Posted: 11.05.2010

Wisconsin Governor-elect Scott Walker told the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents on Thursday that he will be calling on the “innovation and creativity” of UW to help the state face the serious challenges that lie ahead.  

“Great challenges bring great opportunities,” Walker said, appearing before the Board two days after his election victory.  “It’s not always going to be easy. But I know, particularly when I think about higher education, when I think about all the campuses I visited, all the innovation and creativity we see within our campuses and within our system, I’m going to be calling on you to help me out.”

Walker said that his administration will push forward to meet his campaign promise of growing 250,000 more jobs in the state – a goal which aligns with UW System’s Research to Jobs initiative. He said that UW System campuses will be part of his focus on economic development, ensuring that “each and every time we bring in someone to talk about jobs … that we have that campus, we have our technical schools, and we have others involved in higher education right at the table. I think that’s a valuable, powerful asset to would-be employers in this state.”

With the state facing a projected $2.7 billion deficit, however, Walker said that finding ways for the state and the university to meet their goals “isn’t always about more money.” 

“It’s about finding ways to take what we have, and finding ways with flexibility, with innovation and creativity, to apply those dollars in the best way possible to meet those goals on campus by campus across the state,” said Walker.

In welcoming the Governor-elect, Regent President Chuck Pruitt acknowledged that virtually all the current Board members had been appointed by Walker’s predecessor, Gov. Jim Doyle. “But when all of us walk through this door, we cease being Democrats or Republicans. We instead become Regents of what we think is the finest public university system in America,” Pruitt said.

Pruitt told Walker the University looks forward to working with him. “We can be your partner in growing our economy by serving as a catalyst and an economic engine,” he said.

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