Why should you support the School of Business?
It’s no surprise that the UW-Madison School of Business is accomplishing great things. Our alumni network is large —over 35,000 strong—talented, and very supportive of our mission. Thousands of alumni have advanced our programs by serving on advisory boards, mentoring and hiring students, sharing their experience in the classroom and providing the financial resources needed to sustain a world-class business school.
As you may know, state support for the university has waned in recent years, due to rising state obligations for health care and other non-discretionary items, and an economy that remains heavy on manufacturing and agriculture. While state tax money does not constitute an overwhelming share of the School’s budget, it does provide a significant portion of our unrestricted budget. A decrease in unrestricted funding prevents the School from making investments in strategic priorities like growing our professional programs and recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty members, which will ultimately determine the quality of everything we do.
The choice we face today is to wait and hope that an erosion of quality will eventually prompt the state to alter priorities, or to act now to prevent that erosion. We believe that the state faces legitimate fiscal strain and that maintaining excellence at UW-Madison will require increased student and alumni support and judicious use of those resources. Students are behind our efforts. Just this past year, our undergraduate students supported a $1,000 differential tuition for the business major and our MBA students set a new record with a 99% participation rate in their class gift campaign. Both of these efforts send clear messages about the value students place on their degree.
Alumni are equally important. While currently 12% of UW-Madison School of Business alumni make a gift each year to support the School, other top business schools boast 25%, 35% and event 65% participation. Making a gift sends a strong signal about the value you place on your University of Wisconsin business degree.
Gifts made to the School of Business Annual Fund provide the resources needed to invest in new initiatives, recruit and retain outstanding faculty members and provide leadership opportunities for students. With increased alumni support we can provide the following returns:
A degree with a strong reputation
Financial support enables the School of Business to attract and retain high quality faculty, provide innovative programs, attract high-caliber students, perform world-class research, and provide state-of-the-art facilities. These elements play a key role in maintaining the reputation of the UW-Madison School of Business as one of the highest quality undergraduate business programs.
Enhanced alumni experience
All of the services offered free to Wisconsin business alumni, including career resources, networking and other special events held throughout the country, publications and much more are funded by gifts from alumni and friends of the School of Business.
Outstanding future business students and leaders
Financial gifts provide scholarship assistance, student organization support and opportunities for professional development that help future students prepare for the business world.
We look forward to working with you to make a strong future our reality.
Thank you for your support!