Gift announcement transcript
UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley:
Welcome, everyone. I’d like to thank you for coming this morning. I’m John Wiley, chancellor of the university, and we’re here to make a very big announcement. I assume most of you know what it’s going to be or you wouldn’t be here. This is a historic step forward in the way that science is conducted and the way science and education will be joined in the 21st century.
It’s a watershed day for us and here to join us in making this announcement are: Governor Jim Doyle; Jan Ver Hagen, president of the board of trustees of WARF, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation; Carl Gulbrandsen, managing director of WARF; and two of our most loyal and steadfast alumni, John and Tashia Morgridge. You’ll hear from all of them in due course.
I was told that just before starting I would be handed a slip of paper giving me a list of all the dignitaries in the audience who should be recognized. It turned out that the entire audience is nothing but dignitaries (laughter), so I’m going to confine myself to the front row alone, beginning with Regent president David Walsh, WARF trustee Tom Pyle, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Senator Dave Zien, Senator Mark Miller, alderperson Robbie Webber, WARF trustee Pat Lipton, WARF attorney Beth Donley, and Mary Burke, secretary of the Department of Commerce. Thank you all for coming.
In November 2004 Governor Doyle proposed the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, a pioneering venture into science here at UW-Madison that cuts across an array of disciplines in order to push the boundaries of discovery. I’m here today to say that that vision is taking shape with the incredible help and generosity of the Morgridges and WARF.
John and Tashia, both passionate advocates of education, have committed to making a $50 million gift to launch this project into reality. (Applause)
This is the largest individual gift in the history of the university and one that we hope will transform our approach to science at UW-Madison, unlocking the mysteries of disease and other problems and strengthening the Wisconsin economy.
The Morgridges’ generosity is well-known. Their gifts have made possible renovation of the Education Building as well as the Red Gym, where the Morgridge Center for Public Service is located. They have also been strong supporters of the School of Business and the School of Education, as well as the College of Engineering.
Today’s gift will help build a world-class facility to answer questions in biology, nanotechnology, information technology, materials science and other realms of scientific inquiry at the intersections of these fields.
We want to continue to break down walls between the sciences and create a place in which biologists work in tandem with engineers, computer experts with geneticists, microbiologists with nanotechnologists and so forth.
For much of the 20th century, scientists worked solely within their fields. To carry science into the 21st century and create life-changing discoveries here on this campus, we must work further to break down the barriers and begin to nurture collaborations that involve all the sciences.
The Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, to be located in the 1300 block of University Avenue, will be such a place. It will be one of the finest scientific facilities in the world, designed from the ground up for collaboration. It will help us compete for research grants and help us attract and retain top faculty. It will encourage scientific education, involving students in groundbreaking research and with hands-on mentoring of students in K-12 schools from around Wisconsin. It will help Wisconsin build a 21st century knowledge-based economy.
For all of this and much more, we are most grateful for the Morgridges’ vision and their concern for our future as a university, as a community, and as a state.
But there is more to today’s announcement. WARF, recognizing the potential of this concept, has agreed to match the Morgridges’ gift, which brings another $50 million to the project. (Applause)
Earlier the State Building Commission, at Governor Doyle’s urging, approved $50 million as the state’s commitment toward the project, and this completes the package. We appreciate Governor Doyle’s leadership and the supportive actions of many members of the State Legislature.
WARF has always been a strong partner in funding and promoting research, and this gift is an extension of that commitment and we’re deeply grateful for their ongoing support. Along with the Morgridges’ gift, WARF’s donation sets the stage for a strong public-private partnership that will ensure cross-pollination of the sciences and strong ties to the Wisconsin economy.
To John and Tashia – you have accomplished a great deal today. You have made discovery possible, you have offered students a gateway to learning in dynamic new ways, and you have helped strengthen the future of the university and the state. Thank you very much. (Applause)
I’d now like to introduce Jan Ver Hagen, who is the president of the board of trustees of WARF. He’ll say a few words and introduce Carl Gulbrandsen.
Jan Ver Hagen, President, WARF Board of Trustees:
It’s a great honor to be here today representing the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Board of Trustees on this momentous occasion. All of the trustees are alumni of the University of Wisconsin here at Madison and all of us love this institution and are committed to the support that WARF ensures at this particular time.
WARF, since its inception in 1925, has endeavored to make extra support available to create the margin of excellence for this wonderful institution. All of the WARF trustees were and are inspired by the generous gift and commitment of the Morgridges on this occasion in partnership with the rest of us. Thank you, John and Tashia.
