Wisconsin’s Private Colleges – WAICU Leadership traveled to Washington, D.C., recently to advance policies and advocate for Wisconsin’s 22 private, nonprofit colleges and universities, meeting with Wisconsin federal elected officials, including U.S. Senator Ron Johnson. Pictured, left to right, are Concordia University Wisconsin Vice President of Advancement Jennifer Benanti; WAICU Executive Vice President for External Relations Rebecca Larson; Viterbo University Director of Casagrande Institute for Higher Education David Bauer; Mount Mary University President Isabelle Cherney; Legislative Counsel to Senator Ron Johnson, Julia Mikota; WAICU President Eric W. Fulcomer; Senator Ron Johnson; Carroll University President Cindy Gnadinger; Carroll University Director of Corporate Relations John Gnadinger; Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) President John Walz; and Concordia University Wisconsin Chief of Staff Steven Taylor.

WAICU President Eric Fulcomer and Executive Vice President for External Relations Rebecca Larson, accompanied by WAICU leadership from four member colleges, were in Washington, D.C., in February as part of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) Annual Meeting and Advocacy Day.

This year’s meeting, “Advocacy Amidst Upheaval: Thriving in an Uncertain Political Era,” provided an opportunity for the team to meet with all ten members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation to advocate for our higher education sector at the federal level. This advocacy day comes at an imperative time in higher education policy, with sweeping changes to the Department of Education and many new rules and regulations for our institutions.

The group connected with legislators on the budget reconciliation process, sharing our strong opposition to proposed risk-sharing payments and changes to the endowment tax, a tax that unfairly targets private, nonprofit colleges and universities.

WAICU also thanked legislators for their continued support of federal student aid programs such as Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), and Federal Work-Study (FWS), and pushed for a balanced reform to student loans and the tax benefits that work collectively to ensure access and affordability for students and families.

Advocacy days supplement the many conversations with our Wisconsin policy leaders and congressional delegation members as we continue to fight for students and the health of private, nonprofit higher education. Through advocacy, WAICU continues to uphold and protect policies that support Wisconsin student opportunity.

For more information, email WAICU Executive Vice President for External Relations Rebecca Larson.