On May 2, 2008, Gov. Jim Doyle and UW–Madison alumni John and Tashia Morgridge joined the UW–Madison community to celebrate the start of construction of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. Doyle proposed the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery in  2004 as a UW-Madison research enterprise to strengthen the state’s position in science and technology.

The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery made possible by a $50 million gift from the Morgridges, matched by $50 million from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and $50 million from the state.