THU AM News: CROWE report explores UW-Madison economics; WisBusiness: the Show with Jim Blair, VC3

May 2, 2024

— In a recent report, a UW-Madison think tank found instructional staff growth at the university hasn’t kept up with rising undergraduate enrollment.

The Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy, or CROWE, recently released a report called “Administrative Intensity at UW-Madison,” the fourth in a series focused on the economics of the university.

It focuses on two different metrics: administrative spending per undergraduate student, and the ratio of non-instructional to instructional staff.

In 2012, that first measure was $13,300, which was above the median among peer universities of $11,500. In the following five years, administrative spending per undergrad at the university dropped just below the median at other public universities at the Association of American Universities. But by 2022, it had reached $16,700 — “almost identical” to the median.

Meanwhile, the section of the report focused on the second metric shows non-instructional staff at the university have increased “much more” than instructional staff over the past decade or so.

Between 2012 and 2022, full-time, non-medical non-instructional staff at the university increased by 20% while instructional staff increased by 11.7%. Over the same period, undergraduate enrollment increased by 17.7%.

“This ranking persists even if we were to remove non-administrative positions (e.g., researchers) from non-instructional staff,” report authors wrote in a release. “The analysis suggests that the growth in instructional staff at UW-Madison has not kept pace with the growth in undergraduate enrollment in the last ten years.”

UW-Madison was found to have a higher ratio of non-instructional to instructional staff and a larger growth in this ratio over the study period, according to the report. The number of non-instructional staff was 3.8 times the number of instructional staff in 2012, but that ratio had increased to 4.1 by 2022. Over the decade, the median ratio for peer universities stayed “relatively flat” at 3.6.

See the release and the full report.

— The latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: the Show” features insights from Jim Blair, general manager for the Madison office of VC3.

Formerly known as Aberdean Consulting, the business was recently acquired by the South Carolina-based technology consulting firm VC3, according to the Wisconsin Technology Council. It’s been a part of Madison’s tech scene for more than two decades, Tech Council President Tom Still notes.

Blair discusses the acquisition as well as cybersecurity trends for businesses and municipalities.

“They’re trying to create a really large [managed services provider] in a size and scale that hasn’t been done before,” he said. “They’re in an acquisition model; they did acquire five companies last year.”

Since launching about 30 years ago, VC3 has grown to have 750 workers and about $160 million in revenue, Blair said. He noted the company works with about 5% of the cities and municipalities around the country, and has focused its efforts on that niche.

The show also previews upcoming Tech Council events, including a May 9 meeting at the UW-Milwaukee Innovation Accelerator to discuss success stories for women who previously participated in the Governor’s Business Plan Contest.

Watch the show and find more episodes.

— Specialty cheese production in Wisconsin ticked up 1% over the year in 2023, reaching nearly 942 million pounds.

That’s according to a recent USDA report, which shows Wiscosin remained the top cheese-producing state in the country last year, making up 25% of national production.

Specialty cheeses represented 27% of the state’s total cheese output for the year, marking an increase of 13.7 million pounds from 2022. The USDA notes 94 of the state’s 117 cheese plants made at least one kind of specialty cheese last year.

Specialty cheeses are defined as a value-added high-quality product that “commands a premium price,” according to the USDA report.

Some categories saw declines in production over the year in Wisconsin, with asiago cheese dropping 22% from 41 million pounds to 32 million pounds, and romano wheel cheese falling 24% from 11 million pounds to around 8 million pounds.

Those declines were offset by growth in farmers, feta and parmesan wheel categories, which grew by 13%, 12% and 11% over the year, respectively.

See the report.

— The USDA has announced $3.3 million in funding for 18 infrastructure and clean energy projects in rural and tribal Wisconsin communities.

Recipients are all participants in the Rural Partners Network, which was launched two years ago to direct more federal funding to rural areas, according to USDA Rural Development State Director Julie Lassa.

“RPN is about removing barriers and building relationships with people and businesses located in rural areas so they can find the resources and funding to create jobs, build infrastructure and support long-term economic vitality on their own terms,” Lassa said in a statement.

The largest award by far is going to Laona Rescue Unit Inc. in Forest County, which will use about $2 million in grant funding to design and build a new emergency services station. The building will house six ambulances serving six townships and the Forest County Potawatomi Reservation, according to a project overview from the agency.

Other grants range from around $340,000 down to just under $15,000.

See the full list in the release.

— Port Milwaukee is predicting a “strong cruising season” this year with 27 visits from seven vessels planned between early May and mid-October.

That’s down slightly from last year’s activity, when a record-high nine vessels made 30 stops in Milwaukee, according to the port’s 2023 report.

Port officials yesterday announced the Viking Octantis is the port’s first cruise ship of the year, marking the third year in a row the ship has arrived before any others. Planned stops by cruise ships this season are expected to bring more than 12,000 passengers to Milwaukee, according to the release. That’s roughly in-line with last year’s visitor number.

“Today marks the official start of the 2024 cruise season and a great day for tourism in Milwaukee,” said Jackie Carter, director of Port Milwaukee. “Each cruise visit results from the hard work between the Port and our local, regional, and global partners. We look forward to warmly welcoming thousands of passengers who will visit our community throughout the season.”

See the release and hear more from Carter in a recent episode of Talking Trade.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— UW-Madison researchers have published a study showing the benefits of breast cancer screening after 40, supporting newly released national guidelines.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, and Rep. Robyn Vining, D-Wauwatosa, are urging Republicans to expand Medicaid in Wisconsin.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

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