By Matt Johnson
A group of University of Wisconsin-Richland students delivered a petition of 1,400 signatures to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents as it met in Madison last Thursday.
Testimonies and proposals to improve enrollment numbers were included.
“If anyone doubts the future of Richland County, they should have watched these 11 UW-Richland freshmen and sophomores deliver 1,400 petition signatures to Madison last Thursday,” Shaun Murphy-Lopez, a Richland County Board Supervisor, said. “These courageous young adults from our community personally met with each UW Board Regent, Governor Tony Evers, and UW President Jay Rothman. They were respectful but firm, made a strong proposal for our campus' future, and took punches from powerful Madison people on behalf of our community.
“They also held UW-Platteville accountable for not faithfully carrying out recruitment for our campus. If we are successful in saving our campus from this heist, we will have our students to thank,” Murphy-Lopez continued.
To date those taking up UW-Richland's cause haven't just collected petition signatures, they've gone to social media, creating a Facebook page titled “Save our UW-Richland Campus.”
Murphy-Lopez said there's broad-based support to see the University of Wisconsin-System take a round approach to attract more students and see greater resources used to secure UW-Richland in the community for future generations.
“I was the one who could take on the technical aspect of the Facebook pages, but there have been people involved throughout the community who circulated petitions and spread the word about saving our campus,” Murphy-Lopez said. “It's been a dedicated effort to bring attention to what's happened here and let people know how we feel.”
Murphy-Lopez wrote a press release for the group last week. According to the release, “The petition asks Governor Evers, State Senator Marklein, Assemblyman (Tony) Kurtz, and President Rothman to meet with the community. A community group has been leading an effort to bring greater state-wide awareness to enrollment losses at UW-Richland, which has seen its student population fall from 400 to about 60 since 2012.
Most concerning to the local group was a Nov. 22 letter from Rothman to UW-Platteville staff to look into alternatives to in-person instruction at UW-Richland.
“We have a small but mighty student body at UW-Richland,” according to UW-Richland sophomore Jake Steele. “...We want to let Rothman know how upset the community is, and collaborate to invest in a solution that better serves faculty and students, both present and future.”
The changes UW-Richland has been through have seen the campus have its dean position removed, instructors, the time-honored international coordinator, the continuing education program, “and, certainly most damaging our recruiter,” according to County Board Supervisor Linda Gentes.
The campus, which once was part of Wisconsin's Normal School system to educate primary school teachers, transitioned into a UW-System campus in 1967, with Richland County providing educational facilities and the UW-System entering into a long-term perpetual lease that has about 20 years remaining on a 140-acre parcel. The campus is located on the northwest portion of Richland Center adjacent to the Symons Center and the Richland Center High School.
While resources have been pulled from UW-Richland, the campus also endured the downturn in secondary education during the Covid-19 pandemic. While the unit of education overseen by UW-Platteville, which includes UW-Richland and UW-Baraboo, have all reported enrollment losses, enrollment is up at some other state campuses, most notably in the Fox River Valley.
Copies of the petition, testimonies, and the proposal were given to the Board of Regents. An online version of the petition can be found at https://chng.it/6JtQjD5r
(Matt Johnson can be reached online at johnsonmedialabs@gmail.com)
