Connecting Campus and Community Through Service and Learning
Exchanging Ideas: The Third Wisconsin Idea Conference
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The Morgridge Center for Public Service hosted its third Wisconsin Idea Conference on Monday, April 7.
This one-day event brought together over 200 community members, faculty and staff and students from across the city and state. With a focus on the concept of exchange, attendees had an opportunity to learn together and build community.
This included those who finally had a chance to meet with someone they had only engaged with before over email or zoom.
“What I heard most from attendees was a sincere appreciation for the chance to be together with a wide array of people,” says Community-Engaged Scholarship Specialist Cory Sprinkel. “Others shared excitement about the opportunity to build new connections and learn about resources and possibilities both off and on campus.”
The conference featured a fireside chat with Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard and School of Education Dean Marcelle Haddix. The chat between Gothard and Haddix highlighted and stressed the need for adaptive partnerships. Both leaders underscored the significance of trust, storytelling and practical applications in community work. You can watch the full recording of the fireside chat here.
See below for photos from the fireside chat and breakout and posters sessions.
The Wisconsin Idea Conference kicked off with a fireside chat with Travis Wright (middle) as the moderator. The chat included Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard (left) and School of Education Dean Marcelle Haddix (right).This year’s conference featured three mixers: education, public health and community development. This education mixer provided participants an interactive opportunity to explore how we can support more collaboration between our schools and communities.This panel of representatives of nonprofit-serving organizations from across Wisconsin shared current challenges nonprofits face, the ways they are finding professional development and capacity building opportunities, gaps that exist in supports and opportunities for the future.New to this year’s conference agenda, participants were invited to attend a table and poster session to learn more about the community-engaged work happening across the state and campus.“Best of Both Worlds: Partnership between Academia and Lived Experience for Youth Empowerment” was one of three recipients selected to receive the Community-University awards.Michael Mitchell shares his experience offering insights into the different ways groups can both energize and challenge volunteer programs.Travis Wright talks to a group of attendees about the BASES project, a partnership between faculty and students at UW-Madison, the Madison Metropolitan School District TEP Program and other community partners to increase school-based and other educational supports for young children experiencing homelessness.
