I attend UW-Madison (albeit in a different program). I will admit that the funding situation can be rough (I don't have as much funding as some of my friends at the ivies), but I have significantly greater funding than my friends at many other large public universities (and some private ones too). On my committee, 2 faculty members left the institution. One retired. The other relocated PURELY out of a desire to live closer to her partner and get out of the rough winters. Indeed, faculty, university admin, and the government butt heads on many issues. However, this has been improved since the appointment of our new chancellor. In terms of the academic climate, we post speakers from all over the world on an almost weekly basis (and of course UW-Madison covers their costs). Faculty including graduate students like myself, earn automatic raises each year. In addition, there have been many donations and money invested in retaining highly qualified professors. It is true that the university is facing problems. But, I don't think we will see the extent of them for a much longer period of time. I know for a fact that the art history department has some fairly generous donors.
In short, AS A RECCOMENDATION TO PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS, I sincerely hope Scott Walker isn't an end all reason for not applying to Madison. I chose the insuttuion due to having the top notch folks in my field and a very generous 5 year fellowship package that not only covers living expenses, but often leaves me with a little extra. While its interesting to hear what people from outside of the university think, I agree with the implications above -- it is hard to judge an institution through articles, often with particular agendas of their own. I am not trying to argue with or dispute the claims of any of the above comments. I jus think its important to note that FUNDING is a problem at MANY public institutions. In fact, a recent movie highlighted not only UW-Madison, but UVA, Chapel Hill, and Michigan as well. The UCs have problems of thier own. Rather than arguing about who has an institution with better politics or more money, we should be thinking collectively about how we can get society to value education (especially in the humanities).
