The 13 two-year colleges in the University of Wisconsin System will cut 83 full-time positions and consolidate leadership into four regions to deal with budget cuts approved by the Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker. Fond du lac County executive Al Buechel says under the plan, UW FDL, Manitowac and Fox Valley will be under one executive dean. “From the beginning I thought this (uw budget cuts) was a disaster,” Buechel told WFDL news. “There’s no reason to cut the university to this extent and I was very concerned about UW-FDL from day one.” Buechel says UW Fond du Lac Dean Dr. John Short’s future in Fond du lac at this point is uncertain. Buechel says no faculty cuts are planned to ensure that student interaction continues. UW Colleges and UW-Extension Chancellor Cathy Sandeen announced how it would handle the nearly $5 million in cuts Tuesday. That was its share of a $250 million cuts imposed across the entire UW System. Sandeen says no faculty positions will be eliminated, no campuses will close and only $100,000 will be cut from the instructional budget. The 13 campuses will be grouped into geographic regions, with a single executive officer/dean for each one. Most of the layoffs will come from campus administration.
