RICHLAND CENTER, Wis. – Students at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Richland are fighting to save their campus after UW System President Jay Rothman announced the two-year campus would no longer offer in-person classes come July 1.
“When we found out about this news, it was really abrupt and devastating, sophomore Jackson Kinney said. “‘No one was really expecting this to happen.”
Rothman cited financial pressures and steep declines in enrollment as the main reasons why they decided to cancel in-person classes.
“The University of Wisconsin System remains committed to our branch campuses and to providing as broad of access for students as possible,” UW System Media Relations Director Mark Pitsch told News 3 Now in a statement. “As President Rothman has said, there comes a time when financial pressure and low enrollment makes in-person degree level academic instruction no longer tenable. The decision about the Richland Center campus was based on a specific set of facts and should not be read as a sign regarding other branch campuses. UW-Platteville has begun meeting with students, faculty and staff to assist in the transition.”
This means that about 64 students and 25 employees will be moved to either UW-Platteville’s main campus or its Baraboo campus.
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“You may see it as 60 kids losing their career path and then a few faculty, but the inside of it is so much different,” UW-Platteville Richland freshman Brody Smith said. “There’s professors who have been here a long time and are now losing their jobs.”
Students said the Richland Center campus provided them with a home away from home. Now, their futures remain a question.
“We feel like we’ve been left in the dark,” sophomore Emily Lund said. “And we’ve been trying, it’s not for lack of trying, we’re just not getting the support that we thought we’d have.”
For some students, the in-person programs the campus offers were a key reason they chose to attend the school.
“I picked up my dog, my cow, a couple of t-shirts and a pair of jeans, Lund said. “I moved two and a half hours out here specifically to come to this campus.”
In an effort to save their campus, the students have been circulating a petition and posting in a Facebook group.
The petition and Facebook group were started by Richland County Board Sup. Shaun Murphy-Lopez.
“This petition asks Gov. Evers, State Sen. Marklein, Assembly Rep. Kurtz and UW (System) President Rothman to meet with the community to discuss how we can save our UW-Richland campus,” Lopez said. “This would be a major economic hit to working families who already face steep challenges in our rural county. Young people need an education so they can earn a better living. We know that student enrollment has declined precipitously. But that decline can be stopped if the state reverses its decision to defund our campus. We are asking them to work with the community to solve the problem and create a beneficial path forward for Richland Center, Southwest Wisconsin, and our state.”
As of Friday night, the petition has collected 750 signatures, with support from both current and former students. Smith said he hopes the petition and Facebook group allow officials to see the significant impact the school has had on the community.
“We want our voices to be heard because we want to bring awareness to not only the people that are here, but the people that could be here,” Smith said.
Facebook is now where alumni are sharing photos and memories of their time on campus.
“Everyone is just reminiscing on how much we’re going to lose because of how much [the campus] brings to the community,” Lund said.
Students are hopeful their efforts will help make a change.
“Save us, help us, please,” Smith said. “There probably could be more to be done.”
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