The State Journal 's front page article on student commencement campaigns on May 17 implicitly raised questions about the appropriateness of such campaigns at a public university -- particularly within a unit that has raised undergraduate tuition by $1,000 and received an $85 million gift within the past year.

How dare we even broach the topic of "giving back " with students? Are we like the hiker climbing a mountain just because it is there? Or is there something more important about the journey?

Among the things the four finalists for chancellor of our university seemed to agree on in their remarks last week were:

The university is in danger of an erosion of quality that would harm current and future students, alumni, and the state.

The resources needed to avoid this outcome are unlikely to come from state tax appropriations.

At the Wisconsin School of Business, we have been communicating our belief in these propositions to our stakeholders for quite some time and engaging them in conversations about how we can collectively advance in spite of this state of affairs.

Our stakeholders easily reach consensus on our aspirations. Ideas about how to achieve those aspirations are inevitably more varied. The details live in our strategic plan and are adjusted as we gain more input from our stakeholders.

By far the greatest challenge is financing the needed investments. We fund that investment through a combination of internal restructuring, greater contributions from students, and greater contributions from alumni.

In any situation with multiple stakeholders and unclear responsibilities among them, each group of stakeholders -- in this case, faculty and staff, students, and alumni -- must contribute to the effort.

Transparency, communication, and a sense of fairness are critical to success. If every stakeholder group has confidence in the school 's direction and in the contributions of other stakeholder groups, a virtuous cycle of investment and progress is possible. The Make a Statement campaign 's importance in our journey transcends the $10,000 the students have pledged.

The campaign heightens communication and collaboration between administrators, student leaders, and ultimately the entire student body.

It creates a culture of giving among our most newly minted alumni. And it sends a powerful message to all who have gone before them that the roles and responsibilities are changing in our partnership.

But this virtuous cycle is inherently fragile. If any group loses confidence, cynicism can take hold and the partnership could unravel. Leadership is required to nurture and maintain this fragile partnership, especially when the fairness of the partnership is publicly questioned by media who have less information and no real stake in our success.

We are grateful to our undergraduate student leaders and their classmates for believing in the possibility of what can be achieved when we act together. The faith they have shown in the school only serves to increase the responsibility and accountability we feel to them.

We hope that their leap of faith will inspire other stakeholder groups to continue to invest in our school. And we are confident that all of our stakeholders will continue to see the progress that results from their actions.

Sometimes believing is seeing, rather than the other way around.

Knetter is dean of the Wisconsin School of Business.