AB 757 Wisconsin Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Relating to: the appointment of certain employees of the University of Wisconsin System and faculty governance.

AB 757 amends Wisconsin statutes to change how the University of Wisconsin System appoints certain leadership roles and clarifies faculty governance rights. It prohibits requiring faculty tenure, specific academic degrees, or faculty status for appointments like chancellor, dean, or vice chancellor (Sections 2-3). The bill redefines "faculty" to include instructional academic staff with 50%+ teaching/research duties for governance purposes (Section 5), and ensures non-tenured faculty can serve on committees without restrictions (Section 5c). It also establishes new rules for "limited appointments" (e.g., administrative roles) requiring board approval and annual reporting (Sections 7-9). These changes directly affect UW System leadership, faculty, and academic staff in hiring and governance processes.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Assembly Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Vetoed

Apr 2026

Introduced Dec 17, 2025 Vetoed Apr 3, 2026

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Bill Text → Text as Enrolled · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Wisconsin statutes to clarify who counts as 'faculty' for governance purposes and to prohibit excluding non-tenured or non-tenure-track staff from consideration for leadership roles like deans or department chairs. It expands the definition of faculty to include individuals with over 50% teaching or research duties and ensures that academic staff with instructional responsibilities cannot be barred from serving on committees or holding leadership positions based on tenure status or academic degrees.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of 'faculty' eligibility to include a broader range of academic staff with teaching or research responsibilities, rather than limiting it strictly to those with specific ranks or tenure.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'faculty' was updated to include any individual with more than 50% of their appointment time dedicated to teaching or research, or those serving as department, center, or program chairs.

ELIGIBILITY

New provisions explicitly forbid excluding full-time faculty or academic staff from consideration for dean, associate dean, or department chair positions solely because they lack tenure, are on probationary terms, or do not hold the highest academic degree.

The bill clarifies that faculty members with tenure or academic staff with instructional duties cannot lose their appointments by accepting limited-term positions such as provost or vice president roles.

REQUIREMENT

Institutions are now required to ensure adequate representation of faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines within their organizational structures.

Floor votes · Assembly Feb 12, 2026

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 3, 2026

Vetoed

Report vetoed by the Governor on 4-3-2026

lower

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read a third time and concurred in

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Amended

Senate Substitute Amendment 1 rejected, Ayes 18, Noes 15

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Introduced

Senate Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Senators Larson, Hesselbein, Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, Drake, Habush Sinykin, L. Johnson, Keyeski, Pfaff, Ratcliff, Roys, Smith, Spreitzer, Wall and Wirch

upper

Mar 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report concurrence recommended by Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges, Ayes 3, Noes 2

upper

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read a third time and passed, Ayes 53, Noes 45

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Assembly Substitute Amendment 4 adopted

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Introduced

Assembly Substitute Amendment 4 offered by Representative Piwowarczyk

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Introduced

Assembly Substitute Amendment 3 offered by Representative Bare

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Introduced

Assembly Substitute Amendment 2 offered by Representative Snodgrass

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Introduced

Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 offered by Representative Johnson

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Placed on calendar 2-12-2026 by Committee on Rules

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to committee on Rules

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report passage recommended by Committee on Colleges and Universities, Ayes 7, Noes 4

lower

Dec 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced by Representatives Piwowarczyk, Dittrich and O'Connor; cosponsored by Senator Cabral-Guevara

lower

3 primary · 0 co-sponsors