“In terms of an overall feeling on the budget, we feel it was good for the university.” – University Relations and Communications Vice Chancellor Tom Luljak

Vital building projects appear to have avoided significant cuts as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee emerged relatively unscathed following a massive state budget scare.

Legislators approved $25 million in cuts to the University of Wisconsin System over the next two years in the state budget that was approved Tuesday, with UWM being responsible for making $3.2 million of those cuts.

Chancellor Carlos Santiago requested $10 million in state funds over the next two years to secure faculty for the new engineering school proposed in Wauwatosa. The budget will preserve $8.4 million of that request, a figure that the university feels comfortable with.

“That money, along with the private dollars we have been able to raise, will be sufficient for us to move forward with our plans,” said University Relations and Communications Vice Chancellor Tom Luljak.

The budget will also preserve $200,000 that will be spent by the university to draw up plans for a school of public health. Administrators will be working on faculty and curriculum plans for the school over the winter, with a more formal plan to come before the state Board of Regents later next year.

Though cuts will still have to be made, university officials were pleased with the budget overall.

“In terms of an overall feeling on the budget, we feel it was good for the university,” said Luljak.

The cuts will be largely administrative, with the university seeking to avoid any cuts pertaining to teaching, research, or campus safety. Luljak indicated that the university is seeking to provide more funding for campus safety.

Gov. Jim Doyle had previously suggested that students may be hit with an $800 surcharge next year if the budget process continued to drag out. There are no plans by the university to administer such a fee next semester.

“There are no plans to pursue any kind of surtax,” said Luljak. “That was a worst-case scenario.”

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