Wisconsin

Wisconsin was designated the first official partner state in the LEAP campaign in March 2005. In collaboration with AAC&U, leaders in Wisconsin have piloted a series of campus action and advocacy efforts that champion the value of a liberal education for all college students. An initiative of the University of Wisconsin System, LEAP in Wisconsin seeks to increase understanding of the value and purpose of liberal education for UW System students and Wisconsin citizens.

LEAP in Wisconsin is part of the Growth Agenda for Wisconsin, a ten-year plan for the UW System. The Growth Agenda calls for higher education to act as a catalyst for educational, social, civic, and economic transformation. The agenda intends to move the UW System forward into the multicultural democracy that characterizes 21st century America.

In 2008, the UW System endorsed a set of Shared Learning Goals (pdf). These goals, aligned intentionally with LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes, now appear as the first of 11 action steps in the Growth Agenda. A commitment to model inclusive excellence likewise appears as a lead objective of the agenda.

The UW System and its campuses have participated extensively in two AAC&U projects: Give Students a Compass (2008-2011) and Quality Collaboratives (2011-present).

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Latest News from LEAP in Wisconsin

• In May 2012, the UW system announced that three undergraduates have been honored in the seventh annual UW System Liberal Arts Essay Scholarship Competition. The students, Jacquelyn Bonavia from UW-Madison, Mai Doua Yang from UW-Marathon County, and Gregory T. Nelson from UW-Eau Claire, wrote essays reflecting on this year's topic of how liberal education occurs both inside and outside the classroom, and how their extracurricular experiences helped them understand and appreciate the value and purpose of liberal education. Each of the winners received a scholarship to help fund the remainder of his or her undergraduate education.
• On February 29, columnist George Savage celebrated LEAP Day by making a renewed push for liberal education in the Capital Times, arguing that the educational outcomes of AAC&U's LEAP initiative are precisely what's needed to revitalize American higher education. Savage's article coincided with UW-Whitewater's sponsorship of a LEAP Day program in which employers in Wisconsin testified to the value of a liberal education.
• University of Wisconsin System Announces 2011 Liberal Arts Essay Scholarship Competition Winners
  Three undergraduate students from University of Wisconsin System campuses have been named recipients of the sixth annual UW System Liberal Arts Essay Scholarship Competition. The competition was established to support and promote liberal arts and science education throughout the state’s public university system. Students were invited to discuss how the habits of mind and the skills of a liberal education are relevant or advantageous to the challenges posed by the workplace. This year’s winners are: Megan Corby – UW-Milwaukee, for “I Chose Well;" Amelia Mercado, UW-Milwaukee, for “No, seriously, what are you going to do with that degree?;" and Leslie Spear, UW-Marathon County, for "Liberal Arts at the Home Improvement Center.”
• Oshkosh Letters and Science Dean John Koker makes a thoughtful and heartfelt case for learning for fiscal responsibility: “We use the power of the arts, the humanities, the sciences and the social sciences to present students with the knowledge and skills to navigate through these complicated and uncertain times. No one wants to leave our children and grandchildren in debt. Simply leaving them debt free, however, with no means to think critically, problem solve and learn is a short-sighted goal, one that may make us feel better now but leaves the future population unequipped to deal with issues that seem eternal.”
• In a well-reasoned editorial for the Wausau Daily Herald, Keith Montgomery of University of Wisconsin Marathon County makes the case that the next generation of business leaders needs more than narrow job training; they must be trained in the skills of good citizenship as well. He points to the abilities to grasp the larger context of situations and decisions, to communicate effectively, and to evaluation situations critically as not just intellectual but also highly practical skills. In looking at the predicament of the country today, Dr. Montgomery muses, "perhaps if more executives had taken an ethics, a political science course, or a history course, or some sociology, then they might have made some different decisions... The collapse of Enron, like the recent collapse of banks and finance houses which its collapse in some ways foreshadowed, was not the result of a lack of accountants in the economy."
• Featured Speech: UW System President Kevin Reilly discusses the LEAP-influenced UW System “Growth Agenda for Wisconsin” in his address to the “President’s Summit on Excellence in Teaching and Learning,” titled “One Decade In: Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century.” He notes that, “in education, quantity without quality is an entirely false promise and we won’t make that kind of promise to the people of Wisconsin. Instead, we are working through this initiative to ensure that our students will graduate with a quality of mind that will enable their leadership in a 21st century, globally-engaged American democracy….the Growth Agenda calls for higher education to act as a catalyst for educational, social, civic, and economic transformation.”
• The University of Wisconsin System is working to boost the number of college graduates over the next 15 years, aiming for a future where half of all Wisconsin adults have a college degree. Click here to read the full article. (April 5, 2010)

Resources and LEAP in Wisconsin Websites

• University of Wisconsin-Whitewater students Liza Stenz and Eleanor Jacobson created this video to show what LEAP means to them.

• University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Model for Enhancing Essential Student Learning Outcomes (pdf)
• University of Wisconsin-Madison LEAP Web Site provides information on how LEAP and the Essential Learning Outcomes are being used to guide curricular reform, advising policies, and other activities on the UW-Madison campus.
• UW-Fond du Lac has kept up the tradition (started 3 or 4 years ago) of summarizing liberal education excerpts from syllabi: “The Value of a Liberal Arts Degree.”

Press Releases, News and Events

• UW System Honors Students for Essays on Value of Liberal Education (May 10, 2012)
  The UW system announced that three students have won its seventh annual Liberal Arts Essay Scholarship Competition. The competition was established to support and promote liberal education throughout the Wisconsin public university system. This year's students wrote on the topic of extra-curricular experiences such as student groups, study abroad, undergraduate research, and service learning, and how these activities have helped them to understand and appreciate the value and purpose of liberal education. The competition is part of the UW system and AAC&U's jointly run Liberal Education Initiative.
• UW-Whitewater Celebrates LEAP Day (March 7, 2012)
  The Royal Purple, the independent student newspaper of UW-Whitewater, covered the LEAP Day event held on campus on February 29. Reporter Brendan Barrett recapped the highlights of the day's program, including the panel in which UW-Whitewater graduates who are now employers attested to the value of a liberal education.
• On Leap Day, take a LEAP for America: A Call to Action for the Public (February 29, 2012)
  Retired University of Wisconsin-Whitewater professor George Savage wrote in a column for the Madison Capital Times, “Why is liberal education so essential? For at least three reasons: It leads to a more interesting and fulfilling life; it is practical; and it is necessary to develop good citizens... By focusing on liberal education, universities can return to their core mission, which is to teach and inspire a new generation of students.” Read the full column at the link above.
• Thomas C. Pleger, campus executive officer and dean at the University of Wisconsin - Baraboo/Sauk County, wrote a guest editorial about how "A liberal arts education will prepare you for the future" in The Baraboo News Republic. He writes, "The liberal arts curriculum is the foundation for virtually every major offered in the University of Wisconsin System, and is designed to develop critical thinking skills, problem solving, communication skills, empathy, an understanding and appreciation for the arts and the human condition, and the ability to understand information."
• The Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, Barbara Lawton, gave a speech about LEAP to the UW Board of Regents.

If you would like to be involved in LEAP in Wisconsin, please contact Rebecca Karoff at 608-263-2728 or rkaroff@uwsa.edu or Debra Humphreys at Humphreys@aacu.org.