The University of Wisconsin System may still be on the hook for debts accrued by the UW Oshkosh Foundation. The non-profit foundation is filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy over several real estate deals gone bad.
The UW System asked bankruptcy Judge Susan Kelley to either delay or dismiss the filing by the UW Oshkosh Foundation, but she denied that request last week.
The foundation is seeking bankruptcy protection because of more than $15 million in debt on five capital projects, three of which are in the red.
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They include a biodigester in Rosendale, Wisconsin, a campus alumni welcome center, and a sports complex. (A hotel renovation and an on-campus biodigester are solvent.)
The foundation is asking the UW System to cover some of its liability.
Paul Swanson, an attorney representing the UWO Foundation told the Oshkosh Northwestern newspaper that the state should not be “off the hook” on the deals and said “the Legislature should ‘man up’ and settle this thing.”
The state Department of Justice is representing the UW System but declined to comment on the case. The UWO Foundation was not available for comment.
The UW System is pursuing legal action against former UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells and former Vice Chancellor Thomas Sonnleitner who approved the real estate transactions.
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