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From the Winter issue of Seeds of Change, a newsletter from the Food Systems/Rural Development initiative of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Wisconsin Food System Partnership Accentuates Outreach
Universities have so much to offer beyond just research. At least that’s one of the messages being delivered to University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) faculty, staff and students as part of the Wisconsin Food System Partnership (WFSP).
WFSP activities, which are supported in part by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Food Systems Professions Education (FSPE) Initiative, are based on UW Chancellor David Ward’s emphasis on updating the “Wisconsin Idea” philosophy, a century-old concept of three points: research, teaching and outreach that extends beyond the walls of the university classroom to the boundaries of the state and beyond.
“All of our activities are designed to highlight the positive impacts of outreach on faculty and staff, as well as students and community organizations,” says John Ferrick, associate director, WFSP, Madison, Wis.
For example, UW last year created “Wisconsin Idea” Undergraduate Fellowships that focus on the chancellor’s philosophy. The objective, says Ferrick, is to have faculty and students think of outreach as being as central to UW as research and teaching.
“The fellowship program offers students, faculty and community organizations financial support to collaborate on projects that will benefit each partner,” he says. “The first group of students was selected last spring for projects currently underway, and each fellowship is based on the length of time required to complete a project. Ultimately, we hope fellowships can be sustained through university funds.”
The WFSP also publishes “Updating the Wisconsin Idea,” an insert to the faculty/staff newspaper, Wisconsin Week, that supplements activities by informing others of the outreach being performed. The inserts are published each semester to let others know about faculty and staff working in partnerships with civic organizations, businesses, government agencies, schools and other community-based groups. The hope is that others will want to get involved.
“The purpose is to make faculty aware of their colleagues who are involved in outreach and to celebrate outreach as a core value to UW-Madison,” Ferrick says. “We cover such topics as hunger and poverty, economic development and K-12 education.”
The WFSP also currently supports six pilot projects that serve as examples of the type of outreach that can be accomplished by universities, including work with the Madison and Milwaukee food systems and the Wisconsin Land Use Research Program. Another 11 small-grants partnership projects include work with migrant farm workers in the Wisconsin food system, the traditional Native American diet, pesticide education and food, health and community for people with developmental disabilities.
“We are taking tiny steps on some projects and larger steps on others,” says Ferrick. “We have completed a baseline faculty survey on attitudes of our outreach that will help us determine what else needs to be done. We can use that information to measure our progress over time.”
Ferrick says people involved with WFSP outreach are very upbeat about the future. “Connecting the university and students with the community has been very positive for us,” he says. “We hope to get more participation and broader-based faculty support.”
Contact Information:
John Ferrick
Associate Director Wisconsin Food System Partnership (WFSP)
University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
240Agricultural Hall
1450 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1562
PH: [608] 262-1271
FX: [608] 262-8852
E-mail: jferrick@facstaff.wisc.edu
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University
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"Outreach
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