Herzfeld Foundation gives UWM $1.5 million for innovation, research

MILWAUKEE _ Chancellor Mark Mone announced today that the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has received a $1.5 million gift from the Herzfeld Foundation. The university’s Innovation Campus and the UWM Research Foundation’s Catalyst Grant Program will receive $1 million from the gift, which is the foundation’s second $1 million donation to those programs. The remainder of the gift is for unrestricted support.

Located in Wauwatosa, Innovation Campus is a place where business, industry, and academic researchers collaborate to launch intellectual property. The Catalyst Grant Program provides seed funding for research and development that has the potential to impact southeastern Wisconsin’s economy. Unrestricted funds allow the university to address needs that cannot be anticipated and do not fall within specific categories.

“We are extremely pleased that the Herzfeld Foundation has chosen to partner with us to promote innovation,” Mone said. “Research is a strategic driver of UW-Milwaukee, and Innovation Campus and our catalyst grants are bringing new ideas to the marketplace. I am deeply grateful to the Herzfeld Foundation for their vision and generosity.”

The Herzfeld Foundation awards grants in the areas of arts and culture, education, arts education, and civic improvements. Funding is restricted to Wisconsin-based organizations with an emphasis on those that benefit people in the greater Milwaukee area.

“This foundation was created because Richard and Ethel Herzfeld were passionate about enhancing the quality of life in the greater Milwaukee area,” said F. William Haberman, president of the Herzfeld Foundation. “UWM has a tremendous impact on our community, and the research being done at its Innovation Campus and through its Catalyst Grant Program holds great promise for the wellbeing and economic vitality of our city.”

Innovation Campus is home to the 25,000-square-foot Innovation Accelerator building. The Accelerator brings researchers from UWM, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Concordia University Wisconsin, and other academic institutions together with industry partners and startups to encourage academic research with commercial potential.

“Support from organizations like the Herzfeld Foundation is a great vote of confidence for what we are accomplishing at Innovation Campus,” said David Gilbert, president of the UWM Foundation and executive director of Innovation Campus. “This gift will create many opportunities for our faculty and students to collaborate with other academic institutions and the business community.”

Some projects conducted at Innovation Campus are supported by the Catalyst Grant Program, which fosters projects at their earlier stages and provides gap funding to aid development of projects further along the continuum toward commercialization.

“I am deeply grateful to receive this support from the Herzfeld Foundation,” said Brian Thompson, president of the UWM Research Foundation. “This gift will advance our efforts to develop intellectual property and the commercialization of UWM technologies. I know the Herzfelds intended to lift up the city of Milwaukee and the surrounding region, and that’s exactly what we are doing. The Herzfeld Foundation’s generosity will help us focus on research areas that complement our regional capabilities, such as advanced automation, biochemistry and drug discovery, biomedical engineering, energy, entrepreneurship, health care, and water. I am excited about this gift and the future of our city.”

About UWM

Recognized as one of the nation’s 115 top research universities, UW-Milwaukee provides a world-class education to 26,000 students from 81 countries. Its 14 schools and colleges include Wisconsin’s only schools of architecture, freshwater sciences and public health, and it is a leading educator of nurses and teachers. UW-Milwaukee partners with leading companies to conduct joint research, offer student internships and serve as an economic engine for southeastern Wisconsin. The Princeton Review named UW-Milwaukee a 2017 “Best Midwestern” university based on overall academic excellence and student reviews, as well as a top “Green College.”

About the Herzfeld Foundation

It was the wish of Richard and Ethel Herzfeld that, upon their deaths, their assets would be added to their Foundation dedicated to Wisconsin but with emphasis on the greater Milwaukee area. Richard’s father was the founder of a company that bought and managed the Boston Store from 1906 to 1948. There, after serving in World War I and graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Richard worked his way up from stock boy in 1920 to president in 1940. Boston Store was sold to Federated Department Stores, Inc. in 1948. Ethel Ann Davis Herzfeld was born in Chicago and attended Milwaukee-Downer College. She received her B.A. degree from Wellesley College in 1920. Sparked by a spirit of innovation and recognizing the need to adapt to an ever-changing world, Richard and Ethel took a lively interest in all aspects of the greater Milwaukee area and ways to enhance the quality of life of its institutions and citizens.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.