Reinvest in the UW
There are many reasons that Prent Corp., founded 50 years ago by my father in Janesville, has grown into the world’s leading designer and producer of custom thermoformed packages for the medical device industry. I can honestly say, however, that without the contributions by our employees, our company would not have been able to achieve the success that we have enjoyed in these five decades.
Our workforce encompasses a variety of backgrounds and talent. Whether you’re an hourly manufacturing employee, a recent college graduate or a seasoned professional, our success is directly related to the performance and talents of our employees.
Graduates from a variety of schools and universities are embedded in our workforce consisting of more than 2,000 employees globally. Many of our in-house engineering, design and information technology employees are graduates of the University of Wisconsin-Stout, UWPlatteville, and UW-Madison. Our business operations include UW-Whitewater graduates.
That’s why I was encouraged when I learned of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to increase higher education funding by more than $100 million in 2017-’19.
I know how important it is to find ways to cut costs and increase efficiency. But because of repeated budget reductions across the UW System, our institutions have become more cost conscious.
I also know that to continue to grow, our business requires constant reinvestment. No business meets the expectations of its customers without this resource growth. I am pleased that the governor, in his budget speech, said an additional $100 million state reinvestment is warranted for the UW System, “to help improve student success.”
I also am pleased that the governor has recognized the need to improve employee salary levels across the UW System by proposing 2% increases in 2018 and 2019. I have been hearing from UW-Stout Chancellor Bob Meyer and other university officials about the challenges they face in keeping top-notch faculty and staff because of lagging salaries.
I recognize that this is just the start of a long review for Walker’s budget as it makes its way through the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee and the full Legislature. I hope, however, that legislators agree with me that it is time to invest additional state resources to ensure that college students will continue to receive quality education and Prent Corp. can continue to hire UW graduates who have been so vital to our success over the past 50 years.