UWM's Private Partnership Push - - Little Cash On The Table

The Master Plan expansion envisioned by UWM Chancellor Carlos Santiago is premised on big dollar donations from private sector partners.

Without them, the School of Freshwater Science and the engineering/research complex at the County Grounds will be slow to get off the ground and succeed.

I am hearing that the M7 Water Council has not been able quickly to bring in its private sector partners' contributions, nor has the engineering plan at the County Grounds found donors.

In fact, one expected contributor, Michael Cudahy, has announced he will not be a donor.

It's not clear if this is the result of a tough economy, or another example of the Milwaukee area private sector's penchant for penny-pinching.

There are always exceptions: Sheldon Lubar's generosity made the UWM business school a reality, for example, but the UWM community is beginning to wonder where the partners are for these two new schools.