Chancellor Wiley letter to Sen. Mark Miller and Rep. Mark Pocan on domestic partner benefits
May 8, 2007
Dear Senator Miller and Representative Pocan:
As your budget deliberations continue, I am writing to once again implore you to work with your colleagues on the Joint Committee on Finance to advance the Governor’s provision allowing the offering of domestic partner health care benefits to all state employees. I am very grateful for the hard work you have devoted to this issue, this year and in the past, and am hopeful that this is the year this important benefit can finally come to fruition.
The recent developments regarding this provision’s status in the budget continue to feed the level of frustration our faculty and staff have felt on this issue for a long time. As you know, not being able to offer this benefit puts UW–Madison at a competitive disadvantage with our peer institutions. UW–Madison is the only Big Ten university, and one out of only two universities within our statutorily set peer research institutions, that do not offer this benefit. Offering domestic partner benefits is simply the right thing to do, and not having them has a direct effect on our ability to recruit and retain quality staff and faculty members.
When the university loses these talented individuals, they take with them the time and often significant resources the university has invested into their development. Lost is also the accumulated knowledge they pass along to students and use to foster their research, and all the private and federal grant dollars their talents are able to secure. The departure of these individuals also impacts their students, some of whom may have come to Wisconsin to study with that particular individual. Additionally, Wisconsin’s economy loses as well when leaders in specific fields of research leave and no longer collaborate with state businesses.
Providing this benefit makes economic sense. The estimated GPR cost for this benefit UW System-wide is $550,000, and for UW–Madison it is $112,000. In one faculty loss alone, the university lost nearly $3.4 million in private and federal gifts and grants. By any definition, a small GPR investment could yield significant financial benefits.
In an environment of limited state resources and increased competition for our faculty and staff, we should do everything in our power to address the specific reasons people leave. We know for a certainty that this issue has been, and continues to be, a major factor for those faculty and staff who are being recruited by other universities. Being able to offer this benefit will allow us to continue to strategically address the recruitment and retention problem. It is crucial we stem this tide.
I understand the budget process, particularly this year, is long and often unpredictable. While the budget appears to be headed toward a conference committee, I strongly feel that the sooner we can secure this provision in the budget the better. Please feel free to call upon me anytime regarding this or any other issue.
Sincerely,
Chancellor John D. Wiley