Reaching out: Projects will explore, teach, engage community

Eight outreach projects will receive funding under the first year of Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment. The new endowment is designed to forward the Wisconsin Idea, the century-old mission to use university resources to improve the lives of people living in the state, the country and around the world.

The endowment was established through an $18 million gift from the estate of Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin, former UW–Madison administrators who dedicated their lives to public service and were deeply committed to the Wisconsin Idea. Ira Baldwin, professor emeritus of bacteriology and former dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, passed away in 1999 at 103. His wife, Ineva, former assistant dean of women for the College of Letters and Science, died in 2000 at 96. Their gift created the endowment, which supports faculty, staff and student programs that create partnerships and extend UW’s knowledge, resources, research expertise and services throughout the world.

“It is clear, after reviewing the outreach ideas coming from the campus community, that the Wisconsin Idea is alive and well at UW–Madison,” Provost Peter Spear says. “I think the Baldwins would be pleased to know that their gift has made it possible to implement a wealth of innovative ideas for creating new outreach programs and expanding existing ones.”

The endowment committee received 140 pre-proposals from across campus, 21 of which were invited to be submitted as full proposals. The eight funded projects, which span one to three years, received $5,000 to $100,000.

“We were thoroughly impressed with the quality of all the proposals we received,” says Peyton Smith, assistant vice chancellor and committee chair. “If we had enough money, we would have funded all of them. That’s how good all the proposals were.”

Smith says that a new call for proposals will be announced each fall, with the next occurring in early September. To learn more about the endowment, contact Smith at 262-8214 or visit http://www.provost.wisc.edu/baldwin/.

Education and Outreach in Environmental Justice
Project leader: Herb Wang, professor of geology and geophysics

A statewide education and outreach program in environmental justice will study issues at the intersection of poverty, race and environmental pollution. Several outreach and educational opportunities will be developed, including a summer field course for college students and K-12 teachers, service learning and research opportunities through partnerships with community organizations, and the development of high-school curricular materials.

Growing-Power Student Exchange Program in Sustainable Agriculture
Project leader: Leslie Cooperband, assistant professor of soil science

UW–Madison’s Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems will partner with Growing Power, a Milwaukee-based non-profit organization that promotes and cultivates urban agricultural enterprises and food systems, and agricultural education for inner-city youth. The program will provide internship opportunities at Growing Power for UW–Madison students, as well as provide learning opportunities at UW–Madison for middle- and high-school students participating in Growing Power educational programs.

Dance and Community
Project leader: Jin-Wen Yu, associate professor of dance

This dance program will expose K-12 students to dance as a culturally expressive art form. It will also provide venues for dance students to perform and teach what they have learned. This initiative aims to bring 8,640 students to campus for dance demonstrations and lectures. The dance program will then schedule performances and teaching projects at schools, senior and community centers, and hospitals. A new course, titled Dance and Community, will explore why dance is meaningful and powerful to our society.

Economic Justice Institute
Project leader: Juliet M. Brodie, clinical assistant professor of law

The UW Law School’s Frank J. Remington Center will establish the Economic Justice Institute, a community-based anti-poverty education program. The institute, which will be based on Madison’s south side, will extend students’ experience and expertise into the community through the provision of direct services and legal representation in actual cases. This hands-on experience will expose students to the possibility of a lifetime of legal service to the poor by engaging them in a sustained and practical manner in addressing the persistent social problems of urban poverty, economic injustice and income inequality.

2003 Midwest Rural Arts Forum
Project leader: Harv Thompson, professor of liberal studies and the arts

The 2003 Midwest Rural Arts Forum will bring together artists, staff volunteers and activists who will explore issues critical to rural environments and the development of the arts. The forum aims to promote understanding of those issues and examine local and regional examples of rural arts and business development, entrepreneurship and innovative programming.

Taking Stars Statewide
Project leader: James M. Lattis, UW Space Place director

The Astronomy Department will expand and enhance two highly successful programs based out of UW Space Place, 1605 S. Park St.: Universe in the Park and Scopes for Schools. Universe in the Park brings astronomers to state parks and nearby schools to host astronomy programs, and to assist with hands-on stargazing sessions. Scopes for Schools provides outreach, curriculum development and teacher professional development in the area of astronomy, with efforts to expand into Milwaukee schools. The department will create comprehensive astronomy science workshops for middle-school students, with special emphasis on involving female and minority students.

The Genomics Expedition Partnership
Project leader: Thomas Zinnen, Biotechnology Center outreach program manager

This partnership will bring together the UW–Madison Biotechnology Center and Genome Center, Discovery World in Milwaukee, UW Extension 4-H Youth Development programs from Milwaukee to northern Wisconsin and the Cable Natural History Museum. The project will create learning materials in genomics and a menu of hands-on science activities based on the research projects of the biotechnology and genomics centers. High-school students and teachers, and 4-H youth will work with faculty and staff from the Biotechnology Center to design, test and revise new prototype learning materials on the topics of biotechnology and genomics. The prototypes will be used to create a new menu of Genomic Expeditions workshops that will be offered to visitors to the Biotechnology Center or to learners anywhere in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Weather Stories
Project leader: Steven Ackerman, professor of oceanic and atmospheric sciences

Three partners, the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological and Satellite Studies and the Folklore Program at UW–Madison, and the Wisconsin Arts Board, will create a K-12 curriculum guide on the science and stories behind Wisconsin weather. The online guide will enable Wisconsin teachers to expand their earth science, social studies and language arts curricula in engaging and locally relevant ways. The project’s goal is to develop high-quality teaching tools so that K-12 classes can explore the relationship between verbal art, local culture and weather science. It will also provide special training to meteorology and folklore students.