Republicans in the state government recently criticized the University of Wisconsin at Madison for its Della programs and investing.
Then officials are responding, not, as they might, with slashes to their La development and instructors and operational getting, but with a public relations campaign.
The advertising campaign is no directed at politicians, it is targeted at citizens who elect the politicians. According to Inside Higher Ed, the goal is to make them feel more positive about the school and encourage them to help state funding for it.
The school allegedly stated in a Request for Proposals to marketing firms that it wants to” combate negative public opinion and persuade politicians that it is a nonpartisan organization deserving of both express funding and public believe.”
” There is a general, national narrative around higher ed that distinguishes institutions as arrogant and very difficult to get into, to expensive…and also radical/leftist”, the school wrote in its RFP posted publicly on Feb. 27. We discover that numerous Wisconsinites share these federal views about UW-Madison.
The marketing campaign could cost up to$ 1 million dollars, according to the request, which IHE reports is more than double the university’s usual media budget.
Kelly Tyrrell, UW- Madison’s chairman of media relations, told Inside Higher Ed that there is not, however, an existing program for the media plan, but it would depend on polling and market research.
However, “public polling on the purpose of higher education is getting increasingly bleak: survey after survey shows Americans are more skeptical than ever of the value of a college degree, and many associate higher education with elitism and free speech issues, connections reinforced by many lawmakers and media outlets,” wrote Inside Higher Ed.
The last budget cycle included multimillion dollar cuts to the university system in the state, and, specifically, a$ 7 million cut to UW Madison’s budget, the Daily Cardinal student newspaper reported.
However, the University of Wisconsin system will receive$ 800 million in compensation for allowing it to vote to cut significant amounts of DEI programming. This agreement was created after Republican lawmakers used its purse strings to pressure system leaders to reduce the size of their massive DEI infrastructure.
The agreement, which was reached in December, also mandates that UW system campuses refrain from adding new DEI positions through December 2026. As The College Fix previously reported, administrators must also reassign at least one-third of their current DEI-focused employees to positions geared toward academic and student success.
Under the agreement, mandatory DEI statements were also eliminated in admissions and hiring.
In exchange, the legislature will provide funding for pay raises as well as building improvement and construction projects on system campuses. NPR’s Wisconsin Public Radio reported on December 13 that system leaders” will have the opportunity to give pay raises to its 34, 000 employees and build a new$ 347 million engineering building in Madison.”
Teresa Valereo Parrot, a Wisconsin owner of a higher education consulting firm, said she believes UW- Madison deserves credit for being the first to address what she refers to as “industry reputation issues,” which appeal to the public straight makes sense.
Will the PR campaign be able to persuade voters?
MORE: University of Wisconsin regents reverse course, will cut DEI in exchange for$ 800 million
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