From science exploration and artistic endeavors to entrepreneurship, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is committed to community engagement. In schools, parks, offices, nursing homes, and theaters, our students, faculty and staff members are actively reaching out into the community.
These efforts have garnered national recognition. UW-Whitewater is a recipient of the 2015 Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
This designation — bestowed on only 361 colleges and universities in the United States — honors campuses that are improving teaching and learning, producing research that makes a difference in communities, and revitalizing their civic and academic missions.
Susan Johnson, assistant dean for student success in the College of Letters and Sciences, wrote UW-Whitewater’s application with thehelp of colleagues across campus and the community.
“The application required that UW-Whitewater take a very detailed look at its engagement activities,” she said “The campus demonstrated in a number of ways that these partnerships are reciprocal and reflect community and university priorities.”
From business, to government, to nonprofit organizations, UW-Whitewater is involved in myriad partnerships and deeply immersed in theregion. These projects and activities are mutually beneficial and promote economic development, enrich artistic offerings and provide professional development opportunities. It’s part of the campus culture and evident in every discipline.
“Our engagement is driven by students, faculty and staff across the university who see the benefit of strong community partnerships,” Johnson said. “This is evident in our curriculum, our business outreach services, our service-learning courses, and the vast array of joint campus and community programs.”
Campuses that receive the community engagement classification retain it for 10 years.
Milton Senior Living resident Jeri Schloemer and UW-Whitewater student Amber Mussomeli, a senior social work major, embrace after an hour-long visit as part of the university’s Nursing Home Visitation Program. ©UW-Whitewater/Jenny DuPuis
Josiah Kipper, 8, and other children look at a bottle containing a dragonfly nymph captured by Elisabeth Harrahy, assistant professor of biological sciences, on a field trip with children and their grandparents in Grandchildren’s University on Friday, June 27, 2014. Harrahy and student assistants demonstrated how scientists collect insect specimens and measurewater clarity and current speed in a creek between Whitewater and Fort Atkinson. ©UW-Whitewater/Craig Schreiner