UW renews public-private fund drive

Continued funding for the Madison Initiative will help provide students an outstanding education and keep Wisconsin competitive in the global economy, university officials say.

Wiley Related stories: Initiative brings early benefits to campus

Provost John Wiley recently outlined the framework for the next two years of the public-private partnership at the Business and Finance Committee meeting of the UW System Board of Regents.

The overall plan calls for an investment of $57 million in new funds from the state and students, to be matched by $40 million in private support, for a total investment of $97 million. For the 2001-2003 state budget, the university will request the remaining $28 million to complete the Madison Initiative, to again be matched with $20 million in private support.

“The first part of the Madison Initiative helped us partially close the $57 million gap,” says Wiley. “The second part will enable the university to leverage new grant money and private giving over and above our current levels, allowing us to maintain our margin of excellence as one of the nation’s best public research universities.”

State lawmakers approved the first $29.2 million for the Madison Initiative in the 1999-2001 state budget, which was matched by $20 million in donations from alumni and donors through the UW Foundation and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.