WNG Announcement Transcript

Knetter: I want to welcome everyone, wish you all a happy homecoming, thank you for coming here today to Grainger Hall. It’s a big weekend, of course, for us- we get to play Indiana today. You know, we’ve indicated we’ve got a little special announcement today. And Indiana is a great school, they’ve got a great business school- it’s the Kelly School of Business. You’ve probably noticed that our school doesn’t have a name. Well actually it does, and we like it. So there’s been a rumor going around that we’re going to have an announcement today, that there’s going to be a naming gift for the business school. And I know that rumor is going around because I started it. And I’m going to put an end to it right now.  Naming gifts are really a transformational thing for a business school, or any school for that matter, because the gifts that come with naming a school are extraordinary in size, it allows you to do a lot more- educate more students, do a better job of educating your students- just have a bigger impact on society. We think that is really important, especially at a public business school because we think we bring in a people that understand a broader spectrum of society, broader socioeconomic spectrum than a lot of the private business schools do. And we think that’s how leaders get made. So we are really please to be able to inject some resources into our school. But naming gifts are a little more complicated than meets the eye. Most schools are named in perpetuity and one of the things we teach students in finance is that there’s something called “option value,” and under certain conditions, accepting a gift to name a business school can actually reduce value and it’s a homework assignment for our students to figure out what those conditions are. But, let’s just say this: the prices of naming gifts have been going up very rapidly so naming your school forever might actually cost you something more than you realize because you can’t name it in the future. And that always bothered us, so we’re trying to be creative. We also like our brand; we love being affiliated with the University of Wisconsin and after all taxpayers have paid for this university for many years. So, who’s school is it to name? Well it’s the Wisconsin Naming Partnership’s school to name, and I would like to invite the members up right now. Most of them were unable to be here today, because they are busing not naming other things. But I would like to invite the members up who are here. Ab Nicholas, is Ab with us today? Ted Kellner, Ted please come up. Wade Fetzer, Wade Fetzer please join us. Peter Frechette. Paul Leff, Paul’s not here- he was buying the Oakland Raiders this week. John Oros. John Hammes. Signe Ostby. Paul Collins, Paul’s in London, he just decided to join Wednesday, he couldn’t be here. John Morgridge. There are also two partners who wish to remain anonymous. And on behalf of the partners, I would like to introduce Ted Kellner, who would like to make a presentation to Chancellor Wiley.

Kellner: Thanks Mike. As part of the process, the 12 members Mike alluded to have a board. We formed a board and we met this morning. We had two things we had to do. Number one, I will tell you we were most inspired by students who stepped up for the $1,000 tuition differential. That had a big impact on all 12 of us I think, in terms of the statement they made about the type of school they wanted to have. Second, we had to decide the amount of the gift and then the name. I am pleased on behalf of the Wisconsin Naming Partnership Board of Directors and the 12 of us to present to Chancellor Wiley a check, that I believe is the largest gift, single gift, ever given to the University of Wisconsin in the amount of $80 million. (Clapping) And secondly, I don’t mean to have a down note on this Mike but the name had to be assigned for the next 20 years to the School of Business. Mike, the bad news is the name you and I submitted, the Knetter Kellner School of Business was second. Didn’t make it. (Laughing) For the next 20 years, the name will be the UW-School of Business. (Clapping)

(Drumroll, banner brought down)

