August 7, 2017

Foxconn is coming to Wisconsin and a key piece of this plan is UW-Madison, our state’s world class research university, and the excellent engineering programs at UW-Milwaukee and UW-Platteville.

Last month’s announcement Foxconn would be investing $10 billion to directly employ between 3,000 and 13,000 people at new facilities in southeastern Wisconsin was the single largest economic development deal in the state’s history. If Dane County is able to secure a second Foxconn site, no doubt UW-Madison will be a focal point for that investment.

Everyone associated with the negotiations mentioned Wisconsin’s higher education landscape as a key attribute to landing this deal. The ground-breaking research happening at the UW Carbone Cancer Research Center was cited as a personal interest of Foxconn president, Terry Gou. For this, we owe a debt of gratitude to taxpayers and lawmakers who over the past 168 years have made wise investments that helped propel the University of Wisconsin to the pinnacle of world class research institutions.

UW-Madison itself generates in excess of $15 billion in statewide economic activity annually and is the unparalleled training ground for the engineers and mathematicians that will be needed to make the Foxconn facility the best it can be.

We now have the opportunity to increase our commitment to our public universities and increase Wisconsin taxpayers’ return on their investment. Increased public support for UW-Madison’s world-class engineering and mathematics schools and engineering programs at UW-Milwaukee and UW-Platteville will reap immediate dividends. By increasing this investment now, we can increase the flow of homegrown, highly-trained workers as Foxconn is ramping up to production. Most importantly, these UW grads will stay in Wisconsin and fuel our economy for generations to come.

The UW-Madison-Foxconn-State of Wisconsin partnership is the cornerstone of this new emerging high tech manufacturing sector. We hope Wisconsin lawmakers embrace the opportunity to invest in workers and help them obtain the skills they need from our public universities to succeed in this emerging market.

Sincerely,

Richard Antoine

Peter Christianson

Curt Culver

Carl Gulbrandsen

Ted Kellner

Katharine Lyall

Paul McCann

John Morgridge

Cory Nettles

Glen Tellock