A couple of days ago, Scott Walker announced that his next budget cuts $300 million from the University of Wisconsin system - a 13% cut. He said that to make up for the loss, professors should just work a little harder.
John Sharpless, a Republican who teaches at UW, called Walker out on his war on academia:
John Sharpless, a former Republican candidate for Congress and who teaches history at UW, voiced his frustration on Friday over the belief that professors aren't working hard enough. He said he arrives no later than 9 a.m. and leaves no earlier than 5 p.m. During that time, he said he’s either teaching, preparing lectures, doing research, attending required committee meetings, advising students and managing teaching assistants. Sharpless added that he often spends his evenings reading and grading papers.
“None of this seems like work to a guy like Walker because he lives a different life,” he said. “And I’m not going to make fun of what he does. I’m sure being a governor is a lot of work. He has to spend a lot of time in Iowa and South Carolina and North Carolina and courting other Republican big-wigs. That taxes the man horribly.”
He suggested that to help with the budget shortfall, Walker should give back the money that he makes when he leaves Wisconsin to campaign for a possible presidential run in 2016.
“I think Scott should take a leave of absence and do this on his dime or the dime of the big corporate guys who pay his jet fare,” Sharpless added.
Walker, who had his lips firmly planted on David Koch's wallet, was unavailable for comment.
H/T to Jeff Simpson, my colleague at Cog Dis.
