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As the “people’s university” the UW is strengthening economies statewide, says new essay published by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
MADISON, Wis. – Approximately 300 companies have spun off the UW–Madison campus and most have taken root within a 30-mile radius. The same “innovation mindset” flourishes across the state, say Chancellor Dean Van Galen of UW-River Falls and Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council.
In their essay “The Wisconsin Idea and Regional Economies: Apples Falling from Many Trees,” Van Galen and Still cite new companies emerging from the 11 UW regional comprehensive campuses. They call on public-private commitment to mentor and incubate “early ideas into actionable enterprises.”
They write, “Universities across our UW System are taking a focused approach to engaging our outstanding faculty and students in entrepreneurial endeavors. This requires collaborative thinking with our state’s business community.”
The new essay is part of a larger online series called “Innovation and the Wisconsin Idea,” featuring more than 20 prominent contributors exploring the crucial interdependence between university innovations and the strength of the Wisconsin economy.
Co-authors represent different regions of the state while sharing a common bond through the field they represent, from agriculture and engineering to health care and policymaking.
Contributors to the series include:
- Erik Iverson, Managing Director, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
- Governor Tommy G. Thompson and Professor Mike Sussman
- Professor Dan Ludois and Cecil Edirisinghe, CEO of Velicon
- Chris Salm, CEO of Ab E Discovery, and Dean Kate VandenBosch
- Dr. Alan Kaplan, CEO of UW Health, and Dr. Susan Turney, CEO of Marshfield Clinic
- John Neis, Executive Managing Director of Venture Investors, and Cory Nettles, Founder and Managing Director of Generation Growth Capital Inc.
- Dean Ian Robertson and Greg Piefer, CEO of SHINE Medical Technologies
- Zach Brandon, President of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, and Tim Sheehy, President of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce
- Arjun Sanga, President of WiSys, and Zach Halmstad, Co-Founder of Jamf
- State Senator Luther Olsen and Dean Robert Golden
- Chancellor Dean Van Galen and Tom Still, President of the Wisconsin Technology Council
- State Senator Alberta Darling and Rock Mackie, Professor and Entrepreneur
- Mike Knetter, President of the University of Wisconsin Foundation
For more information about the series Innovation and the Wisconsin Idea, please visit warf.org/WisconsinInnovates. Comments on the series are welcome at [email protected].
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About WARF
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) helps steward the cycle of research, discovery, commercialization and investment for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Founded in 1925 as an independent, nonprofit foundation, WARF manages more than 1,900 patents and an investment portfolio of $2.7 billion as it funds university research, obtains patents for campus discoveries and licenses inventions to industry. For more information, visit WARF.org and view WARF’s Cycle of Innovation.
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