New resources expected to aid recruiting of faculty, staff
 Chancellor David Ward, speaking at a news conference, explains that the budget proposal will balance tuition and state funding with private giving. Photo: Jeff Miller See also: Q&A: Ward explains Madison Initiative benefits Hiring a key to maintaining university excellence |
Dan van der Weide, a new university professor working to enhance the power of modern microscopes, personifies the “intellectual firepower” the university expects to bring to bear in Wisconsin through the Madison Initiative.
Van der Weide, a professor of electrical and computer engineering who comes to UW–Madison from the University of Delaware, is one of the first of more than 100 faculty and academic staff expected to be hired under the Madison Initiative, a public-private investment included as part of the pending state budget.
UW–Madison has already authorized the hiring of 32 new faculty members with private funds, and 16 of them – including van der Weide – are now on campus.
“More than anything else, it allows us to recruit and retain the very best faculty and academic staff,” Chancellor David Ward says. “Intellectual firepower is what makes a great university, and this funding will allow us to build and retain this intellectual firepower.”
The Madison Initiative calls for an increase to the university’s base budget of $57 million from the state and students, combined with $40 million in private giving from alumni and donors, over four years. The 1999-2001 state budget, expected to be signed next week by the governor, will provide $29.2 million for the first two years of the initiative.
The payoffs should be quickly apparent. Van der Weide, for example, plans to work with students to develop an Internet-based laboratory where experiments can be conducted using remotely operated microscopes. Such a lab has potential for teaching and scientific and industrial collaboration.
The chancellor says the initiative and overall university budget will provide students with improved educational and research opportunities; strengthen libraries and other services; and renovate buildings, among other things.