Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Tiffany Discusses Goals for UW System
Representative Tiffany recently gave an exclusive interview to The Madison Federalist
Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany announced his campaign for governor in September, with a promise to “make sure every Wisconsin family has the same shot at the American Dream he was given.” He is widely seen as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination and has been endorsed by many of his congressional colleagues.
Tiffany recently participated in a wide-ranging phone interview with The Madison Federalist, where he discussed his vision for higher education policy, why college students should back his gubernatorial bid, and even whether Badger football coach Luke Fickell should keep his job.
Tiffany said, “The guiding light for me as governor is to make sure that we’re delivering top-notch education for those young people that are going to our universities.” Tiffany himself is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, where he earned a degree in agricultural economics.
He said college students should support his campaign for governor “because we’re going to bring greater opportunity to Wisconsin” and “be a beacon here in the Midwest for young people to be able to settle and lead prosperous lives.”
His top priorities for the University of Wisconsin System include emphasizing education over “indoctrination,” ending DEI, and returning to “a merit-based system, where parents and young people that go to our universities can expect to get a world-class education.”
He also believes it is important to make sure “there is some viewpoint diversity” on university campuses. However, he emphasized that “conservatives do not want DEI” for right-leaning scholars. Instead, he thinks “it’s the responsibility of both the regents and the leadership of our universities to make sure that they are checking their biases and taking the proper steps to ensure that there is viewpoint diversity throughout the system.”
One way to promote intellectual diversity is by ensuring “that free speech is protected, and if it takes legislation to do it, we should do that. I think the university system should take upon itself to make sure that there is freedom of expression and that it is enforced at our universities across the state of Wisconsin.” In the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s latest free speech rankings, UW-Eau Claire earned a “D,” UW-Milwaukee earned a “D-,” and UW-Madison earned an “F.”
Tiffany is also an advocate of “ending DEI.” Earlier this year, UW-Madison dissolved its Division of Diversity, Equity, and Education Achievement. However, most former DDEEA employees retained their jobs, simply moving to different departments. Tiffany acknowledged that this development makes it more difficult to monitor DEI practices, but he and the legislature would “do it through the budget” by ensuring that universities are using state money appropriately.
He responded to a report that found the UW School of Medicine and Public Health admitted Black applicants at about six times the rate of Asian applicants by saying, “Discrimination is antithetical to the American way of life, and we should not be allowing that to happen. I will eliminate all DEI and race-based preferences from the state government, including at our universities.” He also pointed to the FAIR Act of 2025, a bill he introduced in Congress, that would prohibit federally funded entities from discriminating against or giving preference to individuals on the basis of race.
Tiffany told The Federalist that he was concerned about the affordability of UW institutions, citing this summer’s five percent tuition increase for students. He said, “It may be time to go back to freezing tuition [like] when I was in the legislature a decade ago.” Tiffany served one term in the state assembly from 2011 until 2013, before being elected to the state senate. He was reelected in 2016, and then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020.
Tiffany believes the UW System employs too many administrators, saying, “We’ve seen an enormous growth in expenditures in administration. We need to make sure that we’re getting money to the classroom, not to all of these positions that have nothing to do with educating young people.”
The congressman emphasized his belief that the Universities of Wisconsin should “invest in Wisconsinites first,” criticizing the system for employing almost 500 foreign nationals through H-1B visas. Currently, universities are exempt from the federal 65,000-person cap on H-1B visas, which Tiffany believes is a problem. He introduced legislation that would require universities to compete for visas under the standard limit.
Tiffany also weighed in on one of the top issues for UW-Madison students: the dismal performance of the Badgers’ football team this season. Tiffany told The Federalist, “When I’m the next governor, state employees have to be accountable, and the same applies to Coach Fickell, and the athletic director, Chris McIntosh.” He continued, “This is a results business. So, I would just say they’re going to have to turn things around soon, or else that accountability is going to kick in.”
Tiffany is running against Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann in the Republican primary for governor. On the Democratic side, candidates include Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
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