On Monday at the Chairs’ Breakfast, Chancellor Biddy Martin shared details and answered questions about the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates (http://madisoninitiative.wisc.edu/), the plan to maintain excellence through an incremental tuition differential for UW-Madison undergraduates. The central goals are:

1. To ensure that the university can offer the courses and majors students need to complete degrees, pursue a range of intellectual interests and prepare for a range of careers
2. To ensure that UW-Madison can provide critical student services, such as academic and career advising, and peer-mentoring programs to prepare them more effectively for a changing world of work
3. To ensure that affordability will no longer be a significant barrier to a UW-Madison education.

If you support this initiative, I ask you to consider doing one or more of the following: 1. Write to Board of Regents President Mark Bradley and UW System President Kevin Reilly to express your support for the initiative. It will be helpful if you provide details about the way in which this initiative might address needs and concerns in your department. Letters can be addressed to the Board at: President Mark BradleyBoard of Regents1860 Van Hise Hall1220 Linden DriveMadison, WI 53706 2. Let me know if you are willing to be supportive of this initiative in public settings. If you are willing to speak to students or the media, for example, it will be helpful to know who you are in case we need to call upon you for assistance. You can email me at provost@provost.wisc.edu. 3. Finally, if you have other colleagues (faculty and staff members) whom you know are supportive of this initiative, please feel free to forward this message to them, and invite them to write letters of support and/or let me know they are willing to speak publicly on this initiative. Thank you in advance.

Julie Underwood
Interim Provost