<p>Well, maybe the general public doesn't think so, but higher ed administrators and faculty have a staggering amount of respect for Wisconsin. I don't know if it's the research coming out of there, the PhDs they are graduating, or the faculty they are wooing and recruiting, but Wisconsin is regarded as an excellent school by other publics. Michigan regards it as a peer.</p>
<p>Or, as some of you may put it, our provost is just as big an idiot as the Minnesota provost. Quite a judgment indeed.</p>