Nearly 2.5 years ago, many of you accepted a challenge from your alma mater to help us continue to attract the top students who apply to our public affairs program. As our admissions committee meets in the spring to weigh our o­ffers of support to students, we find we have more resources thanks to the gen­erosity of our financial supporters.

For C.P. Frost, evil is not an absolute. As a neuroscientist, he understands that a quirk in a person's brain may lead to what society deems criminal behavior.

Dana Gavrila was surprised the first time she drew on her economics training gained at the La Follette School of Public Affairs. As a tax attorney for Cheniere Energy in Houston, Texas, the 2012 alum helped to secure private letter rulings on specific tax issues at the state and federal levels.

Avid debate about health-care reform gave Alex Hartzman the career focus he was looking for. Daily discussions with co-workers about the pros and cons of the federal health reform inspired the astrophysics major that he decided to study health policy in graduate school.

A desire to fight poverty by improving public policy brings Hope Harvey to the La Follette School. She finds that the Master of Public Affairs program is teaching her the quantitative methods she needs to strengthen her understanding of the theoretical aspects of poverty and policies formed to alleviate it.

By the time Shaun Hernandez was wrapping up his bachelor's degree, he was pretty sure he wouldn't go on to medical school.

A missive from the Wisconsin Secretary of State's office and another from the bank led to a donation to the La Follette School. When Carolyn Heinrich was going through files after taking office as director, she found an official notice that the La Follette Institute Alumni Association had been decertified. Then a bank statement appeared at the school showing a $491.01 balance for the association.

Jamisen Rueckert got a taste of her dream job last summer and an idea of what it takes to land it permanently some day. The La Follette School student interned with the Commercial Law Development Program, housed in the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of the General Counsel in Washington, D.C.

The Kikkoman Foods Foundation has donated $50,000 to the University of Wisconsin–Madison Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs for student scholarships in the name of former Gov. Patrick Lucey.

A $1.5 million gift from Herb Kohl Philanthropies will support faculty research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs. The gift will create the Herb Kohl Public Service Research Competition, which will sponsor innovative research that provides evidence-based information to address tough public policy and governance issues.