Biddy Martin, University Of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Says Split From State System Unlikely

The chancellor of University of Wisconsin at Madison, Biddy Martin, told reporters on Friday that it was unlikely Madison was going to break away from Wisconsin's state university system.

A proposal suggesting that the Madison branch of the state university system break away from the board that oversees all Wisconsin institutions is set to go up against lawmakers this summer.

The Journal-Sentinel has more:

Chancellor Biddy Martin told reporters that she didn't like the headlines earlier in the day describing the proposal as dead, but she "accepted the improbability" that the plan would pass.

Martin said she was focused on proposals lawmakers are considering that might give UW campuses more autonomy over the operation of their campuses but would keep UW-Madison as a part of the system, which hasn't had a major change to its structure since it was formed about 40 years ago.

Madison's proposal to break away from other state universities has been controversial primarily because of its association with Gov. Scott Walker's reviled budget which was heavily protested in March.