Anna Nelson

State Sen. Gary George (D-Milwaukee), who is running for governor in 2002, would like to see more political attention directed at colleges and universities.

On Monday he visited UW-Eau Claire to talk to Chancellor Donald Mash and student leaders about their concerns and desires for the state of Wisconsin.

“I think state politicians who have run for office in the past have not paid enough attention to college campuses,” George said.

George said one way he would like to help higher education is by forcing the state budget through on time and eliminating secrecy with the budget.

The budget, which is a two-year document, is supposed to pass by July 1. George said it was several weeks late this year, which he thinks put pressure on the regents to raise tuition because they didn’t know how much money they had for the university budget.

Mash said George talked to him about his vision for Wisconsin and how higher education fits into it.

“He does recognize that the comprehensive campuses around the state are critically important for regional development,” Mash said.

George said it has been 56 years since the Democratic Party has nominated someone other than a Dane County representative. He is from Milwaukee, and although he attended UW-Madison, he said too much money goes into the Madison campus.

“I think support for the Madison campus has cost the Eau Claire campus financial support it deserves,” George said.

Mash acknowledged that Madison is the largest UW System campus, and that it is not unusual for a state to pay more attention to the bigger campuses.

But George thinks there must be a better way to divide the money. He gave the example that UW-Oshkosh hasn’t had a financially state-supported building in more than 30 years. He said recent UW-Eau Claire requests haven’t made the list for state support, and that is an area he would like to change.