MADISON – The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will hold its annual public forum on UW Trust Fund investments next Thursday, November 9 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Room 4151 of Grainger Hall on the UW-Madison campus.

The forum will include a presentation on Trust Fund proxy voting guidelines, including a summary of shareholder issues during the past year and the Trust Fund voting record. This will be followed by a one-hour period for public testimony.

All interested persons are welcome to attend and participate. Those who wish to speak are asked to register in advance by contacting the board office at (608) 262-2324. Registration forms will also be available at the forum, and all persons attending will be asked to register. Oral remarks are limited to two minutes. Written testimony is invited and encouraged.

The UW System is responsible for the investment and accounting oversight of three separate investment pools (Income, Intermediate-Term, Long-Term) and more than 1,700 donor accounts. The Trust Funds consist of unsolicited bequests and gifts that have been donated to the Board of Regents, and are not related to the foundations of each UW System institution. Those foundations actively solicit and accept gifts from alumni, corporations and other contributors. Gifts that do not specifically name a foundation are considered intended for the UW System Board of Regents and become part of the Trust Funds. As of June 2000, the value of the Trust Funds exceeded $295 million, ranking it among the 150 largest higher education endowments in the country.

Visit UW System’s Trust Funds site for more information – including a full listing of investments as of June 2000 and a copy of the proxy voting list.

Contact:

Kevin Boatright, UW System
(608) 263-2227