Morgridge Fellows
The Morgridge Fellows program is a yearlong learning community for UW faculty, staff, and graduate students seeking to deepen their practice in community-engaged scholarship. Community-engaged scholarship (CES) is defined as: teaching, research, and scholarly activities that are performed in mutually beneficial collaboration with communities and community members to address community needs and support innovative teaching and research.
Morgridge Fellows play a vital role in helping to further institutionalize and support community-engaged scholarship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, learning more about the institution and ways to advance community engagement across campus and within Fellows’ respective fields. Some examples of topics covered in the learning community include: cultivating equitable relationships, community-based teaching pedagogies, and community-engaged research methods.
Through participation in the Morgidge Fellows program, participants will:
- Develop a deeper understanding of the theory and practice of quality community-engaged scholarship (CES)
- Reflect upon and make progress on their own goals and projects related to CES
- Cultivate a community of support and shared learning amongst a network of engaged scholars
- Build comfort and confidence to act as resources and ambassadors for CES across campus
Questions? Contact Assistant Director of Community-Engaged Scholarship Dave Lassen: dlassen@wisc.edu
Morgridge Fellows helped me branch out into the diverse and flourishing community-engaged ecosystem that largely exists outside of departments like mine.
I wish every class and every instructor had the opportunity to take part in this program or one like it. Our students and our community would benefit greatly from more of this type of scholarship and outreach.
This has opened possibilities for collaboration either with myself, or with colleagues with whom I share this information, which will facilitate future community-engaged work.
Apply to be a Morgridge Fellow
Applications for the 2026-27 Morgridge Fellows cohort is closed.
NOTE: Morgridge Fellow applicants are not required to have extensive previous experience with CES, but they should be interested in participating in the academic discourse around community-engaged scholarship and be committed to furthering their own community-engaged teaching, research, and/or service while supporting the public mission of UW–Madison.
- Attendance at monthly, full cohort gatherings, which take place on the second Monday of each month from 12-2pm, September thru December and February thru May.
- Attendance at monthly small group meetings, held virtually. These will be scheduled at the beginning of the academic year based on Fellows’ schedules.
- Participation in two additional events, which will include a kickoff meeting in late August/early September and a field trip to a community site, date TBD.
- Explore opportunities to share about your work and community-university engagement through other Morgridge Center or campus programming, such as our podcast, Engaged Scholars Talks series, or the Wisconsin Idea Conference.
Each fellow will be awarded $1,500 to support their professional development and the advancement of community-engaged scholarship. Fellows must follow the guidance of their respective department for usage. Funds have often been used to support a community-engaged project or course (e.g. project materials, paying partners), conference attendance and travel, or other relevant professional development expenses.