It is the trustees’ sincere hope that WARF’s partnership with John and Tashia will make the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and the Morgridge Research Institute a reality, and that the programs of these new facilities will make this great university even better.
With that, (here is) Carl, our managing director for WARF.
Carl Gulbrandsen, Managing Director, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation:
Thank you, Jan and Chancellor (Wiley), and good morning, everyone. First and foremost to John and Tashia Morgridge -- thank you very much for your incredible generosity, your vision and your passionate support of the university.
John and Tashia have been generous with their money and they’ve also been generous with their time. Tashia serves on the board of advisors for the School of Education and John serves on the WARF Board of Trustees.
Thank you also to Governor Doyle, who has made this project an important part of his agenda for the State of Wisconsin. He recognizes the importance of cutting edge research and is an outspoken advocate for the work that we do here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Thank you also to Chancellor Wiley for your leadership in keeping UW-Madison great and your service on the WARF Board of Trustees. Your continued support to WARF is very important to us.
The WARF Board of Trustees is a wonderful group of dedicated alumni who really love this university. When the trustees learned that John and Tashia wanted to make a significant gift to help the university realize its vision for the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, the board did not hesitate in agreeing to partner with the Morgridges.
I’d like to acknowledge the trustees that are here today – Pat Lipton, Tom Pyle, John and Tashia, John (Wiley), and Jan Ver Hagen, the president. Without their leadership, WARF would not be what it is today.
The gift we are announcing today is an investment in the future of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a world-class university. It is a gem – a precious resource for the people of Wisconsin and for the world. Like other resources, it needs stewardship. It needs to be nurtured and cared for.
There are no great private research institutes in the center of our country. The east and the west coasts each have their great private research institutes, and the schools associated with these institutes take full advantage of that relationship in attracting and retaining faculty and in competing for increasingly scarce research dollars. What we are embarking on today is different from that that exists elsewhere. We intend to combine and best of the public and the best of the private.
All of us are committed to keeping UW-Madison a great public university, but we also recognize the advantages of a private research institute and what that can bring to our university. By building twin institutes – one public and one private – and leveraging the advantages of one with the other, we are confident that UW-Madison will remain competitive in an increasingly competitive environment and will allow the University of Wisconsin to continue to be a leader in research, education and outreach.
The location of the twin institutes is critical. They will be surrounded by the Engineering College, Computer Science, Chemistry, Biotechnology and Biochemistry, and, as the conceptual drawings show here today, the twin institutes will be joined by a sun-filled atrium, unlike the weather we have outside today – a crossroads for students, faculty, researchers and the public moving from one part of campus to the other. The sharing of ideas by people from very different backgrounds is one important goal of these institutes. When that happens discovery occurs. We plan to stimulate discovery at the crossroads.
The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery will be the hub of the Discovery Program and the Discovery Learning Program. One is an interdisciplinary research program. The other is a unique educational program. Both will fan out across the campus throughout the university and will be designed to facilitate support and enrich the university’s mission of research, education and service.
Putting on the WARF hat, we can’t ignore the advantages that the Morgridge Institute for Research will provide for technology transfer and business generation. The governor depends on the university being an economic engine for the state. Having a private research institute will enhance our ability to more quickly transfer discoveries to the marketplace for the benefit of the university, the state, and humankind.
It took much work and long hours on the part of WARF management and staff and a number of visionary leaders of the university administration and faculty to get us where we are today. I’d like those from WARF management and the university steering committee to please stand and be thanked for what you’ve done up to this point. (Applause)
We’re very appreciative of their efforts, which went above and beyond, but now the real work begins. We have a long way to go to make this dream a reality. The WARF management team and the university steering committee are dedicated to achieving this goal, and we are fortunate to have been loaned the services of George Austin, executive director of the Overture Foundation, who will act as the project manager on behalf of WARF.
George, who has helped build Monona Terrace and the Overture Center, knows firsthand that great institutions need the input and support of the communities they serve. Over the coming months we will be reaching out to the campus community for your input to help in making this great and important endeavor a true success. Thank you. (Applause)
Chancellor John Wiley:
As Carl said, Governor Doyle has made this project a major part of his agenda, and I can tell you from firsthand experience (that) on several occasions he has called Alan Fish and me down to his office to ask, “Why isn’t this moving faster? When are we going to start digging dirt?” So it’s my great honor and privilege to welcome Governor Doyle to this announcement and ask him to say a few words.
