2023 has been a record-setting year for UniverCity Alliance (UCA). UniverCity launched the largest cohort of local government partners ever and created a new Scholars Program to connect more students with community projects. As UCA looks back at 2023 and heads into a new year of connecting campus resources with Wisconsin communities, we are continually inspired to create better places together!
1 – UniverCity Year launched a record-setting nine communities for the 2022-25 UCY cohort. These include the villages of Cottage Grove and Shorewood; the cities of Marinette, Milton, River Falls, and Wausau; Eau Claire and St. Croix Counties, and the Wood County Health Department. UW–Madison faculty, instructors, staff, and students are working on these projects during the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters.
2 – Students and faculty completed 61 projects for Columbia, Polk, and Outagamie counties, the Town of Germantown, the City of Stoughton, and the Koshkonong Creek Collaborative (includes the City of Sun Prairie, the towns of Deerfield and Cottage Grove, and the nonprofit Friends of Koshkonong Creek with support from Badger Farms, LLC) during 2022-23
3 – UCA had a great year with fundraising! After raising $40,000 from donors, UCA launched the inaugural UCA Scholars Program cohort of nine students, ranging from undergraduate juniors to PhD students. This cohort-based program expands UCY’s course-based model and connects individual students with opportunities to work with local governments. Also, for the first time, UCA participated in Day of the Badger – the annual day of giving on campus – and raised $2,317 from generous donors. Thank you for your support!
4 – The UCA course, Urban and Regional Planning 215: Welcome to Your Urban Future, saw 145 students enrolled. The course was created by UCA in partnership with the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture to continue connecting a growing community of people on campus looking to improve their communities.
5 – UniverCity Year’s partnership with Waunakee was celebrated as the Partnership of the Year through the Educational Partnerships for Innovations in Communities Network. UCA is an affiliate of this growing network of universities dedicated to improving connections between local governments and higher education.
6 – UCA traveled around the state this summer and hosted three community events in August as a part of UW–Madison’s 175th anniversary celebration. By highlighting UCA initiatives and UCY partners in Pepin County, Milwaukee, and Wausau, UCA demonstrated it is part of the overall impact that UW–Madison has across the state.
7 – In September, UCA hosted its first annual celebration! The event convened partners on campus and across the state. Speakers shared how UCA and UCY provided opportunities for growth and learning, demonstrated how community-university partnerships can be mutually beneficial, and kickstarted innovation in Wisconsin communities.
8 – In 2023, UCA hosted three Weston Roundtable lectures including a discussion about the Wisconsin Heat Health Network with three UW–Madison graduate students, a talk on interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable resource recovery and carbon capture with Kevin Orner, and a lecture on refocusing climate research to maximize impacts with Jason Vargo.
9 – With support from UCA, Thriving Earth Exchange launched a Wisconsin-based cohort of communities seeking technical expertise on a range of topics. This past year, UW–Madison Master of Public Affairs students in the La Follette School of Public Affairs studied the heat island effect in the city of La Crosse and two UW–Madison entomologists supported No Mow May efforts in the city of Sun Prairie.
10 – UCA traveled around the state to several partner communities with faculty and students this past year, including Polk County, Tomah, Shorewood, and Cottage Grove. For students, these on-site visits are influential in their educational experiences and provide opportunities to experience the state of Wisconsin.
This story was originally published in The Commons, a publication of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. Read the full December edition, and view the web version or previous editions from the “News” tab on the Nelson Institute website.