Wisconsin Idea
[1] First articulated in the educational sense in 1904 when University of Wisconsin-Madison President Charles Van Hise declared he would "never be content until the beneficent influence of the university reaches every family in the state", the Wisconsin Idea has been used to frame and foster the public universities contributions to the state of Wisconsin's government and citizens: "to the government in the forms of serving in office, offering advice about public policy, providing information and exercising technical skill, and to the citizens in the forms of doing research directed at solving problems that are important to the state and conducting outreach activities".
[5] Over time, for the UW System, the Wisconsin Idea has come to signify more broadly the university’s commitment to public service — a mission that substantially predates the progressive political era.
[2] The idea laid latent for around 50 years until the Progressive Era when the state gained national attention for its innovative economic and political reforms.
It is in this spirit that Governor Robert M. La Follette routinely consulted with University of Wisconsin researchers to devise groundbreaking programs and legislation.
David Hoeveler, who holds a distinguished professorship in history at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, argues the Idea originated decades earlier, in the creative and fertile mind of John Bascom.
[9] A philosopher, theologian, and sociologist, Bascom deeply influenced a generation of students at the University of Wisconsin, including La Follette and Van Hise.
Bascom drew concepts from German idealism, liberal Protestantism, and evolutionary theory, transforming them into advocacy for social and political reform.
[9] Additionally, the Ideas' intellectual history can be traced from the nineteenth century to the influential Progressive Era thinkers John R. Commons and Richard T. Ely, who believed university researchers should be a vital source of expertise for government and citizens.
[10] Finally, the activities and concepts that make up the "Wisconsin Idea" were not formally announced as such until 1912 when Charles McCarthy described the philosophy in a book by that name.
The new UW System mission statement reads: “The mission of the system is to develop human resources, to discover and disseminate knowledge, to extend knowledge and its application beyond the boundaries of its campuses and to serve and stimulate society by developing in students heightened intellectual, cultural and humane sensitivities, scientific, professional and technological expertise and a sense of purpose.
Inherent in this broad mission are methods of instruction, research, extended training and public service designed to educate people and improve the human condition.
[14] Following the attempted removal of the Wisconsin Idea and in response to broader political trends at the time,[15] the University of Wisconsin-Madison along with former Sociology staff member Patrick Brenzel created the course and public lecture series “Forward?
[16] When Brenzel conceived of the course, he had hoped it could “reinvigorate a broader, multidisciplinary conversation about how we (UW faculty), within our specialties, can re-engage with the people of Wisconsin.” First facilitated by Chad Alan Goldberg in 2016, the course has had various professors guide the course since its creation.
With over 70 guest lecturers having presented on topics ranging from public health to limnology, the course aims to identify challenges to the promise of the Wisconsin Idea in the 21st century.
Charles McCarthy, a famous proponent of the Wisconsin Idea, wrote “To the hard-handed men who broke the prairie, hewed the forests, made the roads and bridges and built little homes in the wilderness...and all the toilers who, by their sweat, made possible our schools, a great university, and all the good that is with us.” The Wisconsin Idea values diverse and holistic learning, of which Native perspectives and knowledge systems have long been ignored.
[24] In 2020, UW-Madison was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of the Wisconsin Land-Grant System Partnership for the Advancing Native Education Pathways project.
