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EDITORIAL: Rebuilding UWM: Efforts to ramp up academic research at the university are beginning to pay off. But the school needs further assistance...
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 9--Carlos Santiago's four-year effort to juice academic research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is beginning to pay off, but for the sake of the school and region, there is much more work to do. That requires continued investment with state tax dollars and swift action from Milwaukee County.
Santiago made building the university's funded research his mission after arriving in Milwaukee in 2004. According to figures from the National Science Foundation, UWM produced $40 million of research in 2007, up from $28 million in 2004 and double the amount it had eight years ago.
A year and a half ago, Santiago took the bold -- and some would say risky -- step of breaking free of the UW System's technology transfer program, known as WiSys. Santiago wanted to keep more of the income from any licensing deals for UWM, he said, although he also gave up a wealth of experience from the patenting and licensing experts at the UW System for that privilege. Nonetheless, it showed Santiago's resolve to build a unique and competitive research university in the heart of Wisconsin's urban center.
The chancellor has hired an aggressive new engineering dean, who is hiring new faculty. Santiago has hired a new vice chancellor for research and development. He has pushed ahead with increasing research in freshwater sciences and public health. He has networked across the community to bring major players to UWM's table. Just last week, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation said it would provide as much as $500,000 more to fund research projects that have the potential for commercialization. The foundation, Wisconsin's largest, donated $500,000 last year as well. Ideas generated by UWM through its three-year-old research foundation have received 25 patents or patent applications.
Even so, UWM lags far behind other research centers, and with the Milwaukee area facing the strong headwinds of a major recession, state government should do more to ensure the success of Santiago's plan. We urge the Legislature to approve a second installment of $10 million for the research effort when it takes up the question of UW funding later this year.
We also urge Milwaukee County to move swiftly to approve the sale of land at the County Grounds at a fair price so that UWM can break ground for a new engineering school and business park -- a key project for the region.
Santiago often has said that no major urban area has retooled without the help of a research university. That job is under way now in Milwaukee and deserves strong public support.
To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com.
Copyright (c) 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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