UW-La Crosse chancellor Beeby on $194 million science center, fed funding cuts for special ed program, and rising housing and tuition costs

A year into the job, UW-La Crosse chancellor, Dr. James Beeby, in studio discussing finally securing funding for the Prairie Springs Science Center, the loss of federal funding for the university’s Adapted Physical Education program, and the growing challenges students face with tuition and housing costs. Beeby talks about his trips to Madison, working the Wisconsin state Legislature to get what ends up being $194 million for Phase 2 of Prairie Springs funded — after seven years of GOP delays that will ultimately cost taxpayers an extra $100 million. He also spoke emotionally about the funding loss from the US Department of Education for the PE program, which has trained special education teachers for 40 years. Lastly, we covered the Universities of Wisconsin getting $256 million in the new 2025-27 state budget, plus $840 million for campus building projects — including Prairie Springs — while tuition is still set to rise 4-5%, and housing costs continue to climb.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.