One Department to Rule Them All

Not my idea! With apologies to JRR Tolkein.

One the Regents candidates nominated by Governor Walker (from Wisconsin Public Radio):

Gov. Scott Walker’s latest appointment to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents told a state Senate panel on Thursday that the UW should consider eliminating duplicative degree programs on some campuses.

Walker appointed Michael M. Grebe to a seven-year term on the Board of Regents. Grebe’s father, Michael W. Grebe, is the president and CEO of the conservative Bradley Foundation who chaired Walker’s gubernatorial campaigns.

The younger Grebe is an attorney and executive vice president at HUSCO International, a Waukesha-based hydraulics manufacturer. At his Senate confirmation hearing, Grebe said the UW needs to be more efficient, suggesting that could mean eliminating degree programs on some campuses if they’re available on others.

I think this idea has merit of a certain kind. Why should we be granting degrees in economics in multiple campuses of UW? We should just be granting one degree in economics — my vote is for the Madison campus to be it. Also, why degrees in math at different campuses? My vote, UW Madison. Next, chemistry. I think it could profitably be centralized in one campus. My vote – Madison!