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle:
John, thank you for the kind introduction, but I also want to really thank John Wiley for being an incredibly strong leader of this institution who has moved us forward in so many ways. You only need to just go out in the parking lot here and sort of take a 360 around and see what has happened in this part of campus in recent years to see the legacy of John Wiley and his team and what they have done to make sure that Wisconsin continues to advance as a leading biomedical research center in the world.
This is a great day. You know, $50 million here and $50 million there and pretty soon you’re talking about real money, as they say. It is a major step forward as Wisconsin builds on a long and deep tradition of research fueled over the decades by WARF. But today WARF (is) taking it to an entirely new level with a concept that is unique among large public universities of a real partnership between private and public research that will fuel and leverage research in ways that I think we never dreamed of before and be able to find those cures for illnesses long thought to be incurable.
We’ll talk a lot about the economic development aspects of it all and it’s very, very important. But at the bottom line of this there is somebody not yet born decades from now who may suffer from juvenile diabetes, but because of the work done here in Madison, that there will be a cure – or somebody with spinal cord injuries that people never thought could move again, but because of work that will be done here, will be able to move again.
This is our moment as a state to build on all that has gone before us and to make a major step forward in biomedical research.
While John says that I asked him down to see how fast it’s going, that’s somewhat true, but also not really, because he and Al Fish and his team have been moving on this at very, very high speed. It was in November 2004 that I announced the $750 million initiative to cement Wisconsin’s status as the nation’s leader in biotechnology and stem cell research. The strategy called for marshaling public and private resources to develop the right facilities for the next generation of discoveries.
The cornerstone of this initiative was the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, an interdisciplinary research center that will collaborate directly with industry, turning innovative new discoveries into good, high-paying jobs here in Wisconsin.
And so today’s announcement that the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, and two of the greatest alumni of this university, John and Tashia Morgridge, have come together to partner with the state to finance the plan for the first phase of the Institutes for Discovery.
Wisconsin is already a national leader – a world leader – in biomedical biotechnology. The public and private institutes will allow us to take the next step forward by drawing out the best minds from biology, engineering and computer sciences, and together they will not only push the boundaries of medical science, but they will create a thriving new sector of the economy here in Wisconsin. I actually shouldn’t say new, because already Wisconsin’s biotech firms contribute about $5 billion to the state’s economy and account for more than 20,000 jobs, and we are determined to build on that.
Last year the National Institutes of Health made Wisconsin home to the nation’s first and only national stem cell bank. Last week I announced that Bristol Myers Squibb has signed a licensing agreement for groundbreaking research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. We’ve broken ground on the construction of a new first class research facility at the Medical College of Wisconsin. And this month we announced the creation of an institute for influenza viral research that will also be located on the UW-Madison campus. Those are just some of the examples of what has gone on in this state in the world of biomedical research just over the last several months.
The institutes we are talking about today are the latest example of how we are positioning ourselves as the biotechnology/biomedical research leaders in the world, but the institutes would not have been possible without major public and private investment. On April 19, I will ask the State Building Commission to approve $150 million for this project. $50 million of that will come from money already approved by the State Legislature from the State of Wisconsin – funding that I and many in state government are committed to because of the incredible importance of this project to our future as a state.
I want to thank Jan and Carl and the entire WARF team, as $50 million of this will come from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, one of the great, great assets of Wisconsin.
To John and Tashia Morgridge, who have stepped up to make an incredibly generous gift of $50 million, on behalf of all of the citizens of the State of Wisconsin, I thank you for what you have done.
This is the largest individual gift ever to benefit the University of Wisconsin-Madison. John and Tashia’s dedication to this project and to their alma mater has been tremendous. They have met with me a number of times on it, not to mention countless other meetings that they have had, both in Madison and other places in the country, about this project. It has been something that they, with their incredible energy and commitment, have helped to push forward, and in their honor the private institute will be named the Morgridge Institute for Research.
It is my great honor to introduce two individuals who have made this possible. John and Tashia Morgridge are two of Wisconsin’s finest – we’ll call them Wisconsin citizens, because in our mind that’s what you are. They grew up in Wauwautosa, Wisconsin, not more than a couple of blocks from each other (and) were educated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Tashia has gone on in her life committed to improving education, and particularly special education, for students of this state and all over the country. John, as we know, has become one of the nation’s leading business people – chairman of the board of Cisco Systems – and (has) a list of accomplishments that go on forever. Not a bad life for two people who came out of Wauwautosa, through Madison and out into the world.
