Connecting Campus and Community through Community-based Service, Learning, and Research
Alex Lai didn’t even know how to change a flat tire on her bicycle when she first joined Wheels for Winners as a Badger Volunteer during her first year of graduate school at UW–Madison. East Madison nonprofit organization Wheels for Winners, which first opened its doors 23 years ago, rewards bicycles to young people with …
Service Learning has been a tradition on the UW–Madison campus for decades. Every semester, the University offers as many as 50 classes that incorporate volunteer work and community-engagement into the class. These Service Learning classes are offered in a wide variety of departments across campus. Sophomore Mariel White is one of the many students who have participated …
More than 14.5 million children—just under 1 in 5—were in poverty in the United States in 2013. Living in poverty can put children at risk for health and behavioral problems, but could disadvantage actually affect brain development? Emerging evidence suggests that living in poverty may indeed alter how the brain grows, which may have implications …
The Morgridge Center for Public Service has been awarded an Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Mini-Grant to further community-campus engagement. The $2,500 Baldwin Mini-Grant will be used to enhance the Wisconsin Idea Exchange, an online interactive database designed to help community groups and UW–Madison faculty and staff find collaborative community-based learning and research projects and partners. Assistant …
Six student projects have been selected from among nearly 20 submissions for 2015-16 Wisconsin Idea Undergraduate Fellowships. The 17th year of the Wisconsin Idea Undergraduate Fellowships (WIF) will feature two domestic projects and four international projects. The six projects—to be implemented over the course of the next 12 months—were collectively awarded over $30,000. Wisconsin Idea …
Longtime UW–Madison campus and community outreach champion Dolly Ledin has been awarded the Wisconsin Campus Compact 2015 Sister Joel Read Civic Leadership Award. The award recognizes outstanding faculty or staff members at Wisconsin colleges and universities who have made significant contributions to civic engagement on their campus. Ledin, who serves as the Outreach Director at WISCIENCE, …
For Young Mie Kim, being a social scientist is about being social. And engaged. Writing research papers and accumulating citations never seemed enough for the associate professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. “I became a social scientist because I’ve been always curious about society and social phenomenon and trying to explain why,” said …
What do sweet potatoes and creative writing have in common? A lot, if you ask recent UW–Madison graduates Hanna Vadeboncoeur and Jessica Lyga. The pair spent two weeks in Ethiopia this last summer on a Wisconsin Idea Fellowship, educating local children on the nutritional benefits of sweet potatoes while also opening the world of creative …
The word “joy” came up often during the grand opening of the UW South Madison Partnership. It fit the mood: lively conversation in a packed room; a vibrant red wall matching the new red chairs; delicious aromas warming those who braved near-zero temperatures to celebrate. “This is a place where the energy is bouncing off the …
Finding the right volunteer opportunity can be a tough task—particularly for students. That’s why the Morgridge Center for Public Service staffs two student Peer Advisorswhose job it is to work with fellow UW–Madison students to help them find the perfect volunteer fit. Both Peer Advisors are trained extensively and equipped with a variety of resources to …