To better handle $250 million in state budget cuts to the University of Wisconsin, UW has developed a cozier relationship with businesses by developing a new office dedicated solely to business interests at the University.

The Office of Corporate Relations’ mission is to increase businesses’ access and financial involvement with the university, which means maximizing the profits available through UW research.

While the corporate relations office provides businesses with resources for on-campus job recruiting and links to university and state information, it also confronts more pressing issues that have arisen due to budget problems.

Those issues include finding ways to get businesses to fund university research and commercially develop its research-related patents.

Perhaps the clearest example of the university’s intentions in the office shifts came with the movement of the Technology Transfer Council under the umbrella of the corporate relations office.

The Technology Transfer Council, which includes UW administrators, faculty, and students, works with inventors and businesses in both the university and private sectors to find ways of financially benefiting from the research performed at UW.

The idea is that if businesses see a technology or invention with financial potential, those businesses might choose to donate funds to see the technology, invention or research through to completion.

If that happens, UW would benefit by saving money in its own budget for funding other programs and also might benefit if the business ultimately decides to commercially develop that research or technology.

“[The decision to create the office] is very well thought out and comes at a time when we all need to work together to build a stronger economy in Wisconsin,” said Laurie Benson, president of Inacom Information Systems and a member of the chancellor’s task force that created the idea for the office.

The formation of the corporate relations office came with a decision to dismantle the office of University-Industry Relations, which Wiley cited as being outdated, in a $240,000 cost-cutting move.

Charles Hoslet, a former senior special assistant to the chancellor for state-government relations, reports to Wiley as the corporate relations office’s managing director.

“Our goal is to better serve the increasingly complex needs of the business community and help build a stronger Wisconsin economy in the 21st century,” UW chancellor John Wiley said when announcing the formation of the office last spring. “The fact that we have been able to make this happen in a way that makes full use of our available resources and expertise on this campus, with a significant savings in taxpayer dollars, demonstrates our commitment to finding new and better ways to do business.”