“We raised the money and we kept those professors here — and you benefited from it,” he told the graduates.

Some UW supporters and professors have expressed nostalgia for Thompson and his approach to higher education, comparing it to a Walker administration they say is hostile to the university and its faculty in the wake of budget cuts and new tenure policies that weakened job protections.

Speaking Saturday at Wisconsin Republicans’ state convention in Green Bay, Walker continued criticism of professors that he has intensified since campuses across the University of Wisconsin System have begun passing votes of no confidence in top UW officials.

Walker derided one such vote at UW-Milwaukee last week as a “fuss” by faculty there. He has accused professors of being well-paid employees who want a “job for life” but have been indifferent to the concerns of students as college costs have risen.