• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

New UW-Madison leader reaches out to lawmakers

After the November election, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin sent every lawmaker a note of congratulations.

In December, she had the school's lobbyist hand-deliver Christmas cards to their Capitol offices. And she has invited all 132 lawmakers and guests to her official residence for an informal get-to-know-you event Monday, the first of its kind in years.

Since taking over as chancellor last year, Martin has made a determined effort to improve relations between the state's flagship university and the Legislature. The style is a major contrast to that of her predecessor John Wiley, who denounced lawmakers as petty and overly partisan as he left office.

University backers hope Martin's outreach will pay off in protecting the school as much as possible from looming budget cuts and in advancing other priorities. At the least, they say they it will help position the university as key to the state's economic recovery and a resource that can help lawmakers craft policy.

"I've already had more sit-down time, both trying to get to know her personally and talking about the university, than I've had with any previous chancellor," said Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, who recently met with Martin on campus and had at times been critical of Wiley. "I think she will be able to personally reach out to legislators and have a greater impact than I've seen."

UW-Madison lobbyist Don Nelson — who delivered the holiday greetings — said Martin hatched the idea for Monday's reception last year after telling staff to find new ways to connect with legislators. The reception will be informal but will feature presentations from university officials on how UW-Madison can serve the state.

The personal relationships will help the university "when we actually have to go in and hammer out a deal," Nelson said.

"We have a unique opportunity with a new chancellor," he said. "From what I can tell, legislators have enjoyed her very unassuming, very pragmatic approach to legislative relations. They seem pretty positive and that's something we want to enhance and take advantage of."

He said Martin plans to begin more substantive one-on-one meetings with key legislators at the Capitol next week to discuss the state's estimated $5.7 billion budget shortfall and other issues.

In an interview last year, Martin said her goal was to stress the importance of higher education to lawmakers "in a forthright and open way."

"And I'll communicate with everybody who is willing to interact regardless of party affiliation, regardless of apparent point of view about funding for the university," she said.

The relationship has already been improving — in fits and starts — after hitting rock bottom in 2005. In November of that year, the Chronicle of Higher Education did a story titled "Stuck in a Badger Hole" that described how UW was under assault by legislators because of its "political clumsiness."

Republicans who controlled the Legislature clashed with the school on everything from admissions policy to embryonic stem cell research and personnel policies. Wiley has blamed only a handful of the 132 lawmakers for creating the perception of discord but it took hold nonetheless.

As he left office last year, he wrote an article in Madison Magazine in which he decried the state's "hyper-partisan political environment." He recalled how some lawmakers warned him not to speak out against bills he felt would harm the school and others would rebuke him for working with members of the opposing party.

Though partisanship remains, a change in power in which Democrats won control of both houses in November could help the university achieve some victories. Pocan said he believed lawmakers would move quickly to grant domestic partner benefits to state employees, a top UW-Madison priority for years that had been blocked by Republicans.

The power change also knocked out UW's biggest critic, Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, as chairman of the Assembly committee that oversees higher education. Nass had used his bully pulpit to hold hearings and issue press releases on what he characterized as the university's missteps.

Replacing Nass as chairman is Rep. Kim Hixson, D-Whitewater, who is on leave as an associate professor of communications at UW-Whitewater. Hixson said he was demoralized by some of the attacks on the UW System when he was a professor and he hoped to build a more positive relationship while protecting its quality.

He said he planned to hold a hearing next month to explore the university's economic impact on the state — the kind of hearing that was unlikely under Nass.

"Certainly there's no doubt the Legislature can help the university but the university can do a lot of good for the people of this state," he said. "It's certainly mutually beneficial for us to get to know each other and find ways to work together."

To that end, the university is trying to do more to help lawmakers, Nelson said. For instance, business school experts plan to help explain complicated economic problems while a new UW official overseeing veterans services will be made available on veterans issues, he said.

"What's most important is that legislators see us as a resource rather than an adversary," he said.