MADISON, Wis. — City and county officials where Universities of Wisconsin branch campuses are set to close say they’ve largely been left in the lurch by state government as they try to figure out what to do with the spaces left behind.
To date, UW has announced plans to shut down operations at UW-Platteville Richland Center, UW-Oshkosh Fond du Lac, UW-Green Bay Marinette Campus, UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha and UW-Milwaukee at Washington County due to decreased enrollment and limited funding.
Local leaders have warned that the closures will not only hurt students but also local economies.
A Republican-backed bill that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed into law earlier this year offers local governments up to $2 million in redevelopment grants that can be used to put together plans and tear down or remodel buildings. The law requires that grants be used in a way that will somehow improve the local economy.
Some local officials, students, and branch campus staff say a $2 million grant pales in comparison to what their communities are losing.
“We as individuals think that that's a lot of money, but I think as a county goes or as an operation, I don't think that that's enough to support the community or the future of the students,” said Caitlin Yogerst, a mental health clinician who was brought in to help students at UW-Milwaukee at Washington County ahead of its closure this summer.
“Seeing students come through my office every day just acknowledging the sadness and not knowing what to do – and some of them not knowing if they're going to continue on with school or where they're going to go – it's just really hard to find that direction,” she said.
First-year UWM at Washington County student Jacob Larscheidt said the branch campus provided him with an affordable option to work towards a bachelor’s degree without the typical expenses of a four-year school. He had planned to spend two years at the campus but is now transferring to a nearby technical college for his second year.
“You’re prepping people to go into the real world and become a functioning member of society. Putting a price on that and saying ‘Oh, we’ll just shut the campus, but here’s $2 million’ – it doesn’t feel right to me,” he said.
Jada Dalton, a first-year student studying to become an ultrasound technician at UWM at Washington County, said she now plans to transfer to the main UWM campus to continue her education next fall. For her, that means moving to Milwaukee a year sooner than expected and having to pay a higher tuition rate.
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann says it’s not easy making plans for a large building like the one being left behind in West Bend. At 200,000 square feet and on a property of more than 80 acres, it’s unlikely any one entity will be able to completely take over the campus. Current ideas county and city officials are working on include bringing in local theater groups and senior centers, creating spaces for area businesses, and expanding a nearby park onto the property, Schoemann said.
At UW-Oshkosh Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac County Executive Sam Kaufman has proposed using the campus for daycare programs and an entrepreneurship center.
In Waukesha, county officials said it’s too soon to say what the future holds for their campus. The UWM at Waukesha closure was the most recent announced, and classes aren’t expected to end there until spring 2025.
Local leaders near UW-Platteville Richland Center, the first branch campus to close, tried for months to negotiate a new partnership with the university system, but last month UW Vice President for University Relations Jeff Buhrandt announced that the campus would be completely vacated by July, and that the $2 million grants were the state’s final offer.
“I look at [UWM at Washington County] as an economic engine, and now that’s going away. So $2 million is not a lot of money, and I personally believe our education governor is failing higher education,” Schoemann said. “There should be a task force statewide. This is not a limited issue to two-year UW campuses."
The governor’s spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, said in a statement that Evers is in favor of giving more money to communities around branch campuses. That would require Republicans who control the Legislature to pass a bill with more funding.
“The governor would certainly support providing additional resources to communities facing campus closures and investments in Wisconsin’s higher education institutions more broadly, and he welcomes Republican legislators to make the meaningful investments in higher education he’s been asking them to approve for years,” Cudaback said.
There are still eight UW branch campuses where closures have not been announced, but officials are continuing to evaluate their options as enrollment declines impact school revenues. The redevelopment program has $20 million in funding available – enough for at least 10 campuses.
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