The University of Wisconsin–Madison does not expect Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group to honor a $100 million pledge it made three years ago in support of engineering and innovation research, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.

At the time of the August 2018 announcement, the gift was to include funding for a new research building for the College of Engineering, the creation of the Foxconn Institute for Research in Science and Technology (FIRST), and support for further collaboration in research, education, and scientific outreach. The university's response to a public records request by the State Journal shows that Foxconn gave $700,000 in the first year of a five-year agreement but no money in the second or third year. The amount to date represents less than 1 percent of the original commitment. The master agreement signed three years ago does not specify the $100 million figure but broadly states that the company "intends to make a substantial investment in research and other activities" with the university, the State Journal reports.

"I am not at this point expecting to receive that gift," UW-Madison chancellor Rebecca Blank told the State Journal editorial board. "It'd be nice. I think it's unlikely." Foxconn had "a lot of issues that were not well anticipated," said Blank, including the trade war between the United States and China and other problems in Foxconn's markets that affected the company's investment in Wisconsin.

"We continue to work with Foxconn as we do [with] any number of other companies, looking to connect them to various resources on campus, and some of those go forward and some of them don't," said Charles Hoslet, a vice chancellor who oversees the university's partnerships with corporations.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which announced a $50 million commitment in 2019 from Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT), a Foxconn subsidiary, has an agreement that includes a ten-year payment schedule. A College of Engineering spokesperson confirmed to the State Journal that the university has received what is outlined in the agreement so far — $1.25 million per calendar quarter, or $8.75 million to date.