Forward? The Wisconsin Idea, Past & Present

Public Lecture & Undergraduate Course

“I shall never be content until the beneficent influence of the University reaches every home in the state.” – UW President Charles Van Hise, 1904

This public lecture series examines the University of Wisconsin’s relationship with the people of the state, as expressed in the Wisconsin Idea. It can also be taken for credit as an undergraduate seminar at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

We examine our origins from the birth of the university in 1849, a year following the birth of Wisconsin as a state in 1848.  We explore our successes and failures along the way and imagine a brighter future. In fourteen weeks, we merely scratch the surface of possible topics.

From the coverage of both historical and present-day information, the course seeks to identify challenges, questions, and issues to be considered, if the promise of the Wisconsin Idea is to be realized for the twenty-first century and beyond.

History of the Wisconsin Idea

 
When former University of Wisconsin President Charles Van Hise declared in 1905 that he would “never be content until the beneficent influence of the University reaches every family in the state,” he gave early expression to the Wisconsin Idea. Van Hise brought the knowledge produced by the university to Wisconsin’s citizens and policymakers in the hopes that it would illuminate social problems and contribute to progressive and effective solutions. Bringing students and faculty in the UW System into a broader public conversation with the citizens of the state, we will examine how the knowledge produced in the university benefited the public in the past and can continue to do so today. The University provides more information on the Wisconsin Idea here.