Showcasing partnership around Wisconsin, UniverCity Alliance (UCA) hosted three community events in August as a part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s 175th anniversary celebration.
By highlighting UCA initiatives and UniverCity Year (UCY) partners in Pepin County, Milwaukee, and Wausau, these events demonstrated the impact that UW–Madison has across the state.
“UW–Madison lives out its full potential when the university extends its knowledge and resources across the state and learns from all Wisconsin communities,” UCA Managing Director Gavin Luter said. “The Wisconsin Idea is a two-way street that involves knowledge-sharing between communities and the university, and we were excited to showcase that principle during these events.”
These events were a part of the state tour held in partnership with the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA).
“Having partnerships like UniverCity Alliance and working with other colleagues on campus and Extension and other university departments is a terrific illustration of how UW–Madison has extended its reach and its impact across the state in such wonderful ways,” said Sarah Schutt, chief alumni engagement officer and executive director for the Wisconsin Alumni Association.
In 2018, Pepin County partnered with UCY to ignite innovation in economic development, education, and sustainability. Part of this work centered around tourism in Pepin County.
UW–Madison journalism students created marketing materials, including print advertisements, social media posts, sightseeing guides, and postcards, that promoted Pepin, Durand, Stockholm, and Pepin County as a whole.
“The UniverCity Tour stop in Pepin was a great opportunity to shed more light on this collaborative program and feature the marketing students’ work in helping us showcase Pepin County as a tourist destination,” Village of Pepin Tourism Commission Chair Sue Fedie said.
On Aug. 3, Destination Pepin and UCA highlighted these projects and Pepin County’s unique cultural and geographic assets at the Villa Bellezza Winery & Vineyards. Denise Parker, the Tourism Commission’s vice-chair, said she was excited to host the event to put a spotlight on Pepin.
“It not only was able to showcase our beautiful area to those that may have not traveled here before as a destination but was also able to let other area partners know about the wonderful work that the UW-Madison students did in putting together promotional and marketing materials for our Pepin County and three of our [communities],” Parker said. “It is great to take part in collaborations like this to showcase all that Wisconsin has to offer when working together.”
On Aug. 17, convened by UCA, the Wisconsin Heat Health Network gathered in Milwaukee at Third Space Brewing to share the latest research on extreme heat events in Madison and Milwaukee.
This network includes collaborators from UW–Madison’s campus, including UCA, Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI), and the Global Health Institute, in addition to Dane County, the cities of Madison and Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and Climatologist Larry Kalkstein of Applied Climatologists, Inc.
“Without collaboration between a large group of people who are stakeholders, there’s no way we can really combat the problem of heat and health,” Kalkstein said.
Kalkstein is working with graduate students to collect and analyze data that will inform a warning system in Madison and Milwaukee based on health outcomes that considers mortality and weather data.
“It’s so important to share where we’re at and where we want to go because we can just move so much further when we can communicate, we have a shared understanding, and we’re able to pool our resources and our time,” said Nelson Institute Environment & Resources PhD student Becky Rose
During the last stop on the UW–Madison State Tour on Aug. 30, UCA hosted an event with UCY partners Marathon County and the city of Wausau at the South Area Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) headquarters.
Marathon County worked with UCY from 2020-23 as in its effort to become the healthiest, safest, and most prosperous county in Wisconsin. Projects addressed sustainability, economic development, evidence-based decision making, equity, and emergency medical services.
“The UniverCity Alliance provided us an excellent example, a great demonstration of that commitment to the Wisconsin Idea,” Marathon County Emergency Management Director Philip Rentmeester said.
Wausau will be working with UCY from 2022-25 addressing a range of issues, including housing, walkability, and community development.
“We’re really excited,” said Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg. “I hope that I’m standing here next year on (UW-Madison’s) 176th birthday and telling you all how successful this is.”
This story was originally published in The Commons, a publication of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. Read the full September edition, and view the web version or previous editions from the “News” tab on the Nelson Institute website.