06/17/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/17/2025 05:10
By Deborah Keller, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Erik Iverson, CEO, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
As the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) celebrates its 100th anniversary, we find ourselves reflecting on the profound impact this unique organization has had-not just on the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but on industries and communities around the world.
For a century, WARF has been at the forefront of turning university research into innovations that improve lives. But WARF's success goes beyond patents and royalties; it is a story of vision, evolution, and leadership.
At the core of this story is a partnership between WARF's Board of Trustees and its management team. Together, we've built a model of governance, strategy, tactics and support that ensures WARF not only sustains its impact on UW-Madison but evolves to meet new challenges. This evolution reflects both the changing landscape of UW research-commercializing technologies with industry-and the enduring need to balance vision with pragmatism.
Startup Mentality
When WARF was established in 1925, it was itself a startup. Its founders sought to protect and commercialize Harry Steenbock's groundbreaking vitamin D discovery while ensuring that the proceeds were reinvested in research at UW-Madison.
In those early years, the Board's role was relatively straightforward: protect the intellectual property, manage the licensing revenue, and reinvest in the university. And for decades, this model served us well. Discoveries like vitamin D activation and warfarin generated steady income, funding UW-Madison's research engine and establishing WARF as a model for technology transfer offices.
As those key patents began to expire, we faced a choice: rest on our laurels or adapt. We chose the harder, riskier path.
A Partnership for Strategic Evolution
This inflection point required a deep collaboration between WARF's Board and its leadership team.
One of the defining features of the Board today is the breadth and depth of expertise its members bring to the table. The reason our Trustees' expertise is so pivotal to WARF is because we are truly a "working" board, leading committees that focus on ventures, technologies, investments and more. Our Trustees are seasoned industry leaders and policy makers, well-regarded in fields ranging from life sciences and technology to venture capital, finance, philanthropy and law.
This diverse experience enabled the board to bring a sophisticated understanding of the opportunities that arise at the intersection of academia and industry. Together, and through collaborative efforts spent in committees forecasting future opportunities, we are able to apply significant expertise to build initiatives that align with UW-Madison's strengths. Some of the results of those discussions include advancing key strategies:
WARF Therapeutics: Recognizing UW-Madison's strength in life sciences, this program bridges the gap between academic disease research and pharmaceutical level drug discovery and development. Trustees provided critical oversight and expertise in technology development, while the CEO and management team built a structure that provides decades of drug discovery experience that empowers researchers to advance their discoveries into treatments.
WARF Accelerator: Designed to refine early-stage technologies, WARF Accelerator helps researchers take ideas from lab bench to market. Trustees provided strategic oversight direction and industry connections, while the leadership team implemented the program, ensuring researchers had access to the resources needed to attract investment and scale their innovations.
WARF Ventures: Supporting startups emerging from UW-Madison research, WARF Ventures was created to ensure that promising ideas had the funding and mentorship to thrive. Trustees with backgrounds in entrepreneurship and venture capital contributed strategic guidance, while the leadership team operationalized the program, connecting startups with resources and investors.
Unique Role
With three exceptions, all 74 leaders who have served as Trustees over the century are alumni of UW-Madison, and this connection to the university fosters an extraordinary sense of responsibility and pride.
But what makes the Board's role truly unique is its independence. The foresight of WARF's founding Trustees to establish this structure was stunning and continues to serve technology advancement today. Unlike many technology transfer offices, WARF is not part of the university's administration. This gives the Board the freedom to think beyond immediate institutional needs and focus on a strong and sustainable engine.
Independence also brings responsibility. Trustees must balance autonomy with their commitment to UW-Madison's mission. This requires a deep understanding of the university's strengths, a willingness to take calculated risks, and, perhaps most importantly, a shared belief in the Wisconsin Idea-that research should improve the lives of people far beyond campus.
A New Century of Leadership
As WARF enters its second century, the Board's role has never been more critical. The challenges we face today-climate change, global health crises, the rise of artificial intelligence-demand bold, forward-thinking leadership.
We are already looking to the future, identifying emerging areas of strength at UW-Madison and exploring how WARF can support those efforts. From data science to sustainability, the next wave of innovations will require the same combination of vision and pragmatism that has defined WARF's history.
But if there's one lesson from the past century, it's this: WARF's success has always been about more than technology or funding. It's about people-the university researchers whose ideas shape the world, WARF's staff and industry partners who turn those ideas into action, and the Trustees who ensure that every decision is guided by a commitment to the greater good.
A hundred years ago, WARF's founders could not have imagined the challenges we face today. As we reflect on this milestone anniversary, we are proud of what has been accomplished, humbled by the responsibility we carry, and optimistic about what lies ahead. Together, we will continue to ensure that WARF remains a model of what's possible when vision, expertise and a commitment to the Wisconsin Idea come together.