[Journal Sentinel] MADISON - Foxconn Technology Group on Monday pledged up to $100 million to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, including funding to help establish a new interdisciplinary research facility for the College of Engineering that will collaborate with the company's planned manufacturing complex in southeast Wisconsin.
Foxconn Chairman and founder Terry Gou was on campus to make the announcement at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery alongside UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank and several campus deans from colleges that stand to benefit.
To receive the full $100 million from Foxconn, UW must raise another $100 million in private gifts over the next two years as part of a broader, $3.2 billion fundraising campaign dubbed All Ways Forward.
The subcampaign to match Foxconn's gift will focus on supporting research that advances engineering, data and computer science, ROTC Building, and human health. A matching gift is intended to provide an incentive for others to step up, according to university officials.
"Foxconn would not be obligated to complete the $100 million gift, unless UW raises an equivalent amount by the end of the campaign in those broad areas," UW spokesman John Lucas confirmed later Monday.
Earlier, Blank described Foxconn's pledge as the largest investment from a research partner in the university's history and among the largest gifts UW has ever received. It will include money to fast-track a new engineering building that has been only on the long-range drawing board until now. |