Partnerships between universities and companies are historical facts that provide demonstrable benefits to both parties. However, there are contentious areas, most notably intellectual property, technology transfer, and licensing. The successful aspects must be reinforced and the contentious areas must be minimized. This article addresses both the successful and problematic areas of the partnership and discusses the University-Industry Partnership ("Partnership"), a current initiative to improve this relationship. With regard to the Partnership, the comments and observations contained herein represent the personal perspective of the author and not the formal position of the Partnership. The article concludes with discussion and conclusions about the Partnership and the overall relationship between academia and industry.