A Letter to Biddy Martin

By George Lightbourn

Dear Chancellor Martin,

Welcome to Wisconsin.  You have been offered an opportunity to take on one of the most prestigious positions in all of Wisconsin.  In many other venues the chancellor of a large land grant institution is just another CEO dotting the landscape.  In Wisconsin, we think the UW-Madison is something special.

The job of chancellor offers numerous rewards, none of which has anything to do with salary or housing.  I suspect you sought out this job because of its enormous potential to impact the human condition.  The campus you will head has buildings full of faculty and students who have solved or will solve the nastier problems facing us today.  We are never surprised by the world-changing improvements made in medicine, physics, business, engineering, sociology, etc. right here in Wisconsin.

The job of Chancellor also offers its share of frustrations.  You will undoubtedly grow weary of the constant demands of fund-raising.  Worse, you will have to deal with governors and legislators who will be suspicious of your motives and who operate in a world dominated by the need to stand for office every two or four years.  That can become messy.

Chancellor Martin, let me give you one piece of advice.  Remember that the name on the institution is Wisconsin.  We think it belongs to us.  It is as surely ours as are our churches, social clubs, neighborhood schools and union halls.  So when you are setting the agenda for our university remember that we expect you to make things better for us here in Wisconsin.  From time to time we have been given the impression that many of your faculty think the institution belongs to them and that Madison is some remote think tank where they can escape the noise and pressures of the real world. 

No, the University of Wisconsin is the property of Wisconsin and we expect that it a good deal of effort will be put into making things better right here in Wisconsin.  To us the Wisconsin Idea is real and we will judge your performance on how well you execute it.

You haven’t asked, but here are a few of items I would put at the top of your list for the New Wisconsin Idea.  First, put the full force of the university behind turning around our urban schools.  Let’s get the best thinkers from across the Madison campus finding out why so many poor, urban children and their families no longer value education.

At the same time, let’s have the UW-Madison brainpower continue its focus on recasting the Wisconsin economy.  Help us map out how to accelerate the transition from an economy based on farming and industry to one anchored in knowledge and services.  And help us understand how to minimize the impact on the families caught in the transition.

Oh and one last thing, you will notice that the odorous political environment of Washington has taken root here in Wisconsin.  That is inconsistent with Wisconsin’s tradition of clean, civil government.  You might convene a team of thinkers to show us how to restore dignity, quality and civility to our government.  If you can accomplish that, you won’t be put in the uncomfortable position of having to reproach our government when you decide to step down as chancellor.  

Best Wishes,

George Lightbourn

Class of 1978

-August 15, 2008

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