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Bold Changes, Strong Roots: A Message From Chancellor John D. Wiley

Universities are lumbering beasts, slow to change and bound by dusty tradition—or so goes a popular misconception. At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, nothing could be further from the truth.

Looking back at our accomplishments and ahead to a promising future, we can see an institution that has adapted to the velocity of change. We have done what novelist Victor Hugo advised in the 19th century: “Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, but keep intact your roots.”

An entrepreneurial spirit is thriving on our campus. That creative and inventive culture, nurtured by faculty, students and staff, is transforming how we do business and helping to vitalize Wisconsin’s economy.

When I completed my studies and started looking for work in the 1960s, almost every major American corporation—from AT&T to General Motors to Westinghouse—had a major research laboratory. Gradually, though, business became less academic and academics became more entrepreneurial. And UW–Madison, which has faced declining levels of state support in recent years, has become more entrepreneurial than most universities.

Across all academic fields, UW–Madison now conducts more than $900 million of research annually, according to the National Science Foundation. More than $832 million supported science and engineering projects, and our campus led all U.S. universities with $73 million spent on research in education, business and the humanities. Those numbers represent our extraordinary competitiveness, which led our faculty and staff to submit more than 3,700 research proposals last year—generating a stack of submissions taller than the State Capitol.

After those numbers were tabulated, the university landed a five–year, $125 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to establish the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. The project will make UW–Madison a focal point for the science needed to make pioneering breakthroughs and help guarantee America’s energy security.

That same entrepreneurial spirit is permeating the classroom, as well. The Ewing and Marion Kauffman Foundation recently named UW–Madison as one of nine “Kauffman Campuses” that received $5 million to help train students in the principles and practices of entrepreneurship and help grow the state’s economy.

We’re leveraging creative partnerships that will keep the university on the cutting edge. In developing the Wisconsin Institutes of Discovery, we have partnered with the state, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and farsighted donors John and Tashia Morgridge to create twin institutes—one public and one private—that will focus on interdisciplinary research.

In another innovative approach, a small group of loyal donors came together to provide an $85 million gift—the first of its kind at a U.S. business school—that will preserve the school’s name as the Wisconsin School of Business for at least 20 years. It was a selfless act by dedicated alumni to ensure faculty excellence, keep the nationally recognized undergraduate program strong and enhance the resources available to the school’s specialized MBA programs.

The experience of being a UW–Madison student is rich and diverse. The university offers a nationally recognized study-abroad program, which involves more than 1,600 students in 150–plus overseas study and internship programs located on every continent except Antarctica. Even in the Antarctic, a few lucky Wisconsin graduate and undergraduate students have had the opportunity to help build a neutrino telescope at the South Pole, and others have participated in geologic and ecology research. On campus, undergraduates are encouraged to become more involved in research projects. By their senior year, about 13 percent of all undergraduates have conducted in–depth research in hard–science topics, making important connections with real–world issues. Through the Morgridge Center for Public Service, we are promoting civic engagement and strengthening the classroom experience through work in the community.

Our university has responded to difficult budgetary pressures with innovation. That kind of resourcefulness and creativity gives me immense pride in this institution, in the people who learn and work here, and in those who support our mission.

I recently announced that I will step down as chancellor in September 2008. As I think about the privilege of leading this university for more than seven years, I am struck by how we have changed in ways that are both profound and subtle. Through it all, however, we have remained committed to our principles and have kept our roots intact, providing value to Wisconsin families by building classroom excellence, research leadership and outreach through the Wisconsin Idea.

We have changed by competing boldly and taking new paths—yet staying grounded in a rich legacy. I am confident that UW–Madison will continue to evolve and adapt, but will never lose sight of what it means to be a great public research university.

John D. Wiley
Chancellor