Forty Years No More: UWM Center Slated to Close

The Center of Urban Initiatives and Research  is facing shutdown this coming June after providing services to the community for more than 40 years, the latest ramification of a multi-million dollar budget deficit at UW-Milwaukee.

CUIR was first established in 1972 as the UWM Urban Research Center with what it describes as a clear service mission, which is to help public and nonprofit organizations and networks through applied research services and technical support.  The center’s officials say it aims to strengthen community organizations by providing deep insight into their programs and customers,  through evaluating their programs, surveying the communities and facilitating professional development sessions.

CUIR delivers services such as data visualization, program planning and evaluation, survey research and many more things. The acting director of CUIR, Terry Batson, who has worked in the center 11 years, and many of her staff members, worked closely with the community to understand the challenges of nonprofits and where they come from.

“I think that’s also what makes us unusual is that we have been in the community and working in the community prior to coming here,” Batson said. “And that puts a different spin on the way we approach the nonprofits and community.”

Though 95 percent of their work is focused on servicing the community and the closure would not affect students significantly other than those employed there, CUIR does provide employment to both undergraduate and graduate students.

The center had up to 40 undergraduates on the roster to do surveys a semester, and four to six graduates working on research projects. The center offered them practical experience, which is essential for the students as hands-on background could be a critical factor when it comes to secure employment.

It was the same going back years. Sammis White, who was the director of the center in 1985 and now is the associate director of the School of Continuing Education, revealed that the center once had eight graduates working with it in the 1980s.

Speaking of the closure, “I think it’s unfortunate,” White said. “There’s a huge need in this community, particularly from nonprofits who don’t have much money to gain insights into the impact they’re having on the various populations they’re serving. And CUIR provided a place where this could be done, and was done repeatedly.”

CUIR was revenue producing  in that the center was able to raise extra dollars from sponsor-funded projects. Generally speaking, CUIR gets from a low point of $380,000 to $550,000 from the university as its budget but often raised anywhere from $1 or up to $3 for every $1 they received.

Most of the university budget they get is used for administrative staff and paying tuition for the graduates who work with them. Last fiscal year, they were able to carry over $180,000. Yet, the Provost made the decision to close the center down.

Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Johannes Britz said the dominant reason of closing down CUIR is due to budget cuts. “We got tuition freeze, we got low enrollments, we had to make choices,” Britz said. “If we had the money, we probably could have continued (the center).”

Interim Vice Provost for Research Mark Harris said, “Basically we are trying to protect the academic programs as much as possible. And that leads to some choices you have to make.”

Harris explained that the school puts additional funds every year into most centers, and they have to find places to make savings in a way that doesn’t affect academics. The school has to “break the eggs in order to make an omelette.”

The decision was made and explained to the center’s staff last summer, at which time they had 14 to 15 people in the crew and were given a year to make transitions. CUIR currently has nine staff members left, including at least three who are looking forward to moving to the Center for Urban Population Health (CUPH). If one of their projects, Tobacco Prevention and Control through the Wisconsin Department of Health Services continues at UWM, a total of five members will be transitioned to CUPH. The director, Batson, is planning on her retirement in case her position does not relocate to CUPH.

Most of the projects CUIR worked on during the years are already completed or are in the process of winding down, including the Survey Center and ENTECH, which provides technology consulting to nonprofit organizations. Some projects may continue at CUPH as they are renewable on an annual basis. In addition, COMPASS Guide will be able to survive and continues to function. It is a local-based program dedicated to increase college access for teens from low-income families and underrepresented groups.

Among the many partners CUIR worked with, Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) received help from the center on building online applications through the ENTECH program as well as managing the evaluation for the Partnership for Arts and Humanities, a grant program designed for K-12 students in terms of after-school and summer arts activities and many more.

“I think it’s unfortunate, and it’s a really big loss to our community,” Kari Hanson, the community arts specialist of MPS, said. “The services they provided, at least within the work that I do, has been very invaluable.”

According to Batson, the center staff members are planning on a gathering at the end of June where both CUIR’s former and current staffs, representatives from the university and many of their community partners will get together to celebrate the center’s 40 years.