After the November election, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin sent every lawmaker a note of congratulations.
In December, she had the school’s lobbyist hand-deliver Christmas cards to their Capitol offices. And she has invited all 132 lawmakers and guests to her official residence for an informal get-to-know-you event Monday, the first of its kind in years.
Since taking over as chancellor last year, Martin has made a determined effort to improve relations between the state’s flagship university and the Legislature. The style is a major contrast to that of her predecessor John Wiley, who denounced lawmakers as petty and overly partisan as he left office.