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UW-Madison is one of the nation’s highest producers of Peace Corps volunteers and major corporate CEOs. Yet there is one factor that threatens our ability to continue to attract the best and brightest: the University has less financial aid available to support students than any other Big Ten institution.
About this Effort
Sustaining an extraordinary university requires extraordinary action.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is one of the world's most respected and influential research-intensive institutions. Maintaining and building this reputation means enhancing the entire intellectual capacity of the campus. It means we must provide opportunities for promising students to attend the University, including those from large metropolitan areas, the central city and rural communities. It means preserving the affordability of the UW-Madison.
The Madison Initiative for Undergraduates promises to generate much-needed revenue to help preserve the long-term value of a UW-Madison degree. It is widely supported by students and the Board of Regents, and will be advanced over four years with an incremental tuition charge that grows cumulatively by $250 per year for Wisconsin residents and $750 annually for non-residents. Approximately one-quarter of the dollars generated each year will be used to build a significant pool of financial support, beginning with $2.5 million in year one and building steadily to $10 million annually by the fourth year. In partnership with the UW Foundation, the campus seeks to raise an equal amount each year in private support.
Faculty and staff identified student access and affordability as major issues. They seized on the UW Foundation’s offer of a match for gifts supporting students and took action, helping to generate nearly $2 million to launch the Great People Scholarship campaign. Alumni, businesses and friends of UW-Madison are invited to help the University retain its global excellence and allow talented students to realize their potential. Addressing the urgency of this campaign, the board of the UW Foundation voted to match gifts to the Great People Scholarship, up to a total of $20 million.
The other components that define a world-class institution are its teachers, scholars and facilities. The University of Wisconsin Foundation launched the “Great People. Great Place.” initiative to attract, retain and support all faculty and to sustain the next generation of scholars and teachers through support of graduate students. In addition, the initiative focuses on some of the oldest and most beloved places on the UW-Madison campus, particularly the East Campus Gateway bordered by Murray, Dayton and Park streets, and the Memorial Union.
The Great People Scholarship campaign and the "Great People. Great Place." initiative offer alumni and friends opportunities to direct gifts to areas of personal meaning and special importance.