents Thursday. If approved, the request will go to Gov. Tony Evers for consideration in his 2025-27 budget proposal, the release noted.

“It’s time Wisconsin escapes the bottom 10 in public funding and gets ‘Up to the Middle.’ This budget request will spur innovation in research and teaching, make a degree more affordable for our students most in need, develop talent by focusing on student success, preserve accessibility, and ensure quality,” Rothman was quoted as saying in the release.

Within the release, Rothman added that under this proposal, he would not recommend tuition increases over the period covered by the biennial budget. Additionally, the funding increase would help preserve branch campus access points for students throughout the state.

The release reports: Wisconsin ranks 43rd of 50 states in public funding of four-year higher education, according to the latest State Higher Education Finance report by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO). The figure includes state funding and tuition.

By comparison, surrounding states rank 1 (Illinois), 3 (Michigan), 9 (Iowa), and 10 (Minnesota).

“We won’t win the ‘War for Talent’ if we don’t get ‘Up to the Middle.’ We’re falling behind after years of neglect, and this budget seeks to address that trend,” Rothman continued.

As noted in the release, Rothman said it would take an additional $457 million annually to reach the median of states, under the SHEEO report.

According to the release, some key features of the proposed budget include:

• Emphasizes talent development through student success services.

• Extends the Wisconsin Tuition Promise to students from families earning up to $71,000 in adjusted gross income.

• Proposes 5% and 3% general wage increases for staff and faculty, and requests the state fully fund the increases while adding a merit and market pool.

• Invests in innovation, including creation of a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub.

• Preserves accessibility while covering inflationary cost increases.

Additionally, representatives of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater have announced that Rothman will arrive on campus Tuesday, Aug. 27, to discuss his proposed budget request and its impact on UW-Whitewater.

The discussion will be held in Timmerman Auditorium, in Hyland Hall, at 2 p.m.

Members of the public are invited to attend.