Gov. Walker targets college funding, tenure with eye on 2016 race

[...] Gov. Scott Walker defeated public-sector labor unions.

[...] just weeks ahead of his expected entry into the presidential race, the Wisconsin Republican is staring down another conservative target: college professors.

The trifecta could cement Walker’s reputation among conservative Republican primary voters as a bold leader willing to battle entrenched interests of the left in the name of reform.

[...] faculty at the state’s universities, backed by national higher-education groups, say he is risking the quality and prestige of one of the country’s leading state universities to fuel his presidential ambitions.

The Legislature is set to vote within weeks on a budget that includes a $250 million cut to higher education over the next two years, roughly an 11 percent reduction in state support for the university system.