Remember this waste the next time someone complains about UW being “underfunded.”
The governing body of the University of Wisconsin System approved tuition increases for some students, as well as tens of millions of dollars worth of construction cost overruns, at its meeting on Friday.
The UW Board of Regents accepted budget increases for two UW-Madison construction projects: a $25.7 million bump for a dairy plant and research center project at Babcock Hall and an extra $7 million for a new meat science lab.
Regent Bob Atwell said killing the Babcock project would be worse than increasing its budget, but he still expressed some reservations.
“(The Babcock) project was launched and approved in 2012, and it won’t be completed for eight or nine years after it was initiated, and the total cost will be over 100 percent more than the initial approval,” he said.
In 2012, the project’s estimated cost was about $32 million. Now, it’s over $72 million.
Thank goodness the Republicans froze tuition, eh?
Regents also agreed to raise tuition for some out-of-state University of Wisconsin undergraduates, starting in the fall.
Out-of-state students at UW-Milwaukee, UW-Whitewater and UW-Platteville will pay between less than 1 percent and almost 3 percent more.
Tuition for in-state students has been frozen since 2013.
For the record, it’s $72 million for a building to educate about 150 kids.
When the Babcock Hall project is completed, students will learn in a state-of-the-art facility. The average enrollment in UW-Madison’s food-science department is 101 undergraduates and between 35 and 40 graduate students, said Rankin, chairman of the department,
To be fair, they do have good ice cream. Not Culvers custard good, but still good.
Liberals at their worst.
Approving a 100% overrun of that magnitude ought to get the Legislature’s attention. And maybe the US Attorney’s office could sniff around for a little RICO activity. That’s not just a bit of loose change nobody’s going to miss.
Also it’s not like the UW system has a spotless record with committing crimes during building projects.
A 100% increase indicates that either the contractor or the UW lied like Hell in 2012. Or both.
But nobody cares.
Babcock Hall is also used by all the dairy-related short course people, and all the other dairy-related courses the UW offers apart from the traditional students. It’s the center for educating your dairy industry in this state as well as attracting people from around the world.
But let’s poop on it because it costs money, right?
Jjf,
We are pooping on the horrible project mismanagement.
How can we expect students to properly plan prijects in their farm, business, etc, when the intellectuals get it so wrong and screw it up so badly?
“In 2012, the project’s estimated cost was about $32 million”
Now who was running the state in 2012? It waasn’t the D’s, it wasn’t the liberals, it was 100% “conservatives” controlling all the levers of power. So if blame is to be cast, put it in the right place.
And the revised estimate is still a lot cheaper than foxconn.
LeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeRoy sprays the foo-foo dust “Foxconn” thinking that changing the subject will get him out of a jam.
Who was running the UW-System–the arm of the State which solicited the bid(s), chose the final bidder, and signed the contract, LeeeeeeeeeeeeeeRoy?
Now, then. If Walker had his mitts on this, it is your Civic Duty to present the evidence immediately, LeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeRoy. This is EXISTENTIAL!! Next thing you know, the RUSSIANS RUSSIANS RUSSIANS will be distributing dairy treats to TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP!! Call Nancy the Ripper!!
dud:
I did present the evidence (see above). Anyone who was paying attention would have known the walker et al were in charge back then. But I don’t see any crime here, do you?
Who approved the spending for the building? The Regents or the legislature and governor?
Raise your hand if anyone thinks Dad29 knows his Leroy memes.
Dad29, is Ray Cross responsible? Are the Regents? I’m sorry, I can’t see what you’re saying from all your Foo-Foo Dust.
>Now who was running the state in 2012? It waasn’t the D’s, it wasn’t the liberals, it was 100% “conservatives” controlling all the levers of power. So if blame is to be cast, put it in the right place.
No, it was Evers running DPI at the time. You are so transparent Leroy. One day you bitch and whine about how Walker and his team centralized power and decision making. Now today you’re incorrectly saying that Walker and his team is responsible for a non-state government project, as if you would have supported Walker telling Ever’s DPI team “No, this spend is not approved”.
Conrgats on continuing to be the biggest shit in the bowl.
That’s “evidence”, LeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeRoy??
You must have obtained your law degree from Jiffy.
>You must have obtained your law degree from Jiffy.
From jjFlaccid’s twice sanctioned wife is more like it.
jason:
So the UW system isn’t a part of state government?
And DPI controls the UW budget?
Tell us more, I’m listening?
>One day you bitch and whine about how Walker and his team centralized power and decision making. Now today you’re incorrectly saying that Walker and his team is responsible for a non-state government project, as if you would have supported Walker telling Ever’s DPI team “No, this spend is not approved”.
I’ll just leave this here since you missed it. Today you’re blaming Walker for “approving” a project at a UW campus. And if he had somehow mothballed that project at inception, you would have been bitching about centralized government power – something you have done countless times in the past.
You’re so ignorant that you don’t realize you flip-flop more than a fish out of water.
An independent forensic audit with an eye toward fraud and/or embezzlement would certainly answer everyone’s questions. Preferably one conducted by an entity with law enforcement powers sufficient to compel cooperation of all parties concerned. Rule out criminal conduct first, then the Legislature and UW System can address the administrative incompetence that allowed a 100% overrun to occur in the first place.
You assume that either of them give a rat’s ass about this. D.C. is hardly the only swamp in this country, friend.