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UW-Milwaukee Faculty Vote ‘No Confidence,’ Eau Claire Campus Tables Resolution

4 UW System Schools Have Now Rebuked Cross, Regents

By
Adelie Freyja Annabel (CC-BY-NC-SA)

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee faculty became the most recent group to declare “no confidence” in UW System President Ray Cross and the Board of Regents, voting to pass a resolution Tuesday night.

They joined those at campuses in Madison, River Falls and La Crosse who adopted similar proposals last week. Meanwhile, faculty in Eau Claire decided to table their vote Tuesday at their final meeting of the year.

UW-Eau Claire outgoing student body president Jake Wrasse opposes the “no confidence” resolutions passed by faculty at campuses. He said they show professors have a “massive misunderstanding” of politics in Wisconsin.

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“And this, frankly, fits the characterization of professors that legislators already have. So it doesn’t accomplish any of the ideas that they have about it and it’s only going to make things worse for us in the future,” Wrasse said.

Still Wrasse said he’s grateful for his own high-quality education and understand professors’ frustration over university budget cuts and tenure changes.

“And unless we find a politically competent way to engage the Legislature going forward, it’s unlikely that future students will have that kind of positive learning experience without also constantly carrying the burden of resource scarcity and stress,” he said.

Gov. Scott Walker responded to the wave of no confidence votes Tuesday, saying, “the university (system) should not be about protecting the interests of the faculty, but about delivering value and excellence to Wisconsin.”

Green Bay faculty are slated to vote on their own “no confidence” measure later this week.