[Air-L] petition to support non-profit & university collaboration

[Sue Robinson]

If you are at all interested in supporting collaboration between
non-profits and universities, particularly J-Schools, please consider signing
our petition<http://www.thepetitionsite.com/999/807/696/support-for-the-wisconsin-center-for-investigative-journalism/>
.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/999/807/696/support-for-the-wisconsin-center-for-investigative-journalism/

The Wisconsin GOP have targeted our non-partisan, non-profit Center for
Investigative Journalism <http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/>, housed in our
School of Journalism & Mass Communication. They occupy two tiny rooms in
our department, receive no money from the state, and are transparent about
all of their funding sources (http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/). They work
with our students, teach them as interns, lecture in our classes, and
collaborate on investigative projects. On Wednesday June 5, the following
amendment was added to Wisconsin's pending budget bill:

*Center for Investigative Journalism. Prohibit the Board of Regents from
permitting the Center for Investigative Journalism to occupy any facilities
owned or leased by the Board of Regents. In addition, prohibit UW employees
from doing any work related to the Center for Investigative Journalism as
part of their duties as a UW employee.*

The School of Journalism & Mass Communication vehemently opposes this
provision, not only because it prohibits a successful, productive, and
award-winning collaboration in research, teaching, and service having clear
and overwhelming benefits for both our students and the residents of the
state, but also because it represents a serious threat to shared governance
and academic freedom. We also believe this to have serious First Amendment
infringements as well as to hold implications for other non-profit
collaborations across the university system.

*In addition, we worry about the precedence this will set for the large
number of other universities with similar investigative centers and
non-profit partnerships!
*
The bill soon goes to the governor and we are hoping he will veto this line
item.

Please consider making it known there is broad support for collaboration
between universities and non-profits, and sign this petition. Also, if you
could distribute widely, we'd appreciate it!

Thank you!
Sue Robinson
Associate Professor
University of Wisconsin-Madison