W Oshkosh Foundation Files For Bankruptcy

The U-W Oshkosh Foundation has filed for bankruptcy after two former campus officials were sued for promising backup tax funds for five foundation building projects. The private foundation plans to use its Chapter Eleven bankruptcy status to reorganize, and chairman Tim Mulloy says it would protect the school’s endowment fund while the group reorganizes its finances. However, Mulloy says bankruptcy would not have been necessary had Senate Republican Steve Nass not demanded that tax money not be used to settle the matter. The U-W later said taxpayers would not be left on the hook, but that could change if the courts find that the university is liable for illegally guaranteeing tax funds for the foundation’s bank loans on its five building projects. Former Chancellor Richard Wells and former business officer Tom Sonnleitner were sued in January for allegedly making those guarantees.