“*The university has to support the community in a bigger way.*”
Chancellor Carlos Santiago

Consistent with his recent plenary address, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Carlos Santiago reiterated his vision of UWM as a premier, economy-driving, research-based institution Wednesday before a panel at the Milwaukee Press Club.

The emergence of UWM as the second strong research university in the state is the only way Santiago sees the region pulling out of what he calls “a 35 year economic downward spiral.”

Santiago cited the fact that Madison currently boasts a 40 percent higher per capita income than Milwaukee, a category Milwaukee led as a manufacturing power in the 1970s.

Proposals for a downtown school of public health and an engineering school in Wauwatosa will help the university build greater partnerships with area corporations and help rebuild the area as a place that can attract and retain talent.

“The university has to support the community in a bigger way,” said Santiago.

However, many obstacles stand in the way of such an emergence, primarily in coming up with the funds to finance the initiative. While the UWM Campaign has been highly successful, raising $125 million for the university far ahead of schedule, the kind of support the school will receive from the state is unknown.

Following Gov. Jim Doyle’s recent call for “deep cuts and deep sacrifices,” the university may have to become even more reliant on raising funds privately.

Santiago said that the university will need $30 million over the next six years in order to add the faculty UWM needs to move forward with their plans. State funds currently fund 24 percent of the university’s budget, a number that is expected to drop in the coming years.

Additionally, no land has been purchased for the aforementioned school of health or engineering. An 82 acre plot of county grounds in Wauwatosa has been pegged for developing the engineering school, but nothing is official.

Space is also an issue for the university, with Santiago indicating that there are only 3,200 beds for a freshman class of 4,750.

Santiago said that the university is experiencing a shift from being a commuter school into its current incarnation as a residential campus, and is experiencing some growing pains.

“The only way we can break this logjam is to continue to build residence halls that we manage, so that we can help students acclimate and adapt to campus life,” said Santiago. “It’s a major challenge.”

UWM currently educates more Wisconsin students than any other school, in the state, including Madison.

Santiago touched on some athletic issues as well, calling UWM’s lack of a baseball field for the state’s only Division I program “a tragedy.”

He would also like to see a four-team college basketball tournament in the future featuring UWM, Marquette, UW-Madison, and UW-Green Bay. He called the game earlier this year between UWM and Marquette “good for the city.” Santiago also challenged the athletic department to grow and evolve along with the academic side of the university.

“We are going to take academics at UWM to the next level, and our athletic program will need to follow,” said Santiago.

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