For all of us who know them, what they have done with their incredible success is to make sure that they are helping others with it, and their commitment and contribution here today is an example of the finest generosity. When I think of those people who decades from now will benefit from what will happen at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, all of those people and their families will be able to thank John and Tashia Morgridge for their great generosity.
John and Tashia Morgridge – (Applause)
John Morgridge:
Thank you, Governor. Tashia and I are truly honored to be here today. We grew up in Wisconsin. We met while we were students at Wauwautosa High School, now called East. Later we both attended UW-Madison. We have a wonderful love for this place called Wisconsin and a deep appreciation for this great university.
UW-Madison is one of several dozen truly world-class U.S. institutions of higher learning and basic research. What is less understood and appreciated is how important a role the university plays in the economic growth and vitality of the state and the country. Our great universities keep us competitive in a global economy. It is no surprise that the UW System has produced as many Fortune 100 CEOs as Harvard. It is no surprise that UW-Madison has produced discoveries that have resulted in dozens of start-ups and license and royalty fees of almost $50 million per year, representing over $5 billion in economic activity. Our gift today is a direct result of just such a combination.
Cisco Systems, during its early growth years, had the benefit of a CEO who had a UW-Madison degree, and its founders had the benefit of a Stanford University laboratory to develop their networking equipment products. That combination has helped produce a company with revenues of over $25 billion, a market cap of over $100 billion, good jobs for 35,000 employees worldwide, 90-plus percent of which have four-year degrees or more. It also coincidentally made possible our gift today.
But, as Carl (Gulbrandsen) said, the excellence of this university is not guaranteed. We have to continue to innovate. We will only remain excellent if we continue to invest, and we hope that this project will ensure our competitiveness in the years to come.
The gift that Tashia and I are providing supports both the public and private institutes. There is no world-class private institute currently in the center of this country. MIT has Whitehead Institute. UC-SD has Scripps. When one considers great research institutes, one thinks of institutes on either coast. In the future we want them to think of the University of Wisconsin.
We are proud to give our name to the Morgridge Institute for Research. We’ve been struck by the fact that the outstanding work we do here at UW-Madison is eclipsed by research that is occurring on the coasts. Great science is occurring in the Midwest, and it’s time people know it.
(John tells Tashia, “Your turn.”
Tashia Morgridge:
Today we’re providing funding for a building, but this gift is not just for a building. More importantly the gift will support a research and education program to nurture and support the best and brightest minds in solving some of the most critical issues of our time.
The success of this initiative won’t be determined by the design or aesthetic quality of the building – rather it will be measured by the discoveries that are made here. It will be determined by the bright young minds that are attracted to this university to work at the institute. This gift will leverage one of the university’s greatest strengths, and this is collaboration.
As Carl (Gulbrandsen) said, one of the keys to the University of Wisconsin’s success is its amazing resources. I would add to that its long tradition of interdisciplinary collaborative research. One of the reasons for our gift is to build on that tradition and to make it even easier for faculty in different disciplines to collaborate. Great minds rubbing against each other will create sparks that will benefit students, the university, the state and humankind.
As CEO of a major technology company, John has seen firsthand how information technology can improve the world. It is a critically important science and we need to use it to its full capacity. Indeed we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of understanding how this technology can be applied in biology and in medicine.
One of our hopes is that this information will play a significant role in sparking the creativity that comes out of this program. It is our hope that this institute will build a bridge between basic science and applications in the Medical School. As a matter of fact, the timing of this gift with the completion of the Interdisciplinary Research Center (IRC) couldn’t be more perfect, because the discoveries made at the Wisconsin Institutes of Discovery and at the Waisman Center can be taken to the IRC, where they will be put to use immediately in helping patients.
We’re proud to be alumni of this great university. We feel it is very important to contribute not only our money, but our time, to help this university remain a vital, innovative institution. We’re especially pleased today that John’s colleagues on the WARF Board are joining us in making this gift.
John Morgridge:
What Tashia finds so exciting about this gift is the impact it will have on science education for students of every age across the state. Teaching is a noble profession and one that is greatly undervalued by our society. As a former teacher, Tashia knows how important it is to engage young minds and help them see the wonders of science.
We enjoyed making the gift to the School of Education and it is our hope that this institute will build a bridge between that wonderful school and all of science on this campus. The Wisconsin Institutes of Discovery will make an impact on the students in this state and throughout the country by demonstrating that learning math and science can be exciting, fascinating and rewarding.
On Wisconsin! (Applause)