The Governor Who (Maybe) Tried to Kill Liberal-Arts Education - Alia Wong, the Atlantic

Walker proposed to rewrite the University of Wisconsin’s mission statement. He apparently wanted to strip out its frills (stuff like "extended training," "public service," improving "the human condition," and "the search for truth") and inject it with a more practical goal: meeting "the state’s workforce needs."The "Wisconsin Idea" is the belief that the mission of the university is to improve people's lives beyond the classroom walls. The proposal took aim at a cherished institution. Many university mission statements are read only by the committees that draft them. For a century, though, the University of Wisconsin has defined its purpose around the "Wisconsin Idea," the belief that the mission of the university is to improve people's lives beyond the classroom walls. The proposed changes deleted this public purpose, substituting the narrower goal of workforce education. http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/02/the-governor-who-maybe-tried-to-kill-liberal-arts-education/385366/