Students, faculty, staff and community members responded strongly to Chancellor Blank’s call for innovative ideas to improve UW-Madison’s campus climate, submitting more than 100 proposals.
Suggestions came from a broad range of campus partners, including students, staff and faculty. Included in the submission were proposals from student groups both long-standing (Associated Students of Madison, Multicultural Student Coalition, Black Graduate and Professional Student Association) and new (All Minds Matter, #TheRealUW), as well as schools, colleges, divisions, academic departments, centers and learning communities. Proposals were also received from organizations with strong ties to the broader community (Odyssey Project, South Madison Partnership).
“I want to thank everyone who gave time and energy to submit ideas,” Blank said. “The breadth of responses we received are a testament to our campus community’s commitment to making UW-Madison a place where everyone feels valued and able to thrive.”
A committee will review the proposals based on the concept’s potential impact on improving campus climate, its ability to be implemented, evaluated and scaled, as well as the resource allocation needed to implement the proposal. The goal is to have recommendations to Chancellor Blank by the end of the semester and begin testing the ideas over the summer and next academic year.
Serving on the committee are Mariam Coker and Jessica Franco-Morales, Associated Students of Madison; Jamie Dawson, The Studio Creative Arts & Design Community; Amy Wendt, professor, electrical and computer engineering; Christopher Walker, associate professor, dance; Dan Okoli, chair, Engagement, Inclusion and Diversity Council; Jacklyn John Fischer, student services coordinator, Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement; Michael Bernard-Donals, vice provost for faculty and staff programs; Greg Steinberger, executive director, Hillel; Marina Kelly, program coordinator, University Housing; Aaron Bird Bear, interim assistant dean and director, School of Education Academic Advising; Erica Liu, campus pastor, Pres House; Joshua Johnson, director, Multicultural Student Center; Jamila Lee-Johnson, PhD student, educational leadership and policy analysis; and Everett Mitchell, committee chair and director of community relations.