Wiley: Well, you know, some months ago Dean Knetter came around to talk to me about this concept, which he at that time referred to as the “no-name gift.” We now know how it rolls out in reality. But it was one of those ideas that sort-of makes a light-bulb turn on. Most good ideas, most great innovations are obvious in retrospect, and this one certainly is, but it couldn’t have been obvious because otherwise people would have done it before. Now, as chancellor I spend a lot of time doing myth-busting. There are all kinds of myths about universities in general, including our university, lots of people who feel that in the good ‘ol days such and such was true and now it’s much worse, whether it’s time to degree or graduation rate. None of these things are true. And I have to spend a lot of time correcting the record. But there is one criticism of universities that has some element of truth in it, and that is that we don’t do as good of a job as we should applying rigorous, analytical research methods to studying our own practices and our own myths, our own traditions and improving our processes. And certainly, this is the best, most recent example, counter-example, of that. Mike, his alumni, his faculty, his students, applied exactly what we teach in the classrooms- the net present value of future options (option pricing), the idea of identifying, preserving and protecting brand equity, market timing, innovation- all of these things are embedded in this gift. But we can no longer call it the no-name gift, so for at least the next 20 years this will be the Wisconsin School of Business. And I would like to join Mike in thanking all of the donors, these donors have stepped up for this university many, many times. All of the family names involved are household names around the campus and they have just helped us in more ways than I could possibly describe. This latest is truly extraordinary, so thanks again to all of you. And it is now my pleasure and honor to introduce Governor Doyle, who yesterday morning signed the Wisconsin budget. This is the best budget we’ve had in six years at the university.

Doyle: Well standing here and watching this naming ceremony, I finally got the idea we should sell the naming rights to this entire geographic area between Lake Michigan on the east and the Mississippi on the west and Lake Superior on the north, we should sell the naming rights as Wisconsin, we could probably raise a lot of money and you could all avoid paying taxes for a couple of years if we did it. I want to thank obviously, words really can’t express what the individual here and there families and the donors not here have done for this incredible university. All over this campus, these names are well-known and they’ve done it over and over and over again and once again they have committed to this incredible university, particularly to our great school of business. You know, there are a lot of great success stories of what has happened in recent years at this university. From the days when I was around if you won one football game it was a big source of celebration, to becoming a national powerhouse (we hope). But one of those great successes has been the School of Business, as it has really emerged in this great physical facility that continues to expand and grow, but it has emerged as one of the leading schools of business in the United States. And it is thanks to the great leadership of Dean Knetter and the team here, and thanks to the entire University of Wisconsin-Madison, Chancellor Wiley and it is thanks to the individuals here who have supported the school and helped it grow. Yesterday I signed a budget, which was the first major investment in the university in many years. But it was something else as well that I really want to emphasize because that is what this is all about. Part of that budget is the creation of the Wisconsin Covenant, and the Wisconsin Covenant is a simple promise to eighth grade students going into high school in this state that if you go to school, you finish high school, you maintain a B average, you take the classes you need for college and you’re a great citizen- we’re asking eighth graders to sign that pledge- 17,000 of them signed it last spring. And we make a basic pledge back in return, and the pledge in return is: we will guarantee that there will be a place in our university system or technical college system as you choose and that we will work with each family individually to make sure that you can afford that college education. It is a simple promise to us, to the young people of this state that if you work really hard and you’re focused on getting ahead, we’re going to make sure there’s a pathway for you to do it. Well part of making all that happen is making sure that we have a great and growing economy in this state and the School of Business is absolutely central to making sure that that happens. Dean Knetter, as you can see with this idea, is an incredibly entrepreneurial dean of the school of business and he has helped develop and build together with the gentlemen with me here as well as so many others a growing spirit of entrepreneurialism in this state. And it is something that is going to serve us well for generations and generations to come. So my deepest thanks on behalf of all of the people of Wisconsin to those donors who have made this possible. And my great, great thanks to Dean Knetter, to the School of Business, for what you are doing to make sure Wisconsin is a state that is continuing to grow and prosper. Thank you all very much and On Wisconsin!

Knetter: Well great business people put ideas into action, and that is what this partnership did. The partnership is going to be hard at work now, we’re taking applications for new members if any of you are out there, let us know, we’ll be canvassing the area. You know, probably the day that a business dean is able to accept a gift to name a business school is the happiest day in their experience as a dean and I can tell you that my day is 12 times happier because these are wonderful people. Thank you very much.