Commending her longstanding commitment to community-engaged scholarship, the Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities – Network (EPIC-N) awarded Andrea Hicks the 2025 Faculty of the Year award for her work with UniverCity Alliance.
Hicks, Nelson Institute affiliate, director of Sustainability Education and Research, Hanson Family Fellow in Sustainability, Nosbusch professorship, and associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has collaborated with seven Wisconsin communities through UniverCity Alliance since 2017.
“I am truly honored to receive this award and also to have worked in collaboration with so many lovely communities who have welcomed myself and my students into their lived experiences,” Hicks said.
The award honors an outstanding faculty member, who has built and maintained successful community-university partnerships with their local EPIC-N program, which is UniverCity Alliance, and community partners to achieve locally-defined public goals and advance the civic mission of the institution.
“The review committee was very impressed by Andrea’s hard work and continued commitment to advancing university/community collaborations, and we are happy to help uplift her work,” according to EPIC-N staff.
Incorporating community-based projects into her engineering course supports local leaders across Wisconsin, while, for students, the experience cements learning outcomes and provides a broader context of meaning to be serving in communities. It is engineering for public good in practice.
“It’s sustainability in action in the context of service,” said Hicks, who is also a member of the UniverCity Alliance Advisory Board.
Over the years, Hicks has facilitated projects with Dane, Green, Brown, Pepin, and Eau Claire Counties; the Koshkonong Creek Collaborative, and the City of Waupaca addressing topics like green technology, green infrastructure, blue-green algae, composting, phosphorus, wastewater and wind energy.
The projects that Hicks and her students have collaborated on with community partners have created real impacts across Wisconsin. For example, her students’ recommendations on solar panels were implemented in the Juda School District in Green County, resulting in a 40% decrease in energy use.
“We appreciate the commitment of instructors like Andrea who are dedicated to providing the best results for UniverCity Alliance’s local government partners and high-impact learning experiences to UW–Madison students,” UniverCity Alliance Managing Director Megan McBride said.
Are you interested in connecting your course to a community-based project? Email Megan McBride (memcbride2@wisc.edu) to learn how.