Members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Senate listen to a debate on a no-confidence vote Monday. Credit: JOHN HART / Wisconsin State Journal

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Madison — Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison overwhelmingly voted Monday to protest UW System President Ray Cross and the Board of Regents, saying they had no confidence in their support for the system's guiding principle.

The UW-Milwaukee faculty is expected to discuss a similar resolution next week, and professors at campuses across the state are also looking at expressing their dissatisfaction with recent budget cuts and new tenure policies.

Monday's voice vote was taken by UW-Madison's Faculty Senate, which consists of 220 senators representing more than 2,200 faculty members.

Supporters of the measure argued UW System leaders should have fought GOP Gov. Scott Walker and Republican lawmakers harder to mitigate $250 million in cuts over two years. They also opposed a budget provision that weakened some of the strongest job protections in the country.

Sociology professor Chad Alan Goldberg wrote the no-confidence resolution for UW-Madison, which stated the actions of Cross and the regents "give the UW-Madison Faculty Senate no confidence in their commitment to defending the Wisconsin Idea, extending the benefits of the university to every citizen in the state."

The measure urged Cross and the regents to work toward making college more affordable and embracing shared governance, in which faculty and staff participate in planning and decision making.

In a statement, Cross said he respected the right of faculty to speak up but disagreed with their resolution. He said he takes seriously his duty to work with faculty, lawmakers and other stakeholders.

"This state and its people are counting on us, working together, to help improve and expand quality of life and economic prosperity," his statement said.

Regina Millner, president of the Board of Regents, in a statement called the resolution an overreaction to a new tenure policy that she said is fair, more accountable and in keeping with the ones other major university systems have.

Even before the vote, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank warned a no-confidence vote could lead to a backlash from state lawmakers, noting discussions are about to begin for the next two-year budget cycle. Blank presided over Monday's debate but did not weigh in on the issue during the meeting.

Goldberg rejected the idea that the vote would hurt the faculty's relationship with UW officials, saying that relationship is already damaged.

"Colleagues, if fear of political reprisal...prevents us from speaking our minds, then our academic freedom is already lost," he said in arguing for the resolution.

Republican lawmakers removed tenure from state law last year and gave chancellors more flexibility to lay off staff. A policy adopted by the regents in March would allow layoffs if an academic program were discontinued. Previously, faculty could be dismissed only in a campuswide financial emergency or for just cause.

Some faculty pushed for removing the phrase "no confidence" from the resolution, in part because of concerns of how UW officials, lawmakers and the general public would react.

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna) called the vote counterproductive.

"The Legislature's goal is to continue to keep UW-Madison as a premier higher education institution while responding to the requests of our constituencies who cannot afford ever-increasing tuition costs," Steineke said in a statement.