The idea of large-scale matching grants has been tested in California, where the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation committed $110 million, to be matched by smaller grants, for 100 endowed positions at Berkeley. A model that combines private philanthropy and the government also has been realized; the University of Wisconsin at Madison announced in December that it received a $20 million matching grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the State of Wisconsin to support the humanities. Both institutions were among the 10 top public research institutions that Birgeneau mentioned during his remarks as potentially benefiting from a larger federal role. And Wisconsin?s flagship is making quiet moves to separate from the rest of the UW system.
Office of Strategic Communication