This paper examines the debate in the U.S. Senate over the reasons why state governments have decreased funding for higher education. One side believes that federal mandates on states to pay for Medicaid have forced them to reduce spending on higher education. The other side believes that states unwisely reduced taxes, which decreased their…

After nearly four decades of campaigning, faculty and academic staff union members across the University of Wisconsin (UW) System won the right to bargain collectively in June 2009 when the Governor signed legislation that modified state labor law. In this paper, I present historical and interdisciplinary analyses of the organizational structures…

The history of the sixties at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is both typical of other large universities in the United States and, at the same time, distinctive within the national and even international upheaval that marked the era. Madison's history shows how higher education transformed in the decades after World War II, influenced…

Discusses the prevailing myth that education is not and should not be influenced by politics. Reviews the political histories of (1) a Wisconsin bill merging the State's two university systems, and (2) California's Proposition 13, as examples of political struggles over educational issues. (GC)

Education has moved into the mainstream of state politics. The future quality of the public schools may well depend on how accurately educators perceive and how effectively they participate in the political arena. (Author/IRT)

This report contains a study done at the request of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, which studies public policy issues affecting the state of Wisconsin. The purpose of this study was to examine the content of environmental education (EE) materials used in courses required for teacher certification in Wisconsin to see if the knowledge and…

Bad economic times and the election of a staunchly conservative governor have forced Wisconsin university officials and government leaders into controversy over the future of the University of Wisconsin System. (MSE)

Discusses the following topics concerning Wisconsin higher education: the political role of state universities; the role of coordinating boards; the political resources; and the relationship of political leaders to higher education. (Author/PG)