As we noted the other day, Wisconsin Governor and Koch Industries' Employee of the Year Scott "Koch Head" Walker is proposing to cut $300 million from the University of Wisconsin System's budget, while shoveling a $200 million gift to the owners of the Milwaukee Bucks for a new arena. To no one's surprise, Scottie was also caught trying to change the University's 101-year old compact with the citizens of Wisconsin, referred to as the "Wisconsin Idea," which has benefitted Wisconsinites by research and education extension programs aimed at improving the quality of their lives. He basically wanted to change the compact to put more University resources into feeding his corporate benefactors.
The reaction to Scottie's clever plan was, to say the least, unfavorable, and he's since backtracked. One thing most residents and University alumni (your humble Hackwhackers included) take pride in is the concept of a borderless University which has served the people so well. It's made the University a leader in education and research, drawing talent from around the world. The last thing it needs is a slippery private college dropout like Scottie rearranging its priorities and doing the bidding of major corporate interests to the detriment of higher education in the state.
