Candidate Rebecca BlankMADISON (WKOW) -- Difficult challenges face the next University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor.
"We can't continue to raise tuition to backfill the public funds that aren't there anymore, so the new chancellor is going to have to figure out new sources of revenue," said Vince Sweeney, vice chancellor for university relations.
The candidates responded by touching on the difficulty of declining funding through the state.
"Each of us in the future will be spending time raising private money," said candidate Kim Wilcox, who is the outgoing provost of Michigan State University.
Nicholas Jones, dean of Johns Hopkins University's school of engineering, said he plans to fund raise by tapping into UW-Madison's "incredible alumni base of 400,000."
While the University of Chicago's Michael Schill's main goal was to invest in the students, and the way to do that was through great leadership.
The final candidate, Rebecca Blank, said she was convinced only two things mattered.
"One is a skilled workforce and the other is an economy that is on the edge of innovation and invention," said Blank, deputy secretary of commerce.
Each of the candidates will interview with the University of Wisconsin System president Kevin Reilly and Board of Regents committee on Friday, according to UW spokesperson David Giroux, and the board will vote for a single candidate on April 5.
