submitted by Ellsworth Brown
Is it fair to all concerned? No, this is not about our Rotary Club.
Gavin Luter, club member and Director of the University Alliance, and Tim Swadley, Mayor of Stoughton, explained that their combined efforts advanced the Wisconsin Idea as representatives of a program identified as the UniverCity initiative.
The UniverCity initiative trades on two assumptions, first that as strong as a college education is, it is inherently still limited, often to whatever a teacher and classroom can provide; and second, cities and towns in Wisconsin have unmet needs—e.g. analysis, ideas, planning—which they can’t afford and for which they do not have the resources to manage themselves.
Consultants can provide objective viewpoints, cost analysis, and surveys, for example, and selected groups of students can provide these and other services, advancing community development as well as their own skills and teamwork experience. This arrangement is directed as virtually any project that the community selects, fulfilling assistance in whatever way the client—the town or city—has identified: tourism, parks, roadways and crossings, affordable housing, surveys, health and well-being, solutions to the opioid crisis. . . all ideas can be considered.
If you missed our meeting last week, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/NW7yEF-fX0w.
